Google Fiber Austin Summary
Google Fiber Austin Summary
Google fiber announced a roll out into the Austin area recently. In article published by the Austin business journal, Google Fiber has met up with some resistance regarding the use of utility poles owned by their competitor ATT. Google and ATT decided to work a deal outside the City Council of Austin. Currently ATT owns 20% of the utiltiy poles and there is a proposition in place called item 66 that would change the rules on allowing a broader range of telecom providers to use utility poles in the City of Austin’s right of way.
Labor unions have written the mayor and city council to delay or oppose a change to the city’ rules with regards to utility pole usage. The labor unions appear to have been written at the request of ATT. So this dispute is slowing implementation down on Google fiber for Austin.