Ultrafast Internet and related services from Google came a bit closer toward reality Tuesday when the Raleigh City Council signed off on a lease agreement for “fiber huts” that would house equipment for the Google Fiber network.
These would be located on city property.
The agreement also requires that Raleigh offer “the same rights to other providers of Internet access and multichannel video programming services.”
AT&T has already received support from Raleigh leaders to deploy its own fiber network across the Triangle as part of the North Carolina Next Generation Network proposal.
The Town of Cary struck an agreement with Google earlier this month.
The so-called fiber huts will protect the fiver-optic and related telecommunications gear required for deployment of a network should Google chose to build in the Triangle.
Striking agreements with cities and towns for right-of-way access was among requirements spelled out by Google when it selected the Triangle and numerous other markets for possible deployment.
The huts are some 12 feet wide, 9 feet tall and 27 feet long. Each would include equipment to support 20,000 homes, according to the City Council.
Should Google chose to build a network, specific hut locations would be required by the City, but “an expedited process” is part of the agreement, a press release from the City noted.
Google has stipulated that governments provide expedited approvals.
