The GFiber blog is your home for GFiber news and updates

When asked to describe the impact of gFiber’s partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Pocatello and Chubbuck in one word, Executive Director Mona Mannan said: "opportunity."

"GFiber is not just funding programming for the kids, it’s actually giving the program the opportunity that these kids and these families wouldn't usually have. [It's] investing in the future of people in Pocatello... we're removing barriers." — Mona Mannan

For local families, this partnership is more than just a summertime activity; it is a dedicated educational space for skill building. Each summer, the Club has provided youth with a safe environment while their parents are at work but, instead of sitting with tablets these elementary students are diving into real-world concepts. From designing electricity boards, building miniature robotics, lava lamps, and planning pathways for toy cars - this STEM curriculum is designed to stimulate screen-free, hands-on critical thinking. 

"There are hardly any screens, outside of movie day which happens every few weeks," Mannan explained. "It’s all hands-on learning. We want them working with their hands, building, working together in groups, and staying active daily so they don't experience summer learning loss." Summer learning loss refers to knowledge or skills that fade when children are not mentally engaged on a regular basis like they are while at school. At the Boys and Girls Club of Pocatello and Chubbuck, this screen-free intention around learning is to motivate students to build their ideas offline and take their learning into the real world to see what actually works to improve their favorite experiments. Through GFiber’s support the learning experiences happen outside of the Club too, with field trips to Zoo Idaho focusing on biology and the bowling alley for a fun lesson on mass and force.  

The enrichment doesn’t stop when summer ends either, The Boys and Girls Club transitions into an after-school program that follows the District 25 calendar. Students receive homework support during "Power Hour," participate in a brand new expanded music program, and connect with community mentors from the fire department, police department, and Idaho State University student volunteers. The Club also utilizes trauma-informed care training to ensure staff can deeply support children from all backgrounds. This is made possible through strong community alliances and gFiber’s $10,000 annual contribution to the Club. Every dollar donated goes straight back into local operation, programming, and scholarships.

There is an alignment between GFiber’s mission and the Club’s goal of helping youth reach their full potential, as both organizations are dedicated to building a brighter, more connected future. For Mannan, the relationship is built on mutual respect and shared energy, personified by GFiber’s area representative Alberto Garcia, who initiated the partnership. "This has been amazing support for us to grow our program," Mannan shared. "You guys are really an important part of this community."

My first job in America was with an air filter company.

I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2007, my family and I were living in Ireland, and I worked as a civil servant. That year, my wife and I packed up our lives, took our three-year-old daughter, and moved to America with just two suitcases and no jobs waiting for us. We had a place to stay in Florida for two weeks. I never would have guessed that I’d end up running two companies in North Carolina, or that having fast internet would become so important to keeping them going.

Not long after we arrived, I started working for a small company that made air filters. I had never worked out of a truck or visited customers face-to-face before. Getting out, meeting people, and doing hands-on work suited me much better than sitting at a desk all day.

Six months after arriving in the States, we came to North Carolina, where we’ve been ever since. I stayed in the HVAC field, working for AIRCON Service Group, primarily serving commercial clients. After nearly 20 years in the business, my partner Tim Hobbs and I bought the company in 2019.

COVID hit just a year later, and life got more complicated for everyone. But for us, it also opened up an unexpected opportunity. My commercial customers started asking about indoor air quality and better filters. I knew the options out there weren’t good enough. So, I spent the next year and a half developing a new product. I did the prototyping myself, and eventually, we created our own air filter. We launched FiltersDirectUSA in 2022, making the filters right here in Garner, North Carolina, and today we ship to customers in 34 states. The filters are made from recycled plastic, and with help from our partner, the nonprofit Tidey Ocean, we remove a pound of plastic from the ocean with every order.

Today, I run the companies with almost 20 employees, an office in Garner, and my home in Holly Springs. Staying connected is crucial. Switching to high-speed fiber made a big difference for both companies.

We got GFiber in our Garner office first. We usually have five or six people working on computers at the same time, using different programs for accounting, dispatch, Shopify orders, and email marketing. With our old provider, things would slow down and lag. Now, everything runs smoothly, all day, every day.

A key part of FiltersDirectUSA is the live chat on our Shopify store, which I manage myself. When customers visit and have questions, I need to answer while they’re still online. Whether I’m at my desk in Garner or at home in Holly Springs, I have to respond quickly. Reliable internet is a must.

When GFiber became available in Holly Springs, we switched right away. Before that, I bought a mesh system to improve coverage, but it sat unused for almost a year because it was too hard to set up, even for someone who’s pretty good with technology.

GFiber got our home network set up in our initial installation visit,and it was so easy. We have one extender downstairs and one upstairs, so now the whole house and even the backyard have coverage. 

Our install tech also helped also got us set up with the GFiber app. The parental controls are really helpful. We have three kids — 22, 17, and 11 — so each one has their own schedule. The app lets me set separate cutoffs for my 17-year-old son’s phone and gaming console. If I didn’t, he’d be gaming and on TikTok way past bedtime.

It’s funny that I limit my son’s TikTok time, but I use the app myself to market FiltersDirectUSA and even sell through a TikTok Shop. I film most of our business videos at home, and sometimes neighbors help out with product shoots. With a fast, reliable connection, I don’t have to worry about buffering or losing video quality.

I never imagined I’d own even one business, let alone two. Ours really is an “only in America” story. We’re making air filters in North Carolina, shipping them all over the country, and doing our best to stay connected so that both businesses run smoothly. It also means I get to enjoy fast internet at home, and make sure my son isn’t up gaming at midnight!

