Google Fiber has tapped Rocco Laurenzano as chief operating officer, as the company continues to expand its footprint to new states.
Laurenzano spent the last five and a half years as Google Fiber’s VP of operations, where he was already overseeing expansion, builds, customer operations and project management. Under his tenure, Google Fiber “almost tripled” its build volume over the last four years and nearly doubled its service footprint over the same period.
As COO, he’ll continue to lead the company’s expansion efforts as well as its plans to “more fully build out” existing cities.
“What [Laurenzano] brings to any team is operational excellence, balanced with a clear appreciation for the people he works with, and the understanding of how to create a culture of accountability and constant improvement with a strong foundation of trust,” said Google Fiber CEO Dinni Jain in a statement.
Prior to joining Google Fiber, Laurenzano held operations leadership roles at Altice USA, Time Warner Cable, Charter and Insight Communications.
SC expansion and beyond
Laurenzano’s appointment comes shortly after Google Fiber unveiled South Carolina as its newest state. The operator expects to start construction in the Tega Cay area in early 2024 and start serving customers there later in the year.
The expansion to South Carolina is interesting, given it’s not among the five states Google Fiber flagged as “the main focus for our growth” for the next several years – those being Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Idaho.
A Google Fiber spokesperson said Tega Cay is “really an extension of our Charlotte network as an adjacent community.” So, the company is expanding its local presence in this “market area.”
Once Google Fiber turns up service in Tega Cay, customers will be able to sign up for 1-gig, 2-gig, 5-gig or 8-gig plans.
The spokesperson did not disclose any other plans to expand in South Carolina, but noted, “given our strong and growing presence in North Carolina, we’re very interested in the opportunity that South Carolina presents,” as it’s a “natural area of growth” for Google Fiber.
As for rollout progress in the five previously mentioned states, the spokesperson told Fierce, “we have active construction or are already serving customers in all these states with the exception of Nevada, where discussions are underway.”
Google Fiber hasn’t revealed which market it’s eyeing in Nevada. But earlier this year, the operator’s GM of Expansion Markets told Fierce Google Fiber is talking to five jurisdictions in the same metro area – hinting the city could be Las Vegas or Reno.
In terms of multi-gig rollouts, Google Fiber in September announced Charlotte, North Carolina as its third market with an 8-gig offering – after Mesa, Arizona and West Des Moines, Iowa.
It’s also plotting a symmetrical 20-gig rollout for select residential and business customers by the end of 2023.