Google Fiber Chief Craig Barratt Exits Amid Strategy Shift
October 25 2016 - 10:20PM
Dow Jones News
Google's high-speed internet plans are slowing down.
Google Fiber chief Craig Barratt stepped down on Tuesday amid a
shift in strategy for Alphabet Inc.'s internet service that
includes laying off 9% of its workforce and trimming service plans
for 11 U.S. metro areas, according to a person familiar with the
matter.
Google Fiber has spent hundreds of millions dollars digging up
streets and laying fiber-optic cables to offer web connections
roughly 30 times faster than the U.S. average. The service has
reached eight metro areas since its launch in 2012.
Alphabet is making changes after initial rollouts proved pricier
and slower than expected. The company is now exploring using
wireless technology to connect homes and businesses, hoping it can
save money and accelerate expansion. In July, Alphabet bought
internet provider Webpass Inc., which uses wireless technology to
connect more than 800 apartment buildings in five metro areas.
In previously planned Google Fiber cities, "we're going to pause
our operations and offices while we refine our approaches," Mr.
Barratt said in a blog post. "We're confident we'll have an
opportunity to resume our partnership discussions once we've
advanced our technologies and solutions."
Mr. Barratt said there won't be changes to cities where Google
Fiber is already active—including Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., and
Austin, Texas—or where construction is under way.
Google Fiber is suspending plans to serve eight metro areas,
including Dallas, Los Angeles and Phoenix. In three other metro
areas—Chicago, San Diego and San Francisco—Google Fiber is halting
previous fiber-based plans, but will continue to serve some
residents there wirelessly via Webpass.
Mr. Barratt, who joined Google in 2013, said he would stay on as
an adviser to the company.
Write to Jack Nicas at jack.nicas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2016 22:05 ET (02:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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