Google Fiber's Dropping Its Free Internet Plan in Kansas City for This

That subscription tier allowed customers to access the Web for a fantastic $0 per month, after they'd paid a $300 installation fee (which itself could be broken into monthly installments). In exchange, subscribers received a 5Mbps connection - fast enough for a single Netflix stream and basic Web browsing, perhaps, but not a whole lot more.

That plan has already vanished from Google Fiber's website for Kansas City. Right now, the company is advertising instead a $50-per-month plan that gives you speeds of 100Mbps - a connection that's 20 times faster than the free plan, and much more expensive.

But for low-income Kansas City residents, that won't be the only alternative replacing the free Internet plan. As part of Google Fiber's bid to provide more access to the poor, the company will begin offering on May 19 a new product to select needy areas as identified by the Census Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission and data from other sources.

Here are the details, as confirmed Monday by Google Fiber
The plan will cost $15 per month, and will offer symmetrical speeds of 25Mbps (that's 25Mbps on downloads as well as uploads). Again, it'll only be available to eligible areas.

This is on top of existing agreements to provide Google Fiber for free to public housing projects in partnership with the Obama administration.

Is this $15-a-month plan a good deal for low-income consumers who aren't covered by that partnership? Well, while the product isn't free, it does meet the FCC's current definition of broadband, which is set at 25Mbps for downloads and 3Mbps for uploads. The fact that Google Fiber will be providing a symmetrical connection is a plus - it means users will be better able to create online content, such as videos, art and other media.

The price is also pretty competitive. Broadband prices vary by location and provider, of course. But just a quick check of a couple Internet providers' websites suggests that on a cost-per-Mbps basis, the new Google Fiber tier is pretty affordable.

Comcast's program for low-income Americans, Internet Essentials, provides speeds of 10Mbps for $10 a month, working out to about $1 perMbps. To other consumers, Comcast also advertises a 25Mbps connection for $40 a month (so about $1.60 per Mbps).

Verizon, meanwhile, sells a 50Mbps connection for $50 a month, so roughly also $1 per Mbps.

By comparison, the price of Google's speed tier for low-income Americans works out to roughly $0.60 per Mbps.

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