Sheldon S. Shafer

@sheldonshafer

Google Fiber is a go in Louisville.

But details on when the ultrafast network will be constructed and in what areas it will be first available will have to come later, Google Fiber said.

“Many have eagerly waited to hear these words: Google Fiber is coming to Louisville,” Mayor Greg Fischer said Wednesday morning.

Google Fiber said it plans to test ways to deploy super-fast Internet, with speeds about 20 times faster than conventional broadband, but that details of services in Louisville will come later, according to a news release. Residents can sign up for notifications about progress at google.com/fiber/louisville.

Ashley Kroh, a Google Fiber official working on the Louisville effort, said Wednesday that it's too early to say if the network will eventually be extended outside the boundaries of Jefferson County. The initial effort, she said, will focus on reaching residences in some yet-to-be-disclosed parts of Metro Louisville.

She also said it is too early to say what the charges for service might be, but Google Fiber officials said previously that it typically charges customers $70 a month for Internet service and $130 a month for both Internet and television service. It does not provide telephone service.

Kroh declined to speculate on whether Google Fiber will connect schools, hospitals and other institutions to the network.

The company said it expects to file for its first permit soon, with network construction in phases to reduce disruption and will be geared to avoid conflicts with other utilities' facilities. The initial work "will focus on a handful of communities and neighborhoods."

However, competitor AT&T Kentucky, which has already begun installation of its own super-fast network, early this year filed suit challenging an ordinance that the city passed last fall related to putting equipment on existing utility poles. A federal judge heard oral arguments this week in the lawsuit alleging that Louisville lacks jurisdiction in the matter.

More: See designs for new $90M hotel project on Whiskey Row

More: Kentucky Derby Festival releases its 2017 celebrity list

Google Fiber described Fischer, the Metro Council and the suburban-based Jefferson County League of Cities as partners in establishing the network.

The fiber network would greatly increase the Internet downloading speed, including streaming movies. It also would be a boon for local business and economic development that could benefit from the gigabit per second (1,000 megabits) broadband speed, Fischer has said.

You may like: AT&T Fiber ultrafast internet launched to New Albany, Jeffersonville

More: Heine Brothers' opens largest coffee shop yet

"Google Fiber's commitment to constructing a gigabit fiber optic network in Louisville is exciting for both our people and businesses," said Metro Council President David Yates on Wednesday. "The infrastructure will provide a platform for further economic development and technological investment into our community."

Council members Bill Hollander, D-9th District, and Kevin Kramer, R-11th District, also praised the decision and touted the economic opportunities.

In an indication of its intent to serve Louisville, ​​Google Fiber recently posted jobs for several top Louisville management positions and filed plans to develop a series of about a dozen communications hubs across Jefferson County, each of which would be designed to distribute fiber-optics service to more than 10,000 residences.

Meanwhile, AT&T Kentucky spokesman Joe Burgan said that, as of Wednesday, the company is "marketing our ultra-fast Internet service powered by AT&T Fiber to more than 50,000 locations in the Louisville area, including sectors of Jeffersonville and New Albany, Indiana."

AT&T said it welcomes competition in providing faster online access but that the ordinance passed by the Metro Council last fall is unlike any other in the U.S. and violates state and federal rules.

The AT&T suit alleges that the Metro Council has no jurisdiction to regulate pole attachments and that the ordinance is thus invalid. In the suit, AT&T alleged that the city ordinance allows third parties to temporarily seize its property without consent and in most circumstances without prior notice.

The council approved that measure over objections from AT&T and Time Warner Cable, which lobbied heavily against the proposal.

Fischer spokesman Chris Poynter said in an interview Wednesday that the city welcomes the competition in the broadband business, saying that it is good for consumers. "The more the merrier," he said of the rivalry.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at 502-582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.