Google Fiber halts expansion plans as CEO steps down

The executive overseeing Google Fiber said on Tuesday that the service will suspend plans to expand its fast gigabit fiber Internet service into other cities, including San Jose, and will reduce staffing. Barratt said he will also be stepping down from his role as CEO and will remain as an adviser within Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Google Fiber's subscriber base and revenue are "growing quickly," he said in the blog post, and the division is now refining its approach. Part of Google Fiber’s mission was to put pressure on telecom companies to increase the availability and lower the cost of high-speed Internet. Google Fiber succeeded in that goal, but as fiber Internet became more widespread, Google Fiber couldn’t differentiate itself from competitors in terms of the technology itself, said Mark Hung, a vice-president with research firm Gartner. “At some point, Alphabet (Google Fiber’s parent company) took a look at this and said, ‘Does the ROI (return on investment) make sense?” Hung said.