As Google stakes a claim to utility poles, union workers worry about job security
AT&T is fighting to keep Google from changing the rules in cities targeted for Google Fiber, and the telecom giant’s union workers are keeping a close eye on the battle. AT&T and the Communication Workers of America both want to preserve rules that require AT&T employees to work on AT&T’s lines on utility poles. Google is gaining access to those poles for Google Fiber, and wants cities to give its contractors the right to move AT&T’s cables.
Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, are two battlegrounds for Google and AT&T. In both cities, Google has pushed an ordinance that it calls One Touch Make Ready, meaning one visit to the pole would be enough to prepare for Google Fiber because technicians could move all cables on the pole. AT&T, along with cable giant Comcast, has pushed back against the ordinance, saying that their cables should be handled by their own technicians. Meanwhile some city officials have supported One Touch Make Ready as a way to expedite broadband access for their citizens.
AT&T has sued the city of Louisville over One Touch Make Ready, and appears ready to launch a similar lawsuit in Nashville. The issue is scheduled for a final city council vote on Sept. 20. The council was heavily in favor of One Touch Make Ready earlier this month, but a piece of last-minute legislation introduced this week could impact the final vote. According to The Tennessean, a member of the city council has introduced a proposal that calls for AT&T, Google, Comcast and the Nashville Electric Service to cooperate in developing a faster procedure for making poles ready for new cables.
Some cities have heard complaints from frustrated consumers and businesses that are tired of waiting for faster internet service. Many see Google as the champion of high-speed broadband because it is offering Google Fiber in several U.S. cities, and because in several other targeted cities the spectre of Google Fiber appears to have prompted incumbent providers to upgrade their own networks. AT&T has said that it continuously improves its networks, and that Google Fiber is not the motivation for its upgrades.
If the One Touch Make Ready ordinance does not pass in Nashville, telecom and cable operators will be keeping a close eye on Google Fiber’s next move. If the company decides not to move forward in Nashville, it will be at least the second time this year Google has backed off a planned Google Fiber build. Earlier this year, the company reportedly told the city of San Jose, California, that Google Fiber’s plans there were on hold.
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Image source: nashvillepublicradio.org
