Google Fiber's Portland deal won't serve everyone

If Portland wants Google Fiber it’s going to have to give something up. Specifically, the city is going to have to abandon the idea that Google’s hyper-fast Internet service would be available everywhere in the city.

The Portland City Council takes up a franchise agreement afternoon for Google Fiber, which wants to string fiber-optic cable across the city -- and in five suburbs -- to provide Internet connections and cable TV service. A vote is scheduled for June 11.

The company promises “gigabit” speeds -- about 100 times faster than the average US download connection. But not for everyone. The franchise allows Google to pick which neighborhoods it wants to serve. The company says it will choose areas with a critical mass of customers, what the company calls “fiberhoods,” where residents have committed to subscribe to the service.

That makes sense from a business perspective: It will cost Google hundreds of millions of dollars to build out its network in the Portland area, and it wants to see a return on its investment. Choosing the most lucrative areas gives it the best chance of recouping its money.

From the point of view of individual residents, though, it means some areas will go without. Google says it’s committed to “digital inclusion,” and will work to expand Internet access to nonprofits and people who can’t afford its top-tier service. The company sent a specialist to Portland this spring to gauge how to work with community groups, but Google Fiber isn’t bending its core, market-based approach to determining which areas to serve.