Behind the scenes with Google Fiber: Working with city governments

most Americans connect to the Internet from their homes, their signal travels along a local telecommunications infrastructure, currently built mostly of copper cables that run along utility poles or underground. Now that technology has advanced, communities are starting to upgrade to fiber-optic cable that’s better suited to 21st century communications demands, like high-speed Internet. And that involves a lot of detailed planning — utility pole by utility pole and block by block. That’s what Google Fiber teams are working on right now in the Kansas City area, Austin, and Provo. Before anyone picks up a shovel or climbs a ladder, Google examines:

• Access to infrastructure, where Google works with the city and, where applicable, the local electric utility and telephone company to figure out which poles and conduit can be used for Google Fiber;
• Access to local infrastructure maps about poles and conduits; and
• Expedited construction permits, so that Google Fiber cities can be ready to receive thousands of permit requests from Google.

[Derek Slater is Government Relations Manager at Google]