Google Fiber's decision to pivot to wireless and eliminate a small number of employees have stoked fears that Google has gotten cold feet about its massive bet on broadband. But the company continues to insist that the pause in deployment to the company's list of future "potential" Google Fiber launch markets like Portland are because the company is bullish on next-generation wireless broadband -- not because it's having second thoughts about challenging the entrenched incumbent broadband (mono)duopoly.
Speaking on the company's earnings call, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat made it clear that these eight "paused" cities (Portland, Chicago, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, and Tampa) may not be paused for long.
"We’re making great progress in those cities and we remain committed to growth in those cities," Porat said on the Google/Alphabet earnings call. "We’re pausing for now our work in eight cities where we’ve been in exploratory discussions. But very much to your question, it’s to better integrate some of the technology work we’ve been developing."
Google has filed applications with the FCC to conduct trials in the 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz millimeter wave bands, and is also conducting a variety of different tests in the 3.5 GHz band, the 5.8 GHz band and the 24 GHz band. It also recently acquired line of sight wireless provider Webpass as part of the company's decision to integrate wireless alongside traditional fiber.
Meanwhile, service and deployment expansion of traditional fiber continue in the company's original launch markets (Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City, Nashville, Provo, Salt Lake City, and The Triangle in North Carolina) as well as markets that were promised fiber connectivity (Huntsville, Alabama; San Antonio, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; and Irvine, California).
It still remains entirely possible that Access/Google execs get tired of the costly effort and sell the project off in a few years, but for now Google Fiber lives on -- just with decidedly less actual fiber in future expansion cities.