Palo Alto is getting ready to flip the switch on an expanded city-run fiber-to-the-premises network in March 2026, utilities staff told a local advisory commission, even as skeptics warn the project could become a costly gamble. Crews have already started laying cable in the pilot neighborhood around Greer Park, where residents are expected to be able to start signing up this month. Backers say a homegrown system will mean faster, more reliable service, while opponents caution that the city could be walking into serious financial and competitive trouble.
Pilot area and timeline
City staff told commissioners they are targeting March 2026 to launch the expanded Palo Alto Fiber service. Work in the Greer Park pilot area began last month, and staff said construction is expected to wrap up this month so neighbors can begin subscribing. The rollout schedule is being driven by how early testing goes and how many households sign on, as reported by Palo Alto Online.
Why Greer Park was chosen
The Greer Park area did not land the pilot slot by accident. The city has tied the fiber build to an ongoing electric grid modernization project, a pairing staff say saves both time and money because crews can dig once and install both systems together. Officials also pointed to a new fiber hut and nearby infrastructure that help move the pilot along and reduce the need for extra trenching in the neighborhood. Coordinating grid and fiber work creates efficiencies that help bring down construction costs, according to the City of Palo Alto.
Funding, take rate and pricing
The Utilities Department’s dedicated fiber fund currently holds about $33.6 million, and staff told commissioners that the early buildout will lean on that pot plus roughly $13 million shifted from the electric fund. A consultant study cited at the meeting concluded the pilot will need about 30% of eligible households to subscribe in order to break even, and staff sketched out introductory residential prices around $50 or $65 per month for service tiers of 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps. Right now, the city nets about $3 million a year from roughly 200 commercial fiber customers, and public commenters warned that incumbents such as AT&T and Comcast could cut prices to blunt the city’s momentum and potentially cost Palo Alto millions if residents fail to sign up, as reported by Palo Alto Online.
What happens next
Commission Chair Greg Scharff urged staff to track the first phase closely and return to both the commission and the City Council before pursuing any wider deployment. Staff and council members have repeatedly stressed that the pilot’s performance will determine how fast the system expands and whether larger neighborhoods are brought into the fold. For now, the city is gathering early signups and watching construction and operating costs as crews finish the Greer Park installation, according to the City of Palo Alto.