Posted by Mark McNally, Co-Founder & CEO FiltersDirectUSA, and Vice President, AIRCON Service Group 

Our small business blog series, Connected by GFiber, continues! This time, we’re featuring Jay Langley, owner of High Performance Marketing in Raleigh, North Carolina, who shares how GFiber’s fast, reliable internet transformed the way his print shop operates day to day.

For nearly thirty years, High Performance Marketing has managed everything from big direct mail campaigns to custom print jobs. Some projects are large and corporate, while others are more personal, like the wedding invitations I recently printed for my niece. Whether it’s a 10,000-piece mailing or a unique project, every job depends on moving large files quickly and reliably from our clients to our printers. Our printers are powerful machines that need a steady stream of data to keep production going.

An example of work provided from High Performance Marketing, showing their support of local business print needs.

For years, we used whatever internet service we could get. Like many small business owners, I faced rising costs, spotty performance, and limits that made it hard to grow. I even tried a VoIP phone system early on, but the call quality wasn’t good enough, so we switched back to a regular landline.

Then GFiber arrived at our office park.

When I saw the announcement, I wanted to sign up right away. But our building didn’t have the needed infrastructure yet. Instead of waiting, I decided to help get things moving.

Over several days, I worked with the GFiber installation team and coordinated with the 18 unit owners in our building. I sent out information ahead of time, helped arrange access to each space, and supported the installation in all units. It took effort, but I knew it would pay off.

And it definitely has.

Once we were set up, the difference was clear right away. One of the first things I did was try VoIP again, and this time, it worked just as I had hoped. Calls are clear and steady, without the issues we had before. Now, our phone system runs fully over the internet and works reliably every day.

On the production side, the change is just as big. We often get files that are 100 megabytes or more, with several rounds of revisions and approvals before printing. What used to slow us down is now smooth. Files move fast, approvals are quicker, and we can start jobs without delay.

Just as important, the connection is reliable when we need it most. In our business, downtime can throw off the whole schedule, so having a steady connection really matters.

And then there’s the cost. We’re getting faster, more reliable service than before, and it’s a better value too.

For a small business like ours, having speed, reliability, and simplicity really changes everything. In short, GFiber is a game-changer. If you’re considering fiber for your business, my advice is simple: I don’t know why you wouldn’t make the switch.

Posted by Jay Langley, Owner, High Performance Marketing

At Good Work Austin, our work is about nourishing the people who nourish our city. We believe the heart of our city lies in its food and beverage scene, but that it must be equitable and accessible. Our organization, in collaboration with a network of local restaurants, is fostering sustainable careers through professional development and advocacy. 

Good Work Austin is dedicated to improving healthcare access, identifying healthy workplaces, and providing culinary training for those facing barriers to employment. Our Culinary Workforce Training program is a free nine-week course that helps students find a living-wage job in the food and beverage industry. Students learn culinary skills from some of the best chefs in Austin while receiving a stipend to support themselves for the duration of the program. 

In partnership with GFiber, we identified a major, often overlooked barrier to employment: the digital divide. With job applications and information available mainly online, our students need internet access to get their foot in the door. Digital equity broadens employment opportunities, while our program provides the skills to get hired. 

To bridge the digital divide, GFiber funded a pilot program to equip our students with Google Chromebooks, available for them to use throughout the program and keep after graduating. These laptops allow our students to fully participate in training, build digital literacy skills, and secure employment at the end of the program. 

Access to technology is a critical barrier in workforce development, and these computers have been life changing. Brianna, one of our culinary trainees, shared her experience, “Instantly, I felt special. Like the community, businesses, donors, and GWA truly cared about us and our growth. I was already invested and motivated to do well in this program and elevate my life; to have others be as invested is a true gift. Thank you to all that contributed to providing us with laptops, especially GFiber.”

Over the past decade, Care Beyond the Boulevard (CBB) has provided care to more than 11,000 unhoused, uninsured, and underserved individuals in Kansas City, supported by more than 500 volunteers and thousands of hours of service.

Wi-Fi 7 is the latest wireless standard, but what makes the GFiber experience different? This Q&A guide is for current customers and those considering GFiber multi-gig service who want a technical breakdown of the new features of GFiber's premium, custom-engineered, multi-gig hardware product. 

At its core, the internet isn’t just about infrastructure and equipment—it’s the fuel our lives run on and the possibilities it unlocks for us everyday. For over a decade, we’ve been on a mission to push the boundaries of what home connectivity can be and create the internet provider we all want to have. We’ve been using GFiber as our primary name for over a year, and it’s time to make it official—Google Fiber is now GFiber. You’ll see it everywhere you see us! GFiber has been a nickname since our early days and we’re fully embracing the simplicity and energy that comes with that name.

Stonepeak to become majority shareholder in new venture combining GFiber and Astound Broadband; Alphabet to retain minority stake

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, and NEW YORK, NY — March 11, 2026 — GFiber (formerly Google Fiber) and Stonepeak today announced that they have entered an agreement to combine GFiber with Astound Broadband, creating a leading independent fiber provider. The new company will be majority owned by Stonepeak, an investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets. Alphabet will remain a significant minority shareholder, reflecting its confidence in GFiber’s growth opportunity and leadership.

Vegas is officially a GFiber city! We’re celebrating our first connections and the opening of our new local office. Whether you need the simple reliability of Core 1 Gig or the limit-pushing power of Edge 8 Gig, we’re here to help you internet your way.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—unless it’s 8 Gig internet. Then, it travels at the speed of light.