Google Fiber will be installing gigabit internet at no cost to select affordable housing locations in all cities that Fiber will be installed in.

“We’re working with local providers to identify which properties we’ll connect across these markets,” the company announced in a release Wednesday. “We’ll have more to share as we bring Google Fiber to these cities.”

Google installed the first free gigabit internet service in Kansas City Wednesday, wiring all 100 homes in the West Bluff Townhomes.

“We’re really excited,” said Chapel Hill mayor Pam Hemminger. “It was good news to our ears about helping out with the public housing and doing free internet for the public housing system.”

She said there is currently no timetable for instillation, but Google Fiber has announced that gigabit internet will be coming to Chapel Hill.

“We’ll be working with them on what that looks like,” Hemminger said. “We still don’t have a time schedule from Google, but we’re eagerly waiting to hear when that’s coming forward.”

No decisions have been made about which public housing complexes will be receiving Fiber, but Google’s gigabit rival AT&T has already announced their plan to bring internet to public housing.

“They’ve been out there putting in the cable for better internet, higher speeds,” she said. “They have also gone to the public housing units to install that.”

The difference in the two plans is Google will be installing the high-speed gigabit internet for free into public housing complexes, while AT&T is giving their standard internet package with the option of paying extra for gigabit.

“The opportunity is to have either or, or both, I think that’s great,” Hemminger said.

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