A technician gets cabling out of his truck to install Google Fiber in a residential home in Provo, Utah. (Photo : Reuters)
Google is bringing its high-speed Internet connection, Google Fiber, to public housing scattered in the United States in order to ensure that less fortunate students can get online whenever they want completely for free.
Google made the announcement on its Google Fiber blog with a statement, "Today, in all of our Google Fiber markets, we're launching a program to connect residents in select public and affordable housing properties for $0/month with no installation fee."
Google's new initiative is part for the ConnectHome program launched by the White House along with the US department of Housing and Urban Development, according to ZDNet. Google did not specify how many individual home will be included in the new program.
Currently, Google Fiber is available in a handful of location including Austin, Texas; Kansas City and Provo, Utah. Google is also planning to expand its Google Fiber operation in Phoenix and Portland, according to Fortune.
As part of its plan of bringing Internet into public housing residents, Google also announced that it will offer digital literacy program for people who lack basic computer education or for those who are not familiar with the Internet. Google said that an early trial of the program was undertaken and proved that half of those who signed up for the program completed and passed the training.
Other Internet service provider has also showed their intention of joining the project of bringing Internet to public housings. CenturyLink is planning to release a low-cost monthly Internet in Washington and Cox Communication is also gearing up to do the same in Louisiana.
