Report: Google Fiber Could be Spun Off or Sold in 2017 After the company scaled back its ambitions last year a report suggests that Alphabet may be looking to spin off or sell Google Fiber sometime in the new year. The Information's paywalled report doesn't really offer any hard evidence of this claim, simply citing companies like CenturyLink as possible buyers should Google Fiber get tired of the telecom business. Google Fiber booted its CEO and a small number of employees last year after executives apparently got tired of the time consuming nature of the fiber build and the underwhelming uptake by consumers.

It's worth reiterating that The Information report is based largely on speculation, and doesn't even manage to cite anonymous insiders in its assessment of the potential sale. Google Fiber continues to insist the company remains dedicated to broadband and is simply re-assessing its options to consider next-generation wireless as a cornerstone of its deployments moving forward. And while Google Fiber CEO Craig Barratt left in October and has not been replaced, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat told attendees of a recent conference call that the company was "making great progress" and remained "committed to growth" in more than a dozen initial markets. The company has stated that fiber deployment will continue in the company's existing markets (Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City, Nashville, Provo, Salt Lake City, and The Triangle in North Carolina). The company also says it remains dedicated to promised deployment plans in Huntsville, Alabama; San Antonio, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; and Irvine, California. If Google Fiber does get sold, it should prove interesting to see which company wants to take on such an investment. Many of the companies that might have found interest in such an effort years ago have since shifted their focus to either content and advertising (AT&T, Verizon) or enterprise and small business offerings. If Google Fiber isn't looking for the exit, the company needs to begin to more clearly communicate that in the new year. If Google Fiber does get sold, it should prove interesting to see which company wants to take on such an investment. Many of the companies that might have found interest in such an effort years ago have since shifted their focus to either content and advertising (AT&T, Verizon) or enterprise and small business offerings. If Google Fiber isn't looking for the exit, the company needs to begin to more clearly communicate that in the new year.







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Most recommended from 56 comments



GlennLouEarl

3 brothers, 1 gone

Premium Member

join:2002-11-17

Richmond, VA 24 recommendations GlennLouEarl Premium Member The difference between this speculation and fake news is... a paywall. existenz

join:2014-02-12 12 recommendations existenz Member Consider the source While it's completely realistic Google Fiber will be sold off in the future, consider that the source is 'The Information', which incorrectly claimed that Google Fiber cut half of its staff several months ago. They are the only source making the claim.



Meanwhile, GF is testing their 3rd Gen hardware in KC (4K TV support and Wave 2 AC Wifi according to leaks) and continuing software updates. radougherty

join:1999-07-23

Austin, TX 10 recommendations radougherty Member Maybe the new build out method will change their minds? Recently in Austin they changed from the old way of laying the underground fiber to a new way of trenching along the curb on the road, which is making things go much quicker. At my sons house it was only about four weeks from the time they first started laying cable until they were running fiber to his home. shmerl

join:2013-10-21 930.5 953.2

6 recommendations shmerl Member What does it mean "tired"? It's either profitable (in some reasonable term), or not. It's not about being "tired". Unless it means that work conditions are so horrible, that workers refuse to pull fiber for the money they are offered to do it.



And if it is proiftable, then why should Alphabet/Google sell it? Let them grow, even if it's not as rapid as they expected. Instead of selling, Google can buy something like Verizon FiOS for example. boredsysadm

join:2012-01-11 ·Optimum Online

4 recommendations boredsysadm Member Nothing more than speculation This is probably most important and true line of this article: "It's worth reiterating that The Information report is based largely on speculation, and doesn't even manage to cite anonymous insiders in its assessment of the potential sale."



It's nothing but speculation or as some like to call it - Market Analysis. It's not a report per-se. No more relevant than any guest post on Seeking Alpha blog. WhatNow

Premium Member

join:2009-05-06

Charlotte, NC 4 recommendations WhatNow Premium Member Googles waits too long In almost everything but search Google takes to long to do a full release. The did all the expensive early research work on self driving cars and now everyone else is passing them. Maybe they are racking in money on patents. They had Facebook beat with Google + but when everybody wanted it it was restricted. By the time they opened it to everyone no one cared. They may have taken too long to really get service outside of KC. In NC Att is much further along with their fiber build in the Triangle and Charlotte. They have announced they were going to do a complete fiber built out that may be into the counties surrounding Charlotte. By the time Google gets finished Att will have grabbed a large percentage of the fiber customers. People may drop Att when GF finally gets their neighborhood finished. If Att can grab the new street curb cable placement they might get there first which would make it harder for GF to be second placing their cable. ISurfTooMuch

join:2007-04-23

Tuscaloosa, AL 3 recommendations ISurfTooMuch Member Not that I believe this, but... I don't really believe Google is going to sell GF, but, if they did, I wonder if C Spire would be a potential buyer. They've been aggressively deploying FTTH in Mississippi and don't have an aging wireline infrastructure to nurse along. The only question is if they have the funding sources to pull off such an acquisition.

Packeteers

Premium Member

join:2005-06-18

Forest Hills, NY 2 recommendations Packeteers Premium Member sell to municipalities google should sell parts to each city to form the basis of a municipal fiber system, then each city can develop it further or outsource it's management. since google is cash rich, they can even finance the purchaser.