TEGA CAY, S.C. — Google Fiber, the high-speed internet service offered by Google, will soon be available in Tega Cay, South Carolina.
Gov. Henry McMaster joined Tega Cay leaders and Google Fiber representatives Wednesday to announce the service will make its debut in the city next year, as a competitively priced alternative to Comporium.
“That service has been with us for years and it has been the only service and nobody’s had a choice," Tega Cay Mayor Chris Gray said. "So, at this point and time, now folks will have a choice as to whether they’d like to stay with their own service or go with a new service.”
More competition could mean lower costs and faster internet speeds for customers, according to representatives with Google Fiber who say their service has clear benefits.
“Super-fast for gamers, people who work from home, for people who need a lot of bandwidth," Jess George, head of digital equity and community impact with Google Fiber, said. "I don’t know if you have a lot of streaming TVs in your home, but you can start to see how you might need more capacity.”
Tega Cay is the first South Carolina city to introduce Google Fiber. Construction for the new network is set to begin next spring with services expected to be available late next year.
In a statement regarding the new service, Comporium's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Matthew Dosch said, "Competition has been a part of our industry for decades. Comporium will continue to focus on our customers’ needs by providing industry-leading technology, superior customer service, and same-day outage responses just like we have since the first streets were laid in Tega Cay."
He added, "We were the first provider to bring gigabit fiber services to the area ten years ago, and we are hard at work planning the roll-out of next generation multigigabit services starting next year.”
Joe Morford has lived in Tega Cay with his family for about five years. He said he's happy with his Comporium service, but believes options can't hurt.
“I think with anything it’s nice to have more than one option," Morford said. "Whether its customer service wise or just the service, the speed."
Google recently announced it would launch its 8-gigabit service in Charlotte. Representatives say expanding into Tega Cay was a natural choice after establishing service in nearby Charlotte.
Tega Cay residents can see if Google Fiber is available in their neighborhood online.
Earlier this year, McMaster and Rep. James Clyburn announced Get Connected SC, a campaign that will use federal money to help connect more people to the internet. The money comes from a $65 billion infrastructure bill passed by Congress.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to close the digital divide as children in rural areas struggled to learn through virtual schooling. South Carolina invested a total of $480 million in state and federal funds to bridge the gap, particularly in rural communities.
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