Palo Alto fiber internet

Palo Alto has talked about city-owned fiber to every home since the late 1990s. For most of that time the talk went nowhere. The city built a fiber ring for businesses, ran a small home trial, sought private partners and commissioned study after study. In 2026 it finally began selling internet service directly to residents, starting with a pilot area in south Palo Alto.

This page covers what the city has officially published about that project, the history behind it and the private options for everyone outside the pilot. Our internet and cell service guide covers phone stores and day-to-day comparison shopping. Here we focus on the fiber project itself.

What Palo Alto Fiber is

Palo Alto Fiber is home internet sold by City of Palo Alto Utilities, the same department that supplies the city's electricity, gas and water. The city's Palo Alto Fiber page calls it local high-speed internet owned and operated by the city. Because it is a fiber-to-the-premises network, the glass runs all the way to the house rather than stopping at a neighborhood cabinet.

In October 2026 the city listed two packages:

Both include a free router with WiFi, a firewall and around-the-clock local support. The city's separate pilot site lists no annual contract and a promise never to sell customer data. The city has not published installation fees or a coverage map, so ask about both when you sign up. Installation questions go to (650) 329-2161 and general questions to [email protected].

The pilot area and its status

The first homes are in the neighborhoods around Greer Park, east of Middlefield Road. The city's pilot site names the pilot area as Embarcadero Road, Louis Road, Colorado Avenue, Greer Road and West Bayshore Road. The city's About Us page says the pilot serves up to 1,000 homes and describes the rollout as neighborhood by neighborhood.

The pilot site published this schedule:

• January 2026: phase 1 pilot starts and the website is updated.
• February 2026: fiber hut completed.
• March 2026: first connections, when "the first homes light up."

The same site said construction was underway in the first of five distribution areas, with the other four marked "coming soon." Local reporting in January 2026 said utilities staff were targeting a March launch and that construction in the pilot area had begun in December 2025. By October 2026 the city was listing prices and taking sign-ups through its lookup site. It had not published a count of connected homes or a date for the next area, so treat any expansion timeline you hear as unofficial until the city posts it.

Why it started there

The city chose the Greer Park area partly because it lines up with an electric grid modernization project. Crews can install fiber and new electric equipment together, which the city describes as coordinating the two projects. A new fiber hut near the pilot area also reduces the trenching needed.

The dark fiber network and its history

Palo Alto's fiber story began with businesses, not homes. In 1996 the city built a fiber optic ring through town, reported at the time and since as about 33 miles long. The city leases strands of this "dark" fiber, meaning unlit glass, to companies and institutions that connect their own equipment. A 2013 account quoting the mayor said the leases brought in more than $2 million a year. Local reporting in January 2026 put the commercial fiber business at about 200 customers netting roughly $3 million a year.

Home service took much longer. The main milestones, as reported:

1. 2001. A small fiber-to-the-home trial ran but was not expanded because of cost.
2. 2006. The city sought a public-private partnership. It ended the effort because the private firms lacked the financial resources.
3. Later attempts. Providers were unwilling to commit to even coverage across town and partnership deals would have limited the city's control over pricing.
4. December 2022. The City Council directed staff to begin the first phase of a city-run network. Reporting at the time described an incremental build paid from utility reserves rather than a citywide build that would have needed bond financing.
5. May 2025. The Utilities Advisory Commission reviewed proposed services and rates, the step before pilot service.
6. 2026. The pilot opened with the prices above.

Our page on the history of Palo Alto's city-owned utilities explains why a city that has run its own power since 1900 kept coming back to the idea.

How it is paid for

The project is funded from utility money rather than general taxes. Local reporting in January 2026 said the Utilities Department's fiber fund held about $33.6 million and that about $13 million would shift from the electric fund to cover early buildout. A consultant study cited at the same meeting said the pilot would need about 30 percent of eligible households to subscribe to break even.

Not everyone is convinced. Public commenters warned that incumbent providers could cut prices to blunt the city's launch and that the city could lose money if residents do not sign up. The chair of the Utilities Advisory Commission asked staff to track the first phase closely and report back before any wider deployment. Our guide to how city government works explains how to follow commission and council agendas.

If your street is not served yet

Most of Palo Alto is outside the pilot. A few practical steps:

• Join the interest list. Enter your address at shopfiber.paloalto.gov. The city says demand helps decide where service goes next.
• Avoid long contracts. If you might get city fiber within a year or two, a month-to-month plan elsewhere keeps your options open.
• Sign up for updates. The city runs an email list for fiber news, linked from its fiber page.
• Renters: ask your landlord whether a fiber drop would be allowed. The city has not published rules for apartment buildings.

Private options today

Outside the pilot area, home internet comes from private companies. A 2023 account of the city's market studies said Comcast served about 70 percent of the city, AT&T about 30 percent over fiber or older DSL lines and Sonic a small share with gigabit fiber. Those shares come from city studies at the time and will have shifted since.

Availability varies block by block. The FCC's National Broadband Map shows which companies report service at your address. Providers report their own coverage, so confirm with each one before you plan around it. When comparing, ask for the price after any promotion ends, the upload speed and any equipment fees. Upload speed is where fiber pulls furthest ahead of cable.

Mobile carriers also sell fixed wireless home internet, which can work as a stopgap or backup. Store locations are in our internet and cell service guide.

Businesses and the dark fiber network

Companies that need their own dedicated connections can still lease dark fiber from the city, as they have since the 1990s. That is a different product from the residential packages. Pricing depends on the route and is negotiated with City Utilities, so contact the department directly. Startups looking for an office with good connectivity can also start with our coworking guide, since most shared spaces already have fast business lines.

Frequently asked questions