Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Google Fiber is buying high-speed internet provider Webpass to expand its reach in cities

The deal gives the Alphabet unit a foothold in apartments and businesses.

Google’s Fiber launch in Provo, UT.
Google’s Fiber launch in Provo, UT.
Google’s Fiber launch in Provo, UT.
| George Frey/Getty Images

To take on the big internet service providers, Google Fiber is scooping up a small one.

On Wednesday, Google Fiber announced plans to acquire Webpass, a high-speed, fiber internet provider serving five cities. The deal, should regulators approve it, would be the first acquisition for the broadband unit under Alphabet and another signal of its ambition to become a competitive national player in the industry.

Google Fiber also made the deal to boost its efforts to deliver broadband internet wirelessly, an experimental tech it hopes will expand coverage at cheaper costs.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Webpass, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2003, is privately held. It only shares that it has customers in the “tens of thousands.”

But those subscribers are primarily where Google Fiber wants to be: Apartment complexes and businesses.

A big hurdle for Google Fiber’s expansion across cities is getting a foothold in large apartment buildings. Big broadband incumbents, like Comcast and Time Warner Cable, often sign multi-year deals locking their service into those buildings. Webpass has focused much of its residential business on apartments.

They’ve also focused on commercial offerings, providing internet — which ranges from 100 megabits per second to one gigabit per second — to businesses. Although Google Fiber began with laying pipes into homes, it has recently tried to ramp up its commercial offerings.

And Webpass would give Google Fiber subscribers in two new markets: Miami and Boston. Webpass also provides service in Chicago, San Diego and San Francisco, where Google Fiber has announced plans to expand.

Finally, Webpass has another asset that Google Fiber found attractive: It has paired its fiber network with wireless tech. Google Fiber wants to do the same thing, and started testing wireless services in Kansas City, its first market, earlier this year.

Google Fiber hasn’t shared its financial information. Alphabet execs have told Wall Street repeatedly that the unit accounts for the biggest costs (outside of Google).

Last year, those non-Google companies — dubbed the “Other Bets” — drained $869 million in capital expenditures and reported $448 million in revenue. Recode earlier reported that Google Fiber brought in roughly $100 million of that.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh