Phillip M. Bailey

Louisville Courier Journal

In a decision compared to the advent of electricity and the telephone, Metro Council ignored pressure from two major U.S. telecommunication companies and approved a pair of measures that supporters believe will bring Louisville residents faster online speeds.

By a 23-0 vote Thursday evening, members backed an ordinance that gives ultra-fast Internet service providers such as Google Fiber easier access to city rights-of-way, or in this case utility poles.

"This will help business locate here and grow here,” said Councilman Bill Hollander, who sponsored the legislation.

“It will create jobs,” he added. “It will retain and attract our young people and make Louisville broadband ready.”

The measure allows high-speed providers to install the new equipment and possibly move other companies' equipment that are already on the pole.

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Mayor Greg Fischer echoed those sentiments, saying in a statement late Thursday that it lays the groundwork for expanding gigabit services by Google Fiber and other providers. It's a move the mayor and other supporters say could improve Internet speeds by as much as twenty-fold for downloading material, streaming movies, gaming and other activities.

“Tonight's vote puts Louisville one step closer toward becoming a Google Fiber city,” he said.

Several residents carrying "Fiber Friendly" signs packed City Hall cheering others who spoke in favor of the idea. But the proposal was vehemently opposed by Time Warner Cable and AT&T.

In separate letters this week, the mayor’s office and council members were told the measure would jeopardize current companies' service to customers and questioned if the city had authority to regulate the needed infrastructure.

"The ordinance is simply unworkable," said Gardner Gillespie, an attorney who is representing Time Warner. "It does not provide any meaningful way for TWC to know what changes have been made to its existing facilities or to assure any damage is promptly cured."

AT&T added the plan violates their union agreements with workers on who has a right to install or alter their equipment but members said they believe allowing for an easier installation process will result in more jobs for those type of workers.

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The city estimates AT&T owns between 25 to 40 percent of the city's utility poles.

"Governing is sometimes the art of compromise," Hood Harris, Kentucky AT&T president, told members before Thursday's meeting. "We've offered some language that would protect our contract provisions while still allowing this passage."

The AT&T amendment would have given current utility pole owners or user 60 days before the installation to object. Hollander and other city officials said that change would have undercut accessibility efforts.

Instead the council made changes worked out by Fischer administration officials and Hollander's office that do require any high-speed Internet service provider to alert the pole owners and current users about their installation within 30 days.

That company will also be responsible for any costs associated with needed fixes or damages to current pole users' equipment.

Time Warner said the city is overstepping its authority and that the Kentucky Public Service Commission has jurisdiction over the rates, terms and conditions applicable to pole attachments.

Andrew Melnykovych, a spokesman for the commission said in an interview Thursday that the current language could put the ordinance in conflict with state law.

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"The state legislature in Kentucky statute has granted the PSC exclusive jurisdiction over rates and services of the utility companies," he said. "And that extends to pole attachments."

Hollander and other members, however, said they are confident these changes are consistent with state regulations.

Tech consultant Dannie Gregoire, who spoke before the council, said Louisville has long been at a disadvantage because most of the utility poles needed by Internet service providers were already owned by existing companies, mainly LG&E, who have historically opposed sharing that space.

"It's something that has been a blocking point for Internet providers of all sizes," said Gregoire, co-founder of IgLou Internet Services Inc., an early Internet service provider that made its debut in 1987.

"Many of the cities Google first contacted were cities that owned the rights-of-way and owned the poles," he added. "It's a very different environment here in the Louisville metropolitan area."

The other part of the plan passed by council was a resolution that allows a high-speed Internet provider to make one franchise agreement — negotiated by metro government — rather than separate deals with more than 80 suburban cities within Jefferson County. That measure was approved by an unanimous vote.

"This makes things go smoother. And again, this is not an exclusive policy for Google Fiber," said Chris Levendos, the company's director of networking deployment and operations. "This is a policy for anyone to come to Louisville and make an investment."

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at (502) 582-4475 or pbaile@courier-journal.com