Shortlist Of Future Google Fiber Cities Keeps Getting Longer, Three More Cities Added

Broadband competition in the U.S. still stinks almost everywhere and most of us are nowhere near gigabit connections. Google, of course, is the biggest — or at least, most popular — name out there trying to change both those things at once, and they’ve announced another three locales where they might plop fiber down if all goes well.

The lucky cities this time are in Florida and Oklahoma, with Jacksonville and Tampa representing for the Sunshine State and Oklahoma City also lining up to come on board.

The gigabit fiber service so far only actually exists in three cities (Provo, Austin, and Kansas City), but the list of cities getting hooked up sometime in the near future continues to grow, and the list of cities that can maybe have the option of getting added to the “soon” list soon grows right behind it. Just last month, Google added San Diego, Irvine, and Louisville to their “exploratory” list.

This expansion brings the list of municipalities that are actively exploring bringing Google Fiber to town to nine, with another six further along in the process. The joint planning phase basically consists of Google meeting with local and state officials to see if the cities on the shortlist can guarantee favorable conditions — rights-of-way, tax breaks, and potential consumer pools — that make it worth doing all the construction and logistical work to bring Google Fiber to town.

Exploring Fiber for Oklahoma City, Jacksonville and Tampa [Google Fiber Blog]