2021 is coming to a close, and what a year it has been. 

As the pandemic has continued to shape what normal looks like and we all figure out how to work, learn, connect, and be in the world now, quality internet and ensuring access for more people has become a central focus not just for Google Fiber, but for many of our communities across the country. That’s a huge opportunity and responsibility for us and we’re working to make 2022 and beyond even more connected.

Taking it farther faster

In 2021, we built to more households than in any other year. Many of the communities we announced this year around the country already have service, including South Salt Lake, Holladay, Taylorsville, Millcreek and North Salt Lake in Utah; Concord and Matthews in North Carolina; and Leon Valley in Texas. 

While we still have a lot of work to do in many of our communities to bring access to as many people as possible, we continue to make our build processes more efficient and less disruptive. This will be a focus area for our teams across the country leading into 2022, as we expect to expand even more next year.

More internet for everything

In 2021, the rollout of our new 2 Gig service demonstrated just how much demand for internet had increased. It wasn’t just those working at home and gamers opting to up to double their download speeds (although they liked it, too!), we saw households of all varieties taking advantage of the opportunity to get more out of their internet. 

With increased demand across all our products, we worked to ensure our network was there when our customers needed it, increasing capacity across all points of the network right up to improving the in-home Wi-Fi experience. In 2022, we’ll continue to work to make our customers’ fast, reliable internet even better.

Helping communities thrive

While a lot of great things happened in 2021, the pandemic continued to pose challenges for many of our customers and our cities. With the internet’s increasingly central role in our daily lives, we saw many more organizations stepping into digital equity work. To meet that demand, we expanded our partnership with NTEN to support 11 fellows in eight Google Fiber cities. We’ve continued to work with partners across the country to help more people access the internet and develop the skills to take advantage of online opportunities. 

This year, thousands of people participated in Google Fiber-funded programs in our communities through over 170 different local organizations across the country, from trainings to device distributions to STEM events. 

We also provided gigabit internet at no cost to more than 440 organizations this year to allow them to meet the needs of their clients and their work in the community through our Community Connections program, and provided gigabit internet at no cost to over 3,500 households through the Gigabit Community program. 

Growing the Google Fiber team

This year, we’ve grown both our central and our local city teams to help keep up with our expanded efforts across the country. We recently launched a new Google Fiber careers site to help candidates find us, and we’re still hiring! We have hundreds of open roles, so if all this sounds like an interesting, rewarding way to make a difference, then maybe you should join us. One thing is certain, 2022 is not going to be dull around here. 

Posted by the Google Fiber Team

Google Fiber got our start in Kansas City over a decade ago. A lot has happened in the area since then — we’ve won a World Series AND a Super Bowl — and KC has evolved as a hub of tech innovation. We’d like to think Google Fiber played a role in that (the tech piece, not taking credit for the city’s sports successes although we’re big fans!). 

Our KC team celebrating the 2020 Super Bowl

As Kansas City has grown, so has Google Fiber’s network. We’ve continued to build out our network across both sides of the state line, serving Brookside, the Northland, Overland Park, Argentine, Lee’s Summit, Olathe, Raymore and many many more neighborhoods and municipalities across the metro area. In fact, just last month, Belton’s City Council approved Google Fiber to start work in their community, and we expect to start offering service there by the second half of next year.

KC is our hometown and we’re always looking for new ways to connect with our community and our customers. In addition to our Westport Road and KC North locations, we recently opened another retail option for customers, a kiosk in Oak Park Mall, which will make it even more convenient for people to check out new products and talk to our service team. The new space opened earlier this month and is open during regular mall hours.

Google Fiber is also continuing to make it easier for more people in Kansas City to access quality internet and put it to use to improve their lives. This year, the Google Fiber sponsored NTEN Digital Inclusion Fellow, Katherine Maloney, Director of Workforce Development at Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas, to support new programming to help their clients take advantage of digital opportunities in our areas and build skills for the current economic environment. Katherine is focusing on expanding digital skills training opportunities to assist people with online navigation of their career goals. Goodwill uses a Mobile Workforce Unit to bring digital skills training to where the people are. Additionally, Goodwill is adopting the NDIA Digital Navigator Model to support local residents with gaining access to devices and broadband internet in their homes.  

No matter how much things change, one thing is certain: Kansas City is the center of all things Google Fiber. We look forward to keeping things up-to-date with our community and continuing to build our next chapter here. (And if you missed it last week, check out our own Carlos Casas in our career site launch video and learn more about our open positions - join our team!)

Posted by Carlos Casas, Head of Sales; Andy Simpson, Head of Technical Operations; and Rachel Merlo, Government & Community Affairs Manager.

Google Fiber is launching a new careers site (fiber.google.com/careers) to make it easier for candidates to find the right role and to provide more information about what it’s like working here. Browse the latest job listings for both local and remote roles, along with information about our workplace culture and perspectives from our employees. 

Finding the right people is one of the most important tasks any company takes on, and that’s true at Google Fiber. We’re committed to ensuring we can provide our customers with an incredible product paired with exceptional service, and having a great team is essential to doing that. And it doesn’t hurt that we like each other quite a bit, too. But don’t take our word for it, check out the video below to hear from team members across the country about what makes Google Fiber the right place for them (and potentially for you, too!)