Google is buying Webpass, a heretofore independent Internet service provider, to bulk up Google Fiber effort to bring high-speed Internet to more U.S. customers.
San Francisco-based Webpass offers commercial accounts in select cities, with Internet connections from 10 to 1000 Mbps. Residential customers can get connections ranging from 100 Mbps to 1 Gig. Terms of the acquisition (announced Wednesday) were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to be completed this summer.
In a statement Webpass president Charles Barr said the combined company can “accelerate the deployment of superfast Internet connections for customers across the U.S. Webpass will remain focused on rapid deployment of high speed Internet connections for residential and commercial buildings, primarily using point to point wireless.”
That bit about wireless is especially interesting for potential customers wary of running cables everywhere.
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Many Internet users view the arrival of Google (GOOG) Fiber in their locale as a welcome break from big ISPs that often hold monopolies or near-monopolies that allow them to offer so-so service for high prices. This deal makes it clearer than ever that Google is set on taking on the cable/ISP giants of the world which include Comcast (CMCSA), Charter (CCHJW), Time-Warner (TWX), Cox, et al.
For more on Google Fiber watch:
Thirteen-year-old Webpass now offers fast Internet in its hometown, as well as Oakland, Berkeley, San Diego, Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Chicago and Boston. According to its web site, Google Fiber is now available in Atlanta; Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas); Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Provo, Utah. Service is planned for Huntsville, Alabama; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; San Francisco, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City.
Clearly Webpass will give Google Fiber a toe hold in far more communities faster than it could get there on its own.
