Cox Lawsuit Delays Google Fiber in Several Towns Cox's legal attempts to delay Google Fiber deployments are succeeding in more towns than one. Last month we noted that Cox had sued the city of Tempe, Arizona after council leaders struck a new deal allowing Google Fiber to deploy gigabit fiber throughout the city. The Cox suit claimed Tempe violated federal law "by establishing a discriminatory regulatory framework" that exempts Google from obligations imposed on similar companies.

"Tempe’s bald assertion that Google Fiber is not a cable operator is incorrect," Cox argued in the lawsuit (pdf). "And based on this incorrect assertion, Tempe’s regulatory scheme allows Google Fiber to provide video programming service to subscribers in Tempe under terms and conditions that are far more favorable and far less burdensome than those applicable to Cox and other cable operators, even though Cox and Google Fiber offer video services that are legally indistinguishable." And now the town of Scottsdale appears to have delayed its approval of its own deal with Google Fiber for fear of invoking Cox's wrath. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Scottsdale removed a proposed resolution to grant Google a “video services” license from the Oct. 6 city council meeting. “The City believes these questions will more likely be resolved more definitively in the future by the Federal Communications Commission or a similar authority,” said Scottsdale Chief Information Officer Brad Hartig in a statement. Cox, meanwhile, appears pleased that everything is going as planned. “We are optimistic that the city of Scottsdale will take the same approach the city of Phoenix did, and license Google Fiber in compliance with federal and state law, just like the other cable providers that currently serve the Phoenix metro area," states Cox. Of course Cox's primary goal here isn't to play franchise agreement nanny, it's to delay a competitor from coming to market. As noted previously, Cox had every opportunity to approach Tempe (or any other city leadership) to negotiate the exact same deal before Google Fiber's arrival , and the Tempe agreement also ensured Of course Cox's primary goal here isn't to play franchise agreement nanny, it's to delay a competitor from coming to market. As noted previously,, and the Tempe agreement also ensured that remained true post Google Fiber. It's only once a competitor had entered Cox's historically uncompetitive, regulatory-captured markets that the cable company suddenly and inexplicably became obsessed with the concept of regulatory fair play.







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Most recommended from 42 comments



buzz_4_20

join:2003-09-20

Biddeford, ME 14 recommendations buzz_4_20 Member Or... They could work out their own deal and then start competing... you know... how capitalism and the free market is supposed to work.

UKEE

join:2012-05-14

Lexington, KY 10 recommendations UKEE Member Let's flip the view.... I think I'll sue TWC because new customers are getting a better deal than I am. Let's see how far that gets.



Governments give special treatment (tax breaks, subsidies, etc) all the time to lure new business to their towns. Not sure why this is any different....



Cox and other ISP's (TWC especially) can suck it as far as I'm concerned.

howsthis3

@charter.com 7 recommendations howsthis3 Anon Why compete when you an litigate?