Mountain View, CA – Google Fiber has announced the launch of a 20Gbps fiber internet service, the fastest home internet speed available in the United States.
The new 20Gbps service was announced in October 2023 and is currently in early access for select customers in cities where Google Fiber operates. It utilizes Nokia’s 25G PON fiber optic technology paired with pre-certified Wi-Fi 7 routers.
At 20Gbps, Google Fiber’s new offering is 100 times faster than the average internet speed in the U.S., which is around 200Mbps. It is aimed at power users like gamers, researchers, and businesses that need to quickly transfer large volumes of data.
“We are committed to meeting the challenge of the age of multi-gig,” said Google Fiber CEO Dinni Jain in a statement announcing the new 20Gbps service tier. “We’re working to make multi-gig speeds mainstream and accessible.”
The 20Gbps speed is enabled by passive optical network (PON) technology, which uses fiber optic cables to deliver high speeds efficiently. The service also comes with Wi-Fi 7 routers, the latest Wi-Fi standard that can fully utilize the 20Gbps bandwidth.
While only in early access in select markets currently, Google Fiber plans expanded rollouts to more cities in the future as it works to make multi-gigabit speeds standard.
Potential use cases for 20Gbps fiber internet include high-definition video streaming, lag-free gaming, rapid large file sharing, and advanced cloud computing applications. However, regular users are unlikely to need such fast speeds for typical web browsing and standard video streaming.
The 20Gbps service marks a major milestone for residential internet speeds and highlights Google Fiber’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of broadband connectivity. But only time will tell if consumer demand truly calls for such ultra-fast
