Portland welcomes Google Fiber, but will Google accept?
Google Fiber may soon be coming to Portland, Ore. 听
As part of Google's plan to , the Portland city council last week 听Google's service to the city after a preliminary deal had been reached in April. 听
Should Google decide to proceed with building the network, the city estimates the network will cost the company听听Google will provide an update by the end of the year on which cities will be receiving Fiber, according to Google Fiber spokeswoman Jenna Wandres.听
If Google does follow through on this agreement, however, it will pay a 5 percent "franchise fee" on its video revenues, 听Conversely, Google will not pay the 3 percent public, educational, and government access tax (or听"PEG fee") the city charges to broadband providers such as Comcast. While Google will not be required to serve all parts of the city, it will provide free Internet to individual users after a one-time $300 fee and free Internet to various nonprofits around the city.听
Additionally, Portland and Oregon "will participate in a 'joint defense' of the franchise if it faces a legal challenge over allegations it gave Google Fiber preferential treatment, exceeded the city's authority, or violates the law in some way," 听
Moreover, Google still has to reach agreements with the city on the 200 utility cabinets it wants to install听鈥� which have , a previous Google Fiber hub听鈥撎齣n addition to licensing agreements with Portland utility pole owners.听
Fiber reportedly runs听听than basic broadband connections, which use often copper cables as opposed to fiber-optic ones. Kansas City was the first city to receive Google Fiber. Since then, Fiber has also been moving into Provo, Utah and Austin, Texas.听
But Google's foray into fiber hasn't come without its share of hiccups along the way. For example, in Kansas City, although Google selected that city for Fiber in March 2011, homes did not begin high-speed connections until November of the following year.听
"It's a very physical process," to the San Jose Mercury News in February. "In order for it to be delivered to us, it means that fiber has to be laid on the ground in the city on rights-of-way or on poles, and you have to get it into the neighborhoods and into the house. It takes time."听
"It does take time," . "It's probably one of the biggest infrastructure projects these cities have ever seen."
Google's efforts are also indicative of the desire among many people for faster Internet speeds. In the United States, of broadband subscribers use fiber connections, as opposed to as many as 30 percent in Sweden and as many as 60 percent in countries like South Korea and Japan.听
[Editor's note: The original version of this story misstated the progress of Portland's Google Fiber plan. The city's government has approved a roll out of fiber optic connections throughout the city, but Google has not yet agreed to such a plan.]
