Less than three years after launching here, Google's high-speed internet service Webpass is leaving Boston, creating an opportunity for incumbents and newcomers to scoop up customers.
The Verge first reported of Webpass' exit from Boston Tuesday night, confirming the news with a customer service representative and Access, the Alphabet subsidiary that runs Google Fiber (Google Fiber acquired Webpass in 2016, a year after the Boston expansion).
“As with any acquisition, we’ve spent some time evaluating the Webpass business. As a result of our analysis, we’ve made the decision to wind down Webpass operations in Boston,” an Access spokesperson told The Verge. “We’ll work with customers and partners to minimize disruption, and there will be no immediate impacts to their Webpass service. We continue to see strong subscriber response across the rest of the Webpass portfolio, including successful launches in Denver and Seattle in 2017.”
A Google spokesperson declined to provide details on how many customers Webpass has in Boston or when Webpass plans to end service here officially.
"It just goes to show you it’s not about having money, it’s about having an intense focus on the customer."
For Webpass customers, the service was a welcome alternative to Boston's large incumbent provider, Comcast, according to 40 five-star reviews on Yelp. With speed tiers ranging from 100 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps, Webpass offers a $60 month-to-month plan and a $45 a month yearly contract with no extra fees. However, Webpass is only available in residential buildings with at least 10 units and requires at least 30 units to provide a free network installation. Webpass also provides commercial service to businesses.
This puts Webpass in roughly the same category as netBlazr, a Boston-based wireless service provider that has also received dozens of five-star reviews on Yelp. The service provides high-speed wireless internet for businesses and residential buildings of multiple units, with speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 500 Mbps and no contracts at $60 a month. NetBlazr also provides a lower-speed service for townhouses at $40 a month.
There's also Starry, another Boston-based wireless provider that recently raised $33 million from investors to expand to multiple markets this year. The service, which comes with the company's flashy touchscreen router, provides speeds of up to 200 Mbps with no long-term contracts for $50 a month. The service's building requirements are not clear on its website.
A Starry representative declined to comment on Webpass' exit.
Jim Hanley, netBlazr's CEO and co-founder, told BostInno that Webpass' exit from Boston was less an issue with the business model and more about focus and execution. Since Alphabet is a large corporation with multiple business units, the company doesn't necessarily need to focus on businesses that aren't performing as well.
"It just goes to show you it’s not about having money, it’s about having an intense focus on the customer," Hanley said.
Hanley said netBlazr has thousands of customers in hundreds of buildings in the Boston area, from Medford and Somerville to Roxbury and Brighton. He declined to provide specific numbers.
While Starry has big plans to scale its business to multiple cities this year, the same can't be said for netBlazr. Hanley said his company, which has been profitable, currently has no plans to expand to other markets. The most important thing to him is having a sustainable business and a robust local operation that can provide top customer service, which, as Webpass demonstrated, can be difficult to replicate in multiple markets.
"As Webpass will tell you, it’s not an easy thing to do," Hanley said.
