Portland’s being a pushover to snag Google Fiber

[Commentary] As Seattle tries to figure out how to improve its broadband situation, it ought to keep an eye on its sister to the south. Portland is getting hot and heavy with Google, which may bring its fast fiber broadband service to the Rose City as early as 2015.

Portland recently reached a preliminary franchise agreement with the online giant and will begin public deliberations on the deal in May, according to The Oregonian.

Google announced in February that it plans to bring its fast-fiber broadband and cable-TV service to Portland and five surrounding cities. But first Portland and the neighboring cities must sort through the same neighborhood issues that Seattle now faces with CenturyLink and other broadband providers demanding special treatment and more access to public property.

Google may be an exciting newcomer to the telecom business but in its dealings with cities, it acts like a crusty old player in the industry. In Portland, Google is twisting arms by offering its fast broadband in return for city handouts, just as CenturyLink is doing in Seattle.

Cities are pushovers when it comes to broadband. The way politicians talk about it, you’d think their constituents were stuck in the dark ages and broadband was as important as the fire department.

Google Fiber is appealing and has plenty of cheerleaders on social media and at City Hall. Yet Google is a mixed blessing. The majority of residents in any city would probably rather get broadband service from a public utility that’s accountable to them, instead of from a fairly opaque company that makes its money delivering hypertargeted advertising.

Privacy concerns are offset by the prospect of a wealthy company stepping in to help address a complicated infrastructure challenge. Still it’s a business, not a gift, and city officials should push to make sure all of their residents benefit from the deals they make.