SAN FRANCISCO — Google is touting its myriad innovations in the first building entirely designed and built by the web giant, moving employees to focus on its most high-profile project: generative artificial intelligence. He even lets them do it. But some say they wish the innovation had included decent Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi at Alphabet’s Bayview building in Mountain View, Calif., the company’s headquarters, has been plagued with inoperable or, at best, unreliable Wi-Fi for months, according to six people familiar with the matter.
Collaborative workspaces with recliners don’t work well for teams carrying laptops around. Because employees need to connect to an Ethernet cable at their desk to receive consistent Internet service. Some people get by by using their cell phones as hotspots.
The company describes the new building and the It promoted the campus around it.
However, a Google spokesperson acknowledged that “Bayview is experiencing Wi-Fi connectivity issues.” He said Google has “made several improvements to address this issue” and that the company expects to have a fix in the coming weeks.
According to an AI engineer who works in the building, which also houses members of the advertising team, unreliable Wi-Fi has not helped Google as it pushes for a three-day week mandate.
“You would think that the world’s leading Internet company would have solved this,” he says. Like others, he spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because Google does not allow him to discuss working conditions.
Managers are encouraging employees to take a walk outside or sit in an adjacent cafe with a strong Wi-Fi signal. Some have recently issued new laptops with more powerful Wi-Fi chips.
Google hasn’t disclosed the cause of the Wi-Fi problems, but employees say the 600,000-square-foot building’s swooping, undulating rooftop is engulfing broadband like the Bermuda Triangle.
Under its ocean roof, Google employees are racing to deploy the latest version of an advanced artificial intelligence software known as Gemini that is key to Google’s future. Such AI became a sensation in Silicon Valley following the wide release of his ChatGPT in late 2022.
Asked by Reuters whether there is enough Wi-Fi on campus, Gemini expressed cautious optimism. “The Bayview campus likely has Wi-Fi,” the software replied.
“As the headquarters of Google, a major technology company, it would be surprising not to do so.”
Related article: Google removes some marriage apps in India, executives say moving into ‘dark days’
