Google Fiber Blog

Digital Inclusion Week 2018 Wrap-Up

Friday, May 11, 2018

This year we kicked off Digital Inclusion Week by publishing our 2017 Community Impact Report but that was just the beginning of Google Fiber’s involvement in this national initiative. Across the country, each of our Fiber cities found ways to support digital literacy trainings and connect more people to super fast Internet.
Seeing the rich stories of communities coming together to work on digital equity during Digital Inclusion Week, and the large scale of participants across the country, gives me great optimism about the future of our work and a bit of personal pride. In 2016, when I was working as a Digital Inclusion Fellow -- a program co-founded and supported by Google Fiber and managed by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) -- I worked alongside local and national partners like the National Digital Inclusion Alliance to organize the country’s first Digital Inclusion Day. Now, just a couple of years later, I’m a Community Impact Manager at Google Fiber and the day has grown into a full week of activities across dozens of U.S. cities.
Working with local partners, my fellow Google Fiber Community Impact Managers and I have taken action to mark #DIW2018 across the country:

In Austin, we partnered with the Community Tech Network to teach seniors basic digital literacy skills.

In Charlotte, we announced a new Community Connection at The Nest Learning Lab at CAMP North End, as well as partnering with E2D on their annual “E-lemonade the digital divide” event.

In Louisville, we launched a Community Connection at the new entrepreneurial incubator at Love City, Inc. in the Portland neighborhood.

In Provo, we had a full week of #ProvoGotSkills activities with partners like the United Way of Utah County, Mountainland Head Start, the Provo City Library, and the Provo City School District.

In Salt Lake City, we hosted Google Expeditions at Riley Elementary and supported workshops hosted by Salt Lake City and County public library branches.

In San Antonio, we sponsored UpgradeSA’s lunchtime discussion about closing the city’s digital divide.

Check out the photo gallery below of many of these activities. Thank you to all our partners who help us connect our communities!

Cutting the ribbon on our newest Community Connection at Love City in Louisville with Mayor Greg Fischer.

Charlotte, NC Mayor Vi Lyles helps residents at our new Community Connection at The Nest.

Tackling digital inclusion with UpgradeSA in San Antonio.

Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi takes a selfie with seniors after a YouTube tutorial at the Provo Rec Center.

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Google Fiber’s 2017 Community Impact Report Kicks Off Digital Inclusion Week 2018

Monday, May 07, 2018

Digital Inclusion Week 20182017 Community Impact Report

2,600 families in affordable housing can access the power of Fiber Internet in their homes at no cost via our Gigabit Communities program -- 600 new families’ homes were connected in 2017 alone.

Through our Community Connections program, we provided super fast Internet to 54 new public hubs like libraries and nonprofits.

5,000 students and parents engaged in our STEM programs last year, reaching new horizons through Made with Code, Create Your World, and Google Expeditions.

full reportPosted by Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, Head of Community Impact Strategy

And the Gold Award goes to . . .our customers!

Monday, March 05, 2018

Hey, did you hear Google Fiber won the Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year in Telecommunications for the second year in a row? We are pretty proud to be able to serve our customers, so you might have heard it if you stopped by a Fiber Space to ask a question, catch a movie or grab a cup of coffee.
Or perhaps one of our call center reps in Austin or Boise mentioned it to you or maybe your Google Fiber technician showed you this video of the ceremony while testing your Fiber connection.
Okay maybe not, but even if this is the first time you’re even learning about the existence of Stevie Awards for Customer Service, I hope that you have felt our passion to transform what’s expected of customer support in this industry.
We love our customers and want to make them happy. So if you want to get in touch with us -- for any reason -- let us know! We’ll keep working to get better -- because while Gold is the best Stevie you can receive, we know there is always room to improve.

I’m the guy on the left - with my teammates.

Posted by Nodas Papadimitriou, Customer Happiness Program Manager

Black History Month at Google Fiber - An Overview and Look Back

Friday, March 02, 2018

Wednesday marked the end of Black History Month - and what a month it was! Google Fiber is proud to have celebrated with community partners across our Fiber cities. We hosted over two dozen events across the country that focused on encouraging meaningful conversations, celebrating accomplishments, and giving participants an opportunity to have interactive experiences with historic places like Selma, Alabama.
Highlights:
Huntsville Google Fiber sponsored the inaugural Because of Them, We Can event celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans from Alabama, including Angela Davis, Carl Lewis, and Condoleezza Rice” -- all Alabamians -- as well as others. It was an afternoon of music, spoken word, and powerful discussions.

