After launching a beta program just months ago, Google Fiber has announced that its 2 Gbps “2 Gig” tier is now widely available in Nashville and Huntsville. The plan costs $100 a month, compared to $70 for the 1 Gbps, and includes a WiFi 6 Multi-Gig Router, tri-band Mesh Extender and professional installation.
Google Fiber said 2 Gig is “ready for power users, the latest devices, and advanced smart homes that use lots of internet.” The company said you can download a typical 4K film in just 1.2 minutes, or a 10GB game in 42.2 seconds. Even a heavy game like the 150GB Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 will only take about 11 minutes. Keep in mind that uploads only operate at 1Gbps, however.
Google notes that you won’t be waiting around for “massive system updates,” and it’ll also be ideal for smart homes, video conferencing and work-from-home. The router is mainly designed to let multiple people share the extra speed. However, if you want all the gigs to yourself, the router supports 4x4 MU-MIMO WiFi 6 speeds at 2.4GHz and 5GHz, which can handle a 2 Gbps connection — but your laptop or smartphone likely can’t. The Mesh extender also supports 4x4 MU-MIMO speeds but only at 5GHz. It also has two 1 Gbps ethernet ports.
The Multi-Gig router has one 10G Ethernet port, though Google hasn’t specified yet whether that’s a copper RJ45 or optical SFP+ connection. If it’s the latter, you’ll need a bunch of other hardware to connect your computer at 2 Gbps speeds. And again, few if any PCs support those speeds natively, so you’ll likely need an adapter. If a mere 1 Gbps is good enough, however, it also has a 4-port autosensing 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet LAN switch. Other connections include an FXS POTS phone port and a USB 3.0 master port.
When will other communities see these speeds? Google Fiber currently has services in 19 cities and plans launch 2 Gig in “most” of them by early next year.
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