Google has been touting the myriad innovations in the first building wholly designed and built by the web giant, even moving workers in to focus on its highest-profile project: generative artificial intelligence. But, some say they wish the innovations had included decent Wi-Fi.
The "Bay View" building, located on the Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit's Mountain View, California, headquarters has been plagued for months by inoperable or, at best, spotty Wi-Fi, according to six people familiar with the matter.
Its recliner-laden collaborative workspaces do not work well for teams carting around laptops, since workers must plug into ethernet cables at their desks to get consistent internet service. Some make do by using their phones as hotspots.
The company promoted the new building and surrounding campus in a 229-page glossy book highlighting its cutting-edge features, such as "Googley interiors" and "an environment where everyone has the tools they need to be successful."
But, a Google spokeswoman acknowledged, "we’ve had Wi-Fi connectivity issues in Bay View." She said Google "made several improvements to address the issue," and the company hoped to have a fix in coming weeks.
According to one AI engineer assigned to the building, which also houses members of the advertising team, the wonky Wi-Fi has been no help for Google pushing a three day per week return-to-office mandate.
