google_fiber_rabbit_bloomberg.JPG

Google's "fiber rabbit" on display at a company office in Kansas City, Missouri. Google says it will decide later this year whether to bring the service to Portland.

(Bloomberg Photo)

Portland and five of its suburbs are on track to meet Google Fiber's May 1 deadline for submitting a voluminous checklist of information on permitting rules, land-use regulation, utility lines and similar data, according to regional officials.

Google wants the information to help evaluate whether the Portland area is suitable for a high-speed Internet and cable TV service the company is contemplating for the region. It will consider geography, local regulations and the availability of existing utility poles, among other issues.

At least one city, Gresham, has already uploaded its information to Google, submitting 142 megabytes of information – roughly the equivalent of 9,000 pages of text. Hillsboro says most of its information is in, too. Portland plans its big upload Wednesday and says it will post the submission on a city website as early as Thursday. (Update: It looks like it's already online. h/t Tedder42.)



“We’re really in good shape,” said Mary Beth Henry, who is coordinating the regional Google Fiber effort as director of Portland’s office of community technology.

Google announced in February that it was considering bringing its fiber-optic service to Portland and the five suburbs – Gresham, Lake Oswego, Hillsboro, Beaverton and Tigard.

Google Fiber currently serves two cities – Provo, Utah, and the Kansas City also. It’s evaluating nine other metro areas across the country and says it could, conceivably, add them all. But it has cautioned that cities that don’t pass its tests won’t get service.

The company made its checklist a first step in planning the service, putting the onus on the cities to meet Google’s needs. The prospect of a competitor to Comcast, and the notion of faster Internet service, has whipped up public appetite for the service and in turn put enormous pressure on public officials who are racing to meet Google’s demands.

Here are the next steps:

May 7

May 7

Sometime later

May-December

"After we complete these steps, we hope to announce the next round of cities who'll be getting Google Fiber by the end of 2014," the company says on Google Fiber's website.

“While we’d love to bring Fiber to every one of these cities,” the company warns, ramping up the pressure, “it might not work out for everyone.”

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699