Google Wants to Add Wi-Fi to All Its Fiber Cities

Google wants to add Wi-Fi to extend the range of its Google Fiber high-speed Internet service and perhaps offer wireless-phone service in some areas.

When Google Fiber started in 2011 in Kansas City, Mo., it was considered by some to be an experiment. But earlier this year, Google identified 34 U.S. cities, including Phoenix, San Jose and San Antonio, as possible expansion sites, stepping up pressure on incumbent cable and Internet providers such as ComcastCMCSA -0.78%, VerizonVZ -0.73% and AT&TT -0.03%.

Google sent the new cities detailed requests for information and they have until May 1 to reply. As part of the planning process, the company circulated a document in which it said it would discuss its “Wi-Fi plans and related requirements with your city as we move forward,” according to IDG News Service, which viewed a copy of the document.

A Google spokeswoman confirmed the company’s Wi-Fi aspirations on Friday.

“We’d love to be able to bring Wi-Fi access to all of our Fiber cities, although we don’t have any specific plans to announce right now,” she said.

Google Fiber offers Internet data-transfer speeds of up to one gigabit per second into homes, much faster than most existing Internet services. A related Wi-Fi service would potentially bring that fast connectivity to whole neighborhoods, letting residents hook up mobile devices for bandwidth-hungry activities such as video streaming.

Earlier this year, tech news website The Information reported that Google may be considering a wireless phone service that partly relies on such Wi-Fi networks.