Google Fiber Wins Nashville Policy Battle To Install Its High-Speed Internet

Nashville has a new process for installing high-speed internet after several weeks of fierce debate among the Metro Council, companies and residents, who sent some 9,000 emails to their elected officials.

But city leaders worry that companies unhappy with the decision will sue. 

The council adopted “One Touch Make Ready” — a policy crafted by Google Fiber in response to what the company considers an onerous process for installing fiber-optic internet lines on utility poles.

This process requires each telecom company with lines on a pole to move them over, one at a time, before Google can set up its own lines.

Before the vote, Councilman Anthony Davis said he believes the policy is hindering Nashville’s ability to bring in new fiber options.

“We learned that our pole policies are archaic, and that one attacher at a time moving each line on a single pole just does not work,” he said.

He said the council received thousands of emails from residents about the issue. “I’ve been here a long time. That virtually never happens,” he said. “It’s an easy vote. You just have to make the populist choice here.”

But Councilwoman Tanaka Vercher was more skeptical about the policy and suggested deferring the vote for two meetings. She questioned how Google Fiber was choosing where to roll out service and whether it would reimburse the city for damage to infrastructure.

“We have many questions. This is our opportunity to pause, to get it right for our constituents.”

Battle Of The Statements

Ultimately, the policy passed overwhelmingly, a decision that Google Fiber lauded in a statement Tuesday night. 

But it was met with less enthusiasm from Google Fiber’s rivals, Comcast and AT&T. Comcast said in a statement it was “disappointed” in the outcome and that “the companies impacted by this bill will evaluate whether further proceedings are necessary.”

In Louisville, AT&T has sued the city over a similar change to pole policy, and some Nashville officials have worried the same thing would happen here. Indeed, Mayor Megan Barry alluded to that possibility in a statement, which called One Touch Make Ready “common-sense.”

“Unfortunately, the likelihood of protracted litigation could delay implementation of this law designed to benefit Nashville’s consumers,” she said.

In its own statement after the vote, AT&T reiterated its stance that the policy is “not a good solution for faster deployment of infrastructure,” and that the companies involved will need to work together on tech issues.