Google Fiber Gaining 5 Gbps and 8 Gbps Internet Tiers in Early 2023

Google Fiber
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google announced it would introduce significantly faster fiber broadband services early next year. Two new speed tiers are being introduced to the Google Fiber stables: 5 Gbps ($125/month) and 8 Gbps ($150/month) services. These will be symmetrical services where upload and download speeds are equal. In addition, Google will provide subscribers with Wi-Fi 6 routers and up to two mesh extenders to deliver robust internet speeds throughout their households.

In September, the Google Fiber Connect blog teased that employees were testing a symmetrical >20 Gbps service in Kansas, so readers might be a little disappointed by the announcement of 8 Gbps speeds, at best, today. However, Google has kept the offerings it has created symmetrical, will eschew data caps, will not impose installation fees, and claims that it will maintain “accessible prices.” So, how do the new Google Fiber offerings shape up compared to what already exists? Check out our features and pricing comparison table below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

GFiber 1 Gig

GFiber 2 Gig

GFiber 5 Gig

GFiber 8 Gig

Down / up speeds

1 Gbps / 1 Gbps

2 Gbps / 1 Gbps

5 Gbps / 5 Gbps

8 Gbps / 8 Gbps

Price per month

$70

$100

$125

$150

$ per Gbps

$70

$50

$25

$19

What is startling from the above is what poor value the entry-level service of 1 Gbps appears to be in light of the new, faster services using the dollar-per-Gig metric. Of course, there are fixed costs to providing the connectivity and equipment to any premises, and many customers may see no need for >1 Gbps speeds.

Google Fiber gets faster options

(Image credit: Google)

Google addresses the above gripe in its blog post by asking, "Who needs 5 Gig and 8 Gig?" The answer is customers who want to be ready for the next great bandwidth-hungry developments of the internet age, as well as “creative professionals, people working in the cloud or with large data, households with large shared internet demands.” In other words, any pastime or job where large file transfers are necessary should benefit from the faster speeds, and Google also hints at reduced lag in time-sensitive operations like share dealing and FOREX – but doesn’t specifically mention gaming.

The first regions to access these new, faster Google Fiber tiers will be Utah, Kansas City and West Des Moines via early test programs. Interested parties and existing customers should register their interest here for retail rollout in early 2023. Near the end of its blog, Google said 20 Gbps services were still in testing, so we can hold onto hope that there will be further faster GFiber tiers added in the coming months. In the meantime, Google could really do something about ‘accessibility’ if it flattened out the dollar-per-Gig metric for its 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps service users.

Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

  • hotaru251
    would give my left (and right) nut if they'd actually expand coverage...

    so many ppl would switch to them.
    Reply
  • jeremyj_83
    8Gbps internet is awesome until you realize you need $10k+ worth of equipment just to be able to utilize that speed.
    Reply
  • pixelpusher220
    jeremyj_83 said:
    8Gbps internet is awesome until you realize you need $10k+ worth of equipment just to be able to utilize that speed.
    I think Alexa literally thinks for you at this speed
    Reply
  • pixelpusher220
    hotaru251 said:
    would give my left (and right) nut if they'd actually expand coverage...

    so many ppl would switch to them.
    I think they're starting to expand a little again, but yeah, it's just f'n cruel to leave so many of us with Comcast.
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    pixelpusher220 said:
    I think they're starting to expand a little again, but yeah, it's just f'n cruel to leave so many of us with Comcast.
    again i'd give a lot for reliable fast net and give comcast the finger finally..
    regional monopolies suck x_x
    Reply
  • PlaneInTheSky
    8Gbps internet is awesome until you realize you need $10k+ worth of equipment just to be able to utilize that speed.

    $10k+ ?

    A 10Gbit ethernet card is literally $80 and high-end mobo already have 10Gbit ethernet.

    Any recent SSD writes far faster than 10Gbit/s.
    Reply
  • Ogotai
    PlaneInTheSky said:
    $10k+ ?

    A 10Gbit ethernet card is literally $80 and high-end mobo already have 10Gbit ethernet.

    Any recent SSD writes far faster than 10Gbit/s.
    maybe not 10k+ but you are also forgetting about the possible switch if you have more then 1 comp in the house. those from what i have found are still quite pricey ( here at least )
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Future thread here:

    "We got 5Gbps from google. My fps in Fortnite didn't go up. How do I fix this?"
    Reply
  • CaR0nTe
    I'm surprissed with that info. I live in Madrid @ spain and I have 10/10gbps since 2 years ago for 25$. A 10gbps nic 80$ and qnap sw with 10/2.5 ports for 250$...
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Ogotai said:
    maybe not 10k+ but you are also forgetting about the possible switch if you have more then 1 comp in the house. those from what i have found are still quite pricey ( here at least )
    In March of 2020, I got a Netgear MS510TX switch with 1 SFP+ port, 1x 10 gigabit port, 2x 5 gigabit ports, 2x 2.5 gigabit ports, and 4x 1 gigabit ports. It cost < $300.

    That switch seems to have been replaced by the MS510TXM, which is sadly selling for about 2x as much, but the good part is that it has 4x 2.5 gigabit ports, 4x 10 gig ports, and 2x SFP+.

    Here's their current lineup of multi-gig switches: https://www.netgear.com/business/wired/switches/multi-gig/
    Reply