Google is hiring a city manager to oversee its Fiber business in Chicago — but that doesn’t mean the high-speed Internet service is definitely coming here.
“We haven’t made a final decision about bringing Google Fiber to Chicago,” a Google spokeswoman told Blue Sky Innovation by email. “When we do decide, we want to be able to hit the ground running, so we’re starting to look for candidates who could help lead our team.”
The company said in December that it would consider bringing the service, which offers speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, to Chicago. Google planned to meet with city leaders to determine the viability of building a fiber network here, Jill Szuchmacher, director of Google Fiber expansion, told Blue Sky at the time.
A Google spokeswoman did not immediately respond to follow-up questions regarding the progress of those talks.
Google’s announcement heated up competition in Chicago, where AT&T introduced its gigabit service in June 2015. Comcast followed with an announcement of its own gigabit service, to arrive in Chicago in the second half of 2016.
The job listing, posted over the weekend, said Google is looking for an experienced business strategist to win subscribers and work with local governments, companies and organizations.
Hiring a city manager anywhere does not guarantee the expansion of Google Fiber to that city, according to the job listing and emphasized by the spokeswoman.
“If you’re hired and your city doesn’t become a Google Fiber city, you will continue to play a role in an existing Fiber city or Google headquarters,” a disclaimer in the listing reads.
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Google Fiber is already available in Provo, Utah; Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Mo,; and Atlanta. The company plans to expand the service to seven other cities, including San Francisco. It is considering another 10 cities, plus Chicago, for the service.
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