Google is backing off of its Google Fiber expansion plans according to a statement released by the company late last week. The move is notable as the FCC continues to work through rulemaking on the classification of broadband.
As CivSource reported earlier in the year, Google Fiber was planning to expand its services to Portland, and Atlanta among other municipalities. The process was supposed to be underway before the end of the year although industry sources suggest the company may have been hampered by some operational issues as well as the ongoing net neutrality battle. Just this week, Verizon attempted yet another maneuver to undermine the FCC’s regulatory powers by suggesting that the Commission can’t oversee peering agreements and may only be able to regulate the last mile. The move follows actual lawsuit and the threat of more.
Google is on record supporting both municipal broadband, and gigabit expansion. AT&T also announced slowdown plans on its gigabit access last month citing the net neutrality issue, at that time we reached out to Google which then said it had no intention of holding back, so it would appear the decision is relatively recent.
Google’s statement said – “This year gigabit Internet has moved from idea to reality, as mayors and city leaders across America have stepped up and made high-speed broadband access a priority for their community. We’ve been working closely with cities around the U.S. to figure out how we could bring them Google Fiber, and we’re grateful for their vision, commitment, and plain, old, hard work.
While we were hoping to have an update for cities before the holidays, we have a bit more work to wrap up; we’ll be back in touch sometime early next year.”
