An upgraded network to deliver next generation multi-gig internet service
May 21 2024 - 8:00AM
GFiber strives to be an internet company for the next generation of
Internet users — meeting the challenges of today and building for
the demands of tomorrow. This only happens by anticipating what’s
coming and being ready for it before it gets here. GFiber aims to
always be one step ahead so customers never have to worry about
their internet. From continuing to push multi-gig speeds to the
home and in the home to using AI and machine learning across many
facets of the business, the team at GFiber is working to make next
gen internet the reality right now.
A Modern Network Built for Today. . .and
Tomorrow
Last month, GFiber rolled out 5 Gig and 8 Gig in San Antonio and
has been making announcements like this regularly over the last 15
months. This milestone marks a huge step forward for GFiber’s
entire network and its ability to serve customers well into the
future. With the San Antonio launch, nearly all GFiber customers in
single family homes can get the full range of symmetrical multi-gig
products. This is a fundamentally different way to deploy a better
network. GFiber is upgrading its entire network infrastructure —
proactively replacing its GPON network with XGS PON — not picking
and choosing specific neighborhoods or streets, to ensure it has a
cutting-edge network for today and one that can support customers’
future internet needs.
This also means that no matter the age of the network — whether
in GFiber’s “hometown” of Kansas City or its newest metro of Omaha
— GFiber customers are served by the same state-of-the-art network
architecture. GFiber is investing in the holistic customer
experience to ensure that customers have exactly what they need
when it comes to their internet. To do this right, speed to the
home, speed in the home, and the quality and reliability of that
speed are all equally important. By the end of 2024, GFiber expects
almost all new customers to be on XGS infrastructure, which will
set them up for future needs. The internet service provider is also
deploying Nokia 25G PON technology across its cities to go beyond 8
Gig (more on that later).
Powerful Wi-Fi that Complements GFiber’s
Network
But speed to the home is just the beginning. No matter how much
internet is coming into someone’s home, Wi-Fi will dictate the
speed reality for the vast majority of customers. GFiber is just as
obsessed with speed in the home; that is, speed over Wi-Fi. Over
the past year, the team has retired legacy routers and moved to
deploy Wi-Fi 6E to all new customers. Additionally, GFiber
proactively replaced its legacy network boxes with newer devices
and all 1 Gig+ products include mesh extenders — both at no cost to
customers. And by the end of 2024, GFiber is planning to
incorporate new Wi-Fi 7 devices into its offerings as they become
readily available and is already using a custom-built Wi-Fi 7
solution with its GFiber Labs 20 Gig product.
These advances make multi-gig speeds over Wi-Fi possible. More
importantly, they ensure that customers get the experience they
expect and that they can truly use the internet they are paying
for. Consumer devices and apps will continue to evolve to be able
to harness more and more speed. As GFiber customers upgrade their
devices, they will be rewarded with speed boosts because they
already have the right network, routers and extenders in their
homes.
Quality you can count on – literally
GFiber’s quality of service approach doesn’t stop at the front
door. To make sure that they’re delivering on the service promise,
GFiber continues to up their game to keep the network strong.
Additionally, the team is doing proactive sweeps of the entire
network daily and using advanced telemetry technologies to monitor
both the network and equipment. GFiber technicians and support reps
also have these same tools.
At GFiber, it is important that customers have visibility into
the quality of their in-home internet experience, so the internet
service provider is launching a personalized home network quality
score in the next few months, which will sum up the robustness of
the network for each customer on connectivity, speed, and coverage
— all the way to the GFiber Wi-Fi router and beyond to the mesh
extender. It includes the quality of the internet coming into their
home and to the router, how well their network is working inside
their home, down to whether the extender is positioned ideally in
the home to maximize coverage. Through the GFiber App, customers
will have more transparency into their network, and have the tools
they need to ensure their network is working as intended.
Preparing for what’s next — GFiber Labs
This is really just the beginning. How our society uses the
internet is only getting more advanced and what we demand of our
network today will seem laughable in retrospect. GFiber Labs is
aiming to take on this challenge, in partnership with other
companies, working to push the internet forward. GFiber announced
that it would be deploying Nokia 25G PON to offer symmetrical 20
Gig in every city by the end of 2024. The team has begun
incremental upgrades from XGS to 25G as part of GFiber Labs early
access to this product. Response was incredible, as GFiber had over
4000 people express interest in being one of the first to try out
20 Gig, and they started installs in the Triangle in North Carolina
in April.
There have already been incredible cases from some of the 20 Gig
testers. Austin PBS is using 20 Gig to upload the entire archive of
50 years of Austin City Limits, and in Provo, the United Way of
Utah County is putting 20 Gig to work to serve the community and
better connect their clients.
GFiber’s goal is to anticipate what’s coming and build the ISP
for the next generation of internet customers. Everything is at
stake – the customers, employees, a better internet and an
innovative online experience that drives progress across the
industry for all. GFiber is actively working to be better at every
point in the internet delivery process and to help move the entire
ecosystem forward. This isn’t just the next gen internet we know
that customers deserve, it’s the one they will need.
For more, check out Chief Technology & Product Officer John
Keib’s recent post on Connect: The GFiber Blog.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ac34641c-7903-4540-b3db-2fb947a7ac2e
Media inquiries: fiber-pr@google.com