• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, September 10, 2015

Some observers have proposed that the new net neutrality rules are discouraging broadband providers from investing in their networks.

But that certainly doesn't seem to be the case for Google. The company said today that it will consider bringing its 1GB fiberoptic network to three new cities -- Louisville, Kentucky, Irvine, California and San Diego, California.

"To kick things off, we’ll work with Irvine, Louisville and San Diego to conduct a detailed study of factors that affect construction, such as local topography, housing density, and the condition of existing infrastructure," Jill Szuchmacher, director of Google Fiber Expansion, wrote in a blog post. Szuchmacher added that the cities will prepare by providing maps of utility lines and other information.

Why those three cities? Szuchmacher says they all have "strong leaders at city hall, who are passionate about bringing fiber to their communities and making the Internet more accessible for everyone."

Szuchmacher cites Kentucky's recent decision to build a so-called "middle-mile" fiber-optic network, which will pass through all counties in the state, as an example. After the network is completed, broadband providers will be able to connect to the network in order to provide last-mile coverage to local homes and businesses.

Google already provides 1GB fiber-optic broadband service for $70 a month to neighborhoods in Kansas City, Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah. The search giant also plans to bring fiber to Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Nashville, San Antonio, Texas and North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte.

After Google began rolling out its networks, other Internet service providers also began offering super-fast broadband. Comcast, for instance, rolled out 2 GB broadband in Atlanta earlier this year.

AT&T also decided to compete with Google by launching ultrafast 1 GB networks in Austin and Kansas City. AT&T, unlike Google, is charging subscribers an extra $29 a month (before fees) to avoid the company's behavioral advertising program, which involves tracking people Web activity and then sending them targeted ads.