Alphabet seeking to downsize Google Fiber to cut costs

Google's parent company Alphabet is shaking  things up at its gigabit internet division, The Information reported today.

The unit, previously known as Google Fiber and now called Access, will shift its focus to wireless technology, and not ultra-fast internet delivered through fibre-optic cables.

Additionally Alphabet CEO Larry Page has called for reduction of customer acquisition costs to one tenth their current level while asking Fiber chief Craig Barratt to cut the unit's workforce in half, from 1,000 people to 500.

According to commentators, the changes represented a rift at Alphabet over how it handled what were once Google's most ambitious projects.

A number of these ideas, like the self-driving car project, had commanded immense resource investment because they represented the company's grandest ideas for the future, they added.