Salt Lake City Our team took Google Expeditions Cardboard VR (virtual reality) technology to students at Newman Elementary, one of our valued Title One school partners. We used the time to demonstrate how infrastructure to deliver superfast Internet is built to homes and how it helps lead to innovations like VR. We led students through a Google Expedition of Civil Rights history, where they learned about key leaders and landmarks. Their VR journey included a visit to the Lincoln Monument steps where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech; to the Supreme Court steps where the students learned about Thurgood Marshall and the Brown v. Board of Education decision; and then concluded with a visit to the Selma-to-Montgomery March museum.

Nashville Building on the success of Marvel’s Black Panther, “afrofuturism” was the theme of the Fiber Space as Nashvillians came together for a panel discussion to define “afrofuturism,” media representation of African Americans, and what it means to be a “Black Geek.” Check out Nashville Public Radio’s coverage at: How a Black Superhero Inspired Conversations about Race and Technology in Nashville.
Austin Google Fiber celebrated with the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library where over 200 members of the community gathered and utilized Google Cardboard virtual reality technology to experience and learn about significant contributions of African Americans throughout history, such as the Artifacts of the Tuskegee Airmen exhibit.

Atlanta Over 50 students from Dillard University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Xavier College came to the Google office in Atlanta for a Hackathon. The students enjoyed food and fun while they created projects in a 24-hour timespan with the help of their peers and Google engineers. The projects spanned from fun to serious, with apps to help make reporting crimes on campus easier, interactive campus maps, and to help students find computer science tutors!

While Google Fiber’s work to advance technology access and inclusion happens year-round, we take pride in the community and school partnerships that came together during February to celebrate Black History Month. We look forward to even more opportunities for learning and growth in 2018.
Posted by Daynise Joseph, Community Impact Manager

The Spirit of Curling

Friday, February 23, 2018

What do curling and Google Fiber have in common? Well for starters, in curling the objective is to deliver rocks into the house, much like we deliver fiber to the home. Also the sport is growing fast - fast like a gig of Internet, and it’s gaining fans all over the country.
Honestly, we just wanted an excuse to write a post about curling - because like Mr T’s tweets say, #curlingiscoolfool. And at Google Fiber, we’ve got some cred with two curlers on staff. Plus we know there are just so many questions about this sport:
- What’s up with the crazy pants? - Why are they screaming so much? - What does the sweeping do?
Curling doesn’t have the dazzling stunts and crazy thrills of other Olympic sports, but it is mesmerizing. It’s not about brute force or strength; it’s finesse and strategy, it’s chess on ice. Part of what makes it mesmerizing is how you can sit there watching it on TV and think … I can do that. It’s accessibility makes it all the more intriguing - anyone can curl.
The best part of the sport, though, is the part you don’t see on TV. It is the spirit of curling that embodies inclusion and sportsmanship. Any given night at the curling club, you’ll see a diverse group of folks all curling together as a giant curling family. It ranges from fresh college grads to retirees; curlers in wheelchairs to curlers that nimbly glide all the way across the ice; folks from all different walks of life.
A few helpful terms for you:
- House - where you have to throw your rock (the "target") - Hog Line - the line on the rink you have to get your rock past to "count" - Skip - the boss of the team (the one that stands in the house and points the broom)
The inclusion is impressive and it truly brings people who would otherwise maybe never cross paths together as a community -- and making connections is what Google Fiber is all about. After each game, teams sit together and “broomstack” over beer. It’s the only sport we can think of where it’s custom for the winners to buy the losing team a round of drinks. And that’s something we can get behind -- we love a team sport where good sportsmanship is front and center.
Posted by Diana Wu, Project Manager, and Martha Ivester, Nashville City Manager -- Google Fiber’s resident curling experts

Diana Wu (Network Deployment & Operations, Project Manager in Charlotte) started curling in 2013 and is an active member of the Charlotte Curling Club in North Carolina

Martha Ivester (Center) on her high school curling team in London, Ontario; note the adoption of advanced technology in her push broom.

Helping communities connect through art

Friday, February 16, 2018

Google Fiber is proud to be a member of some of the most vibrant, diverse, and culturally rich communities in America. Last fall, we collaborated with local artists, community partners and art institutions to create thirteen murals in five of our Fiber cities. Each of these new art pieces in Austin, Kansas City, Louisville, Nashville and San Antonio aim to showcase the spirit of the cities we call home.

Artists were selected for the project based on their vision and community engagement. We also worked with local business owners to identify the right locations around the city to feature each artist’s work.
Watch below to see the process unfold, meet the artists and enjoy their beautiful work. Or, check out the murals yourself at the addresses below.

