Google’s swanky new “Bayview” campus appears to have a major problem with poor Wi-Fi. Google’s first self-designed office building has “suffered from inoperable or, at best, unreliable Wi-Fi for months,” according to six people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported. A Google spokesperson acknowledged the issue and said the company is working on a fix.
Bay View opened in May 2022. At the launch, Google’s vice president of real estate and workplace services, David Radcliffe, said the site was “the first time we’ve developed one of our own major campuses, and the process has given us “It gave us an opportunity to reimagine the campus itself.” office ideas. ” The result is a wild tent-like structure with an impressive roof line made up of swooping square sections. Of course, everything is made of metal and glass, but the shape of the roof is like a square piece of cloth supported by sticks, with the four corners of the square part being high and the middle part being lowered. The roof is covered in solar cells that collect rainwater while also letting in natural light, in what Google calls a “gradient canopy.”
All these spiers and parabolic ceiling sections are apparently not suitable for Wi-Fi propagation, with Reuters reporting that the roof is “swallowing broadband like the Bermuda Triangle.” Googlers assigned to this building make do with Ethernet cables, use their phones as hotspots, and work outdoors where Wi-Fi is strong. “You would think that one of the world’s largest internet companies would have solved this,” one anonymous employee told Reuters.
Having an office with barely serviceable Wi-Fi is certainly awkward for companies whose “return to the office” plans include spending at least three days a week in Google’s Wi-Fi desert. A Google spokesperson told Reuters that the company has already made some improvements and hopes to have them fixed in the coming weeks.
