Alphabet Pauses Google Fiber Rollout, Mulls Future of Brand
posted Sunday Oct 30, 2016 by Scott Ertz
In August, Google Fiber began the process of scaling back their operations. The brand has failed to meet their goals, or even come close to hitting their goals: only 200,000 subscribers instead of 1 million. This came shortly after purchasing Webpass, a company that provides a similar service, but entirely wirelessly, in high-capacity areas.
This week, the company publicly announced their plans to scale back and make a decision on the future of the brand. Access, the company within Alphabet that is responsible for Google Fiber, will not be taking applications for new cities for installation, and any cities that have been announced for future expansion, but whose rollout has not begun, will be put on hold.
As part of the exploration pause, Access will also be removing their offices and personnel. Current Access CEO Craig Barratt has stated that he hopes that these cities will understand this technological imperative and will still be open to discussions once all decisions have been made for future deployments.
In addition to pausing the installation, Barratt has announced that this transitional time for Access is the perfect opportunity for him to step aside as CEO. There is no telling who will replace him in the role, but it is likely that Alphabet leadership will replace him sooner rather than later. A turnaround plan like this can only be successful if there is a talented leader running the show. As for Barratt, he will be staying on in an advisor role, so he is not going anywhere just yet.