Mural Locations:
Louisville Red Tree Furniture The Table The Nitty Gritty
Nashville Five Points Pizza Whiskey Kitchen Taqueria del Sol
San Antonio 104 W. Grayson 2710 N St Mary’s and French Pl. 2300 N. St Mary’s
Kansas City Gem Theater
Austin 1100 S. Lamar Blvd Encore Records Google Fiber

Posted by Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, Head of Community Impact Strategy

Welcoming a new CEO to Access

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Dog Days of February

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

It’s the biggest weekend of the year. Two teams, both alike in dignity, come together to decide absolute dominance of the species. It’s Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl!

Google Fiber loves our furry friends, and this weekend we’re celebrating all things canine at several of our Fiber Spaces across the country. Join us for activities for humans and puppies alike, including local pet adoption, stuffed animal rescue, pet photos, and plenty of yummy treats for our four-legged and two-legged friends.

Check out the list below for local information, and come out and see us. We’ll be the ones with the waggily tails!

P.S. In case you are wondering, we’ll be rooting for Team Fluff and cheering on our friend Miley from Salt Lake City’s Community Animal Welfare Society.

Posted by Kami and Friday on behalf of the Google Fiber Dogs

Your Holiday Tech Toys Want Google Fiber

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

If you’re in a Google Fiber city, visit fiber.google.com to check availability in your neighborhood. That way you can stream the game while your gamer is racking up points on his or her multiplayer game. Your connected smart home devices and appliances can keep you warm and fed while you upload that video of your dog tearing through all the presents. We don't put any limitations on how you access or use the Internet (aside from our Terms of Service), so you can stream, upload, download, play, listen, and create to your heart’s content—and everyone else in your family can do that too!

Make your tech work with gigabit speed Internet that leaves room for sharing, which is a great way to start 2018 — faster, fairer, and kinder for everyone in your house.

Posted by Greg Leon, Google Fiber Product Manager

Giving back to our Google Fiber communities

Friday, December 08, 2017

At Google Fiber, we are all about helping people connect -- to superfast Internet and to the possibilities it presents. In each market, we work to make that connection local and personal, and to and give our Googlers opportunities to give back to their communities. So we were very excited to take part in Giving Week from November 27 through December 1, in conjunction with other Alphabet businesses and spearheaded by Google.org, to benefit nonprofits across the country.
Giving Week is dedicated to raising not only dollars for deserving nonprofits across the country but also awareness for the important work they do and communities that they serve. Over the course of the week, teams across all Google Fiber offices worked together to raise $180,000 to support 20 organizations across 11 cities, including a company match through Google’s gift match program.
The 20 selected nonprofits cover a wide range of issues, including digital inclusion, food security, youth support, health/research, and education. Some organizations are national, while others are locally focused. For each city, Fiber Community Impact Managers helped identify the nonprofits best suited to benefit from this program. In most cases, Google Fiber team members are personally connected to these organizations and invest their time in volunteering and/or serving on board of directors to further their missions.
Tis the time of year to celebrate the incredible work and impact the nonprofit community has in each of our Google Fiber cities. We’re honored to be able to reflect and contribute to their efforts. We hope you’ll consider joining us, either by giving to one of our partner organizations (listed below) or by finding your own way to give to your community.
Happy Holidays and may your giving bringing you joy.
Included organizations: Atlanta: United Negro College Fund Power My Learning Year UP
Charlotte: Communities in Schools of Charlotte Mecklenburg
Nashville: YMCA Middle TN Conexion Americas
Austin: Lifeworks Out Youth Texas 4000 for Cancer
San Antonio: SAT Foodbank Raices
Kansas City: Love Fund for Children
Mountain View: Alzheimers Association Math Path Childrens Advocates of Silicon Valley
Huntsville: Village Of Promise
Durham: E. Durham Children's Initiative
Salt Lake City: YWCA Utah
Provo: United Way of Utah
Washington DC: Literacy Lab
Posted by Jacob Brace, Danny Cleveland, and Clark Johnston -- the Access Giving Week Team

Official Blog

Digital Inclusion Week 2018 Wrap-Up

Google Fiber’s 2017 Community Impact Report Kicks Off Digital Inclusion Week 2018

And the Gold Award goes to . . .our customers!

Black History Month at Google Fiber - An Overview and Look Back

The Spirit of Curling

Helping communities connect through art

Welcoming a new CEO to Access

Dog Days of February

Your Holiday Tech Toys Want Google Fiber

Giving back to our Google Fiber communities

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