Google parent Alphabet is reworking its plans for how to deliver high speed broadband to US homes and small businesses, after deciding fixed fibre is too expensive and slow to rollout.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Google Fiber is hoping to use wireless technology instead of fibre in 12 forthcoming cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Tampa. The company has suspended fibre build outs in San Jose and Portland.

This is is essentially confirmation of recent musings by senior Google executives, including CFO Ruth Porat and chairman Eric Schmidt.

The company announced the fibre rollout in 2010 and launched first in Kansas City in November 2012. It is now available in six cities (Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville and Provo, in addition to Kansas City).

The Google Fiber website lists upcoming and potential cities, as well as current deployments. Five cities (Huntsville, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Francisco) are listed as upcoming deployments. A further 12 cities are classified as potential launches, which are at a less advanced stage of deployment. These cities will now become the focus of the company’s wireless plans.

Financials
Alphabet does not reveal how much it invests in fibre rollout, but quarterly capex for its Other Bets business was $280 million in Q2, up from $232 million a year ago. Google Fiber is thought to account for the bulk of the capex figure.

The Other Bets division generated $185 million in Q2 revenue, a jump up from $74 million in the year ago period. Reported revenue was primarily driven by Nest, Fiber, and Verily. Losses from Other Bets was a hefty $859 million, up from $660 million.

In Kansas City, Google Fiber is testing a wireless technology that delivers traffic to homes and businesses from antennas positioned on street lighting. In addition, the company recently applied to the Federal Communications for a licence to use “experimental transmitters” in 24 US locations.

In addition to using wireless technology, Google is looking at other measures to reduce the cost of fibre deployment. Leasing under-used fibre that’s already in place is one option. So is reserving the use of fibre for connecting multi-dwelling apartment blocks, rather than single residencies. Duct-sharing with utility companies is another option.

Google Fiber charges users $70 per month for connection, plus an additional $60 per month for a TV package. Analysts estimate a one-off cost of more than $500 to pass each home, of which only a certain number will subscribe.

The company does not reveal subscriber numbers but based on numbers reported to the US Copyright Office, research firm MoffettNathanson said in March the TV service had a total of 53,000 subscribers as of December 2015, a relatively small number. There are likely a significantly higher number of subscribers to the basic high-speed connection service, the research firm said, but “one can’t help but feel that all of this has the flavour of a junior science fair.”