Google Fiber could impact cost of rent

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the last year and a half, excitement has been growing across Charlotte about getting faster internet.

Google Fiber, At&T and Time Warner Cable have all jumped in on the upgrade.

Channel 9 uncovered that the installation could cost some people more when it’s officially in.

Anchor Blaine Tolison breaks down why others could have to foot a bigger bill.

Providers like Google Fiber have spent the last year and a half working to bring high-speed service to Charlotte.

But new numbers show the revved-up internet could end up costing renters 'more' while owners get a payoff.

Real estate experts say the effects of Google Fiber and services like it remain to be seen.

But we found a new study from a non-profit called Fiber to the Home Council Americas that showed the super-fast service could increase rent by 8 percent, or a home sales value by nearly three percent.

"I don't think the rent should go up, though. That has nothing to do with rent. That's crazy,” Robert Dudley said.

Researchers said fast internet is the single most important amenity for people who pay rent in a medium-priced apartment.

The study surveyed 2,000 people in the U.S. and Canada.

But some Charlotte residents we spoke to say the rent here is already too high.

"I've watched them go up and up and up over the last 15 years, so if they keep going up, I have to move," Leigh Claiborne said.

Charlotte's rent report showed a two-bedroom apartment rents for around $1,150, and rent prices already increased 4.2 percent during the past year.

The good news is that new fiber services are driving up competition. A spokesperson for the group behind the report said that those services could bring monthly fiber bills down as much as 50 percent.

"Somebody needs to give some competition to Time Warner Cable, because they have ridiculous prices," Dudley said.

Channel 9 reached out to the Charlotte Realtors Association, and it told me it doesn't have the data yet to know how Google Fiber could impact rent or property values.

Google Fiber still hasn't laid out a timeline for when construction in Charlotte will be complete. Click

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