Gigabit

Having lost a fight with the city of Nashville over hanging fiber on utility poles, AT&T has filed suit seeking to stop the so-called “One Touch” ordinance. A similar battle is being waged in Louisville. The AT&T suit targets the city, not Google Fiber which has lobbied for the ordinance that it says is needed to speed up deployment for its network in the Tennessee city. Municipalities don’t have the authority to regulate “pole attachments,” AT&T says. But there’s no love lost between the companies with AT&T having recently blogged about Google Fiber eating its “dust” as GF battles...

The long wait for Google Fiber ultra-fast Internet service is over – at least in Morrisville. Starting at 9 a.m. today, Google Fiber says it will begin accepting orders for a variety of service packages offering up to 1 gigabit in Internet access as well as TV and phone. That kind of speed is up to 40 times faster than typical broadband Internet access, enabling the download of a high-definition movie in 4 seconds vs. more than 4 minutes, according to Google. Other parts of the Triangle will receive service in coming months as Google Fiber builds out a...

The Nashville and Metro Council have given preliminary approval to an ordinance that Google Fiber says will accelerate deployment of fiber in the Tennessee city. The “One Touch Make Ready” ordinance has been opposed by AT&T and Comcast. “We’re pleased that Nashville Metro Council supports Council Member [Anthony] Davis’ proposal for a 21st century framework, 32-7,” said Chris Levendos, director of national deployment and operations for Google Fiber, in a statement.. “Improving the make-ready construction process is key to unlocking access to a faster internet for Nashville, and this ordinance will allow new entrants like Google Fiber to bring...

Only hours after an AT&T executive ridiculed Google Fiber’s challenges in rolling out a fiber network, GF responds with a blog of its own about the broadband battle currently underway in Nashville. GF is lobbying to speed up the permitting process for hanging fiber. GF also makes clear that consumers want “choice” among providers. “To Nashville, with love” is the headline on the post from Chris Levendos, Director of National Deployment and Operations, at Google Fiber. Levendos does not mention AT&T by name or the “Pardon our dust” blog, which WRAL TechWire reported on Thursday. However, in the first...

AT&T’s increasingly bitter fight with Google over competing fiber networks takes on a new, mocking tone as a top AT&T executive says in a blog post that broadband network building is “not for the faint of heart.” “Pardon our dust,” wrote Joan Marsh, AT&T’s Vice President of Federal Regulatory in a slam against Google Fiber’s network building efforts. “Welcome to the broadband network business, Google Fiber. We’ll be watching your next move from our rear view mirror.” AT&T is fighting Google Fiber in court about hanging fiber from utility poles in Louisville; a nasty fight is underway in Tennessee....

Google Fiber and the Nonprofit Technology Network have named two recipients for their Digital Inclusion Fellowship program in the Triangle. The selectees are: James Butts (hosted by the Triangle Literacy Council) Mike Byrd (hosted by the Kramden Institute) Butts was among 16 fellows selected in 2015. GF and the NTEN launched the program in 2015 as part of an effort to “get more families online, often for the first time.” For the second year, the partners are offering fellowships in 11 cities to 22 people. “They will spend a year creating and helping to lead digital literacy programs,” a...

Despite reported delays elsewhere, Google Fiber is still on its way to RTP. Sources involved in Google Fiber’s Triangle project tell WRAL TechWire the digging and installing of cable continues in what the company boasts is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever taken in the Triangle. However, they also point out that GF has yet begun extending cable to homes. Whatever GF is doing, it’s not cheap. “Google Fiber has been working steadily and surely since late 2015 on one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the Triangle,” a spokesperson for GF told The Skinny last...

If you don’t want to be hacked or want to keep your business plans secret, you might consider how good Google Fiber is at being secretive about its deployment plans in the Triangle. In response to a series of questions Thursday about Google Fiber’s plans for the Triangle, a spokesperson didn’t have much to say. But GF insists its proposal to test the Triangle for high-speed wireless Internet access doesn’t mean a lessening of its Triangle commitment. Here’s the not-very-illuminating but still very interesting statement received late Thursday night: “Google Fiber has been working steadily and surely since late...

Google Fiber is targeting the Triangle as one of the metro areas where it is asking the FCC for permission to test an experimental wireless system as a means to provide ultra-fast Internet service. In a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Google says it is seeking “expeditious” approval for tests in as many as 24 markets over a period of two years. However, the filing is heavily redacted at Google’s request, citing competitive concerns. Google “requests authorization to conduct radio experiments in support of developing Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) technologies, using [REDACTED] experimental transmitters at up...