Google Fiber is headed to Dallas to step up its big-city game

Here comes the next city Google Fiber has in its sights: Dallas, Texas.

The Alphabet unit said so today, noting, as it has with other potential markets, that it is "exploring” entering the city — maybe dotting the i's with city officials or weighing the costs or both.

Dallas is significant because it’s a large metropolis. Until announcing “explorations” with Chicago and Los Angeles, Google Fiber has stuck mostly to mid-sized cities where the economics of its fiber networks works best and its cable rivals are less fortified. (Unfamiliar with Fiber? May I recommend our lengthy look.)

Also noteworthy: Jill Szuchmacher, Fiber’s expansion chief, lauded Dallas’ “budding tech sector” — a sign that Fiber may push to sign up more businesses, not just homes, as it is trying to do in its five existing cities.

AT&T, one of Google Fiber’s chief competitors, has offered its high-speed internet service in Dallas for two years and has pledged to double its footprint in the metro area over the next year.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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