Google Fiber hasn’t given up on Charlotte — they’ve just slowed down

Two years after the internet giant promised Charlotte super-fast internet speeds, the city has grown antsy about its progress.

Work is going slower than originally hoped as Google HQ has debated how to put in all the infrastructure in its fiber cities across the country. Extension into more cities has stalled — and the company has essentially hit the pause button on new construction in Charlotte as well.

But Google is still working on signing up new customers in both apartments and single-family homes in multiple parts of the city. They’re also continuing to put in free internet service in community areas.

Here’s what’s going on.

Remember all the big announcements? You can throw all that out the window.

In summer 2016, Google Fiber hosted a launch party for its service in Charlotte — announcing that people living in Highland Creek would be able to sign up for the ultra-fast internet service within days.

The plan was to next move south into Prosperity Village and then into central Charlotte. Within a few years, nearly the entire city limits would be covered.

That’s not how things happened.

Facing ballooning costs, Google Fiber all but shut down its program and churned through several CEOs.

In Charlotte, the company turned its attention to signing up apartment communities and de-emphasized single-family homes. Apartments are more efficient because Google can wire 300 different units in the same building, as opposed to 300 standalone structures.

But construction still plodded along across neighborhoods. Fiber went down in the Plaza Midwood area and the Park Road corridor.

City records that track utility accidents show that Google Fiber construction continued through at least the end of 2017.

What’s happening in Charlotte now?

Google Fiber says it is serving single-family homes in north and south Charlotte, plus SouthPark. The company declined to say which specific areas have access to the service.

You can look up whether a particular address has it here.

At this point, Google Fiber says it is not extending service to new areas.

“We’re currently focused on connecting as many people as possible in the areas where we’re available,” said Mary Ellen R. Player, city manager for Google Fiber Charlotte, in a statement.

The Agenda was able to determine that service has recently rolled out to certain neighborhoods in south Charlotte, including Starmount, Brandon Forest, Oberbeck Farm and Quail Hollow Estates.

It is not available in single-family neighborhoods including Barclay Downs, Chantilly, Cotswold, Seversville, Ashley Park, Ballantyne, Mountain Island Lake, Sunset Drive, Sedgefield, Myers Park or Dilworth.

Service is expanding faster in apartments and community centers.

Google Fiber currently has 30 communities up and running, most of them in the center city or toward Highland Creek, where the service first rolled out in Charlotte.

This includes the Cheshire Chase Apartments, a low-income development in the University City area. Fiber service is free of charge here, Google Fiber says.

The blue dots are apartment communities with Google Fiber already installed. The red means fiber is coming. You can see an interactive map here.

Google Fiber is also inking partnerships with community centers. The company announced this month that it has wired the 7th Street Public Market, providing free high-speed WiFi to customers.

Google Fiber has also hooked up a new city-sponsored “cyber cafe” of sorts at Camp North End dedicated to expanding internet access in the low-income area.

Progress could speed up soon.

The main reason: Google Fiber is moving to a new method of construction that uses shallower trenches. It’s cheaper and faster.

Instead of digging deep holes to bury wires and mounting utility poles, the new method called “microtrenching” cuts shallow grooves in existing pavement or sidewalks to lay a thin fiber, then covers it over.

This style of expansion allowed Google Fiber to roll out in Louisville in five months — less than half the time it’s taken in other cities.

Google is expected to use this construction method in Charlotte.

AT&T’s fiber service has expanded faster.

Google wasn’t the only company expanding fiber internet service. AT&T blitzed Charlotte with construction as well, and today appears to have a broader service network in the city.

AT&T lists 1,551 fiber customers in Charlotte on this map, but it appears to be restricted to apartment communities.

AT&T is still expanding fiber to new cities.