Tech

Google Fiber's high-speed internet service is leaving Louisville after ripping up roads and leaving cables exposed

Key Points
  • Google's experiment to install high speed internet cheaper and faster than rivals has failed in Louisville, CNET reported Thursday.
  • A spokesperson said that Google Fiber plans to end its service in Louisville on April 15.
  • The methods used to install the cables ripped up roads and left cables eventually popping out of rubber on the streets.
A technician gets cabling out of his truck to install Google Fiber.
George Frey | Reuters

Alphabet's experiment in offering high speed internet service is leaving Louisville.

Google Fiber will end its service in Louisville on April 15, CNET first reported, but only after its method of installing fiber caused them to dig up streets that eventually left cables exposed.

Service will remain and expand in the ten other areas where Google Fiber is operating, Google Fiber said in a blog post following the initial report Thursday.

A Google Fiber spokesperson told CNET the problems in Louisville were unique to the construction method it used there, which involved digging trenches on the edges of roads that were two inches deep and filling them with rubbery liquid that turns solid. This method was meant to be a cheaper and faster alternative to the standard methods, reportedly allowing Google Fiber to get its service up and running in Louisville in five months and outpace AT&T's internet service there.

Now, Google Fiber uses a modified method that involves digging deeper trenches, at least six inches deep, so that cables do not pop out like they did in Louisville. AT&T has used similar forms of shallow trench installation without the same issues, according to CNET.

Google Fiber would apparently have to rebuild its network in Louisville entirely to get the service up and running there again to a desired standard, "and that's just not the right business decision for us," Google Fiber said in its blog post. The company said it will not charge customers for their last two months of service and will "work with our customers and partners to minimize disruption."

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Watch: Alphabet is cutting costs with its latest Google Fiber launch

Alphabet is cutting costs with its latest Google Fiber launch
VIDEO0:3800:38
Alphabet is cutting costs with its latest Google Fiber launch