Google Fiber Hits the Road

In an effort to drum up sales for its blend of broadband and TV services, Google Fiber is hitting the road in the Kansas City area.

Google Fiber has created a portable version of its “Fiber Space” storefront, where prospective customers can get hand-on access to the ISPs 1 Gbps broadband and subscription TV offerings, ask the hard questions, and sign up for service.

“You can follow Mobile Google Fiber’s Space’s travels via our events calendar or on our social media channels: Google+, Facebook and Twitter #fiberontheroad,” noted Annie Thompson, the Kansas City Fiber Space events manager, in a blog posted Wednesday. 

The Mobile Google Fiber Space is stopping today from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. central time  at Matney Park in Kansas City, Kan.

Google Fiber’s mobile marketing ploy is taking shape as the unit begins to ramp up network deployments this summer.  Two “fiberhoods”  in Kansas – Hanover Heights and Dub’s Dread – are already connected, with more than 20 more currently “in progress,” according to Google Fiber’s deployment plan in Kansas.  Google Fiber has not connected any homes on the Missouri side, but the process is underway there in at least 21 fiberhoods. Each fiberhood serves an area with 250 to 1,500 homes.

Outside the Kansas City area, Google Fiber has plans underway to start connecting homes in Austin, Texas, by mid-2014. Google Fiber closed a deal to acquire the iProvo network from Provo, Utah, on Monday, and is expected to reveal its deployment and upgrade plan sometime this fall.