Google Fiber Expanding to Hillsborough as Broadband Options Continue to Grow

Residents and businesses in central Orange County got some big news recently, as Google announced plans to extend Google Fiber out to Hillsborough. That announcement comes as local officials are focusing more and more on the need to extend high-speed broadband internet to a greater section of the county.

Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver spoke with 97.9 The Hill this week after the reveal of the high-speed internet service’s expansion into the town. She said her community has long kept an eye on Google Fiber’s installation elsewhere in the county.

“When the announcement was made several years ago that it was coming to Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham,” she said, “everyone wanted to know why it wasn’t coming to Hillsborough. And at the time, they just weren’t interested. But now it’s happening, and this is really exciting.”

The gigabit fiber service by Google offers high-speed internet and, perhaps most importantly for Hillsborough, consistent service. Orange County seeks to improve its broadband reliability in more rural areas – including through a partnership with Lumos to install broadband infrastructure using federal funding. The project began construction on Phase 1 earlier this year, while announcing the areas of Phase 2 and 3 of broadband expansion – prioritizing northern Orange County communities like Schley and Cedar Grove.

Hillsborough is largely left out of these initial phases, according to the latest maps, as Phase 3 only covers a handful of neighborhoods east of downtown. Weaver said once installed, Google Fiber will provide another key option for residents to consider.

That installation process, however, will not come quickly. As seen by extended rollouts in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, which experienced delays ranging from COVID-19 to the damage of gas lines, Weaver said Google’s internet access is a long way off from being live.

Since construction of the fiber-optic network will largely take place in public rights of way and along some private properties, the mayor added that the growing pains will be visible before the benefits of reliable internet are available.

“I think the name of the game really is ‘patience,’ because I do think it will be disruptive,” Weaver said. “I don’t think there’s any way to sugarcoat that. It’s going to take a lot of digging, there’s going to be messes, and things are going to pop up – especially in a town as old as ours, where we just have a lot of things buried under the ground.

“People will just need to be patient, but I think it’ll all be worth it on the other side,” she added.

According to the town government, permitting for Google Fiber is starting this month in Hillsborough before installation likely begins in April.

“You can see some of the work they’re doing heading this direction,” Weaver said of the preparation on Old N.C. 86. “But once they start, their estimate is that it’ll take about a year. We’ll just have to see.”

To learn more about Google Fiber’s expansion into Hillsborough, visit the town’s web page on the project. To learn more about the Lumos broadband expansion project in Orange County, visit the county’s project web page.

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Google Fiber Expanding to Hillsborough as Broadband Options Continue to Grow

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