Google Fiber is launching its new 5Gbps internet plan which will be initially available in four cities. The new plan is available in areas like Kansas City, West Des Moines, and Utah cities, and will expand further later this year.
The 5Gbps Plan
The internet service will cost $125 per month, which offers symmetrical upload and download speeds with a WiFi 6 router or even install your own. You can also have up to two mesh extenders and professional installation.
The installation includes an upgraded 10 Gig Fiber Jack, which is a way of preparing your household for "even more internet when the time comes." The upgrade in internet speeds is part of Google's increasing focus on fiber, as mentioned in Engadget.
The company is also set to release an 8Gbps plan soon, as they announced that the service will launch both the 5 Gbps and 8 Gbps plan in early 2023. The latter will also have symmetrical upload and download speeds, and it will cost $150 a month.
Google believes that customers should have access to fast speeds and increased bandwidth at budget-friendly prices without contracts, data caps, or installation fees, as mentioned by Director of Product Management Amalia O'Sullivan.
What Can I Use It For?
It seems that 5 Gbps can be a bit much for most households, especially those who use it for scanning through social media or watching on streaming sites, but it can be of great use for people who want faster speeds and limited latency like gamers or professionals.
If you do simple things like surfing the web, checking your emails, streaming music, or playing games online not very often, you might want to opt for speeds that will match that, which will allow you to cut costs for speeds internet speeds that you don't need anyway.
For instance, you only need 25 Mbps of bandwidth for every device streaming Netflix in 4K. If four people are streaming at the same time, then that's 100 Mbps, leaving plenty to spare if you have a 5 Gbps plan, as pointed out by High-Speed Internet.
However, you might need the 5 Gbps plan if you intend to download large files often like games and updates and use it for video chatting, as well as live streaming games. You can even stream more than 20 4K videos at the same time and it wouldn't make much of a dent.
Read also: Dongles Vs Hotspots: What's the Difference?
Other Options
With Google Fiber's limited reach in some areas, you might want to explore your other choices. One would be Frontier, who also just released its 5 Gbps internet plan this early February. However, it is more expensive at $150 a month.
Frontier claims to have upload speeds u to 125 times faster and downloads up to five times. There's also uncapped data and premium tech support, as well as a provided WiFi router with free installation. Its availability is more widespread since it was released across 25 US states.
