20 Gigs Not Enough? Google Fiber Tests 50Gbps Speeds

Google Fiber already offers 20 Gig internet speeds, but it's preparing to push that to 50Gbps.

The company partnered with Nokia to successfully test the 50Gbps technology on a live network at a Google Fiber hub in Kansas City. 

In a video, Google Fiber—now known as GFiber—delivers an impressive 41.89Gbps download speed and a 19.6Gbps upload rate. (Data from Ookla's Speedtest.net displayed in the video put the download rate closer to 8.1Gbps for some reason.)

Google is upgrading its existing fiber network by tapping Nokia’s next-generation passive optical network (PON) technology. This allows the fiber network to simultaneously run 10 Gig and 20 Gig internet speeds alongside the faster 50 Gig test service. 

The 50 Gig broadband will probably be overkill for most users. Still, Google says the speed advancements are necessary to future-proof its network for next-generation video streaming, virtual reality, and AI applications, which will likely require far more data. 

“Multigig is already the new norm,” Google says in a blog post. “But to meet the challenge of this connected future, we are preparing to further densify our network so when bandwidth needs inevitably multiply, we’ll be ready.” 

Although it’ll probably take GFiber a few years to commercialize the 50 Gig speeds, the company is already preparing to expand the existing 20 Gig offering to more areas. “It’s why we’re now working to deploy Nokia 25G PON in all of our markets by the end of the year, so that we can extend access to GFiber Lab’s 20 Gig plan,” the company said. 

GFiber's 20 Gig speed plan, which costs $250 per month, has only rolled out to select users in Kansas City, North Carolina's Triangle Region, Arizona, and Iowa.

Recommended by Our Editors

The Best Internet Service Providers for 2024

Readers' Choice 2024: The Top ISPs in North America

Scientists Reach 402,000 Gbps Internet Speeds Using Existing Fiber Tech

After 50Gig is reached, GFiber plans to push the speeds even further to 100Gbps. Rival ISP Ziply also offers 50Gbps internet in the Pacific Northwest, but it costs $900 per month.

GFiber topped our Readers' Choice rankings of the Best ISPs for 2024, receiving the highest ratings in our survey for overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend, as well as satisfaction with connection reliability, speed, and value. It finishes behind only Starlink for satisfaction with ease of use. It also scored well on our roundup of The Best Internet Service Providers for 2024.

Disclosure: Ookla is owned by PCMag's parent company, Ziff Davis.