Tempe moves forward on Google Fiber ultra-high-speed Internet

Valley residents moved a step closer to plugging in to Google Fiber’s ultra-high-speed Internet service Thursday night as the Tempe City Council voted unanimously to approve an agreement with the tech giant.

The agreement "gives us approval to build a network in the city of Tempe," said Angie Welling, Google's public policy and government affairs manager. Under the agreement, Google is granted the access it needs to dig, bury lines and hang wires, Welling said.

Last year, Google announced plans to consider expanding to the Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe areas, but no public actions had taken place until Thursday.

The agreement Tempe approved Thursday night was one of several the city must sign off on. Scottsdale and Phoenix are expected to vote in the coming months on similar agreements.

While the vote indicates Google is inching forward, it doesn’t mean the Valley is guaranteed Google Fiber service.

Still, Welling called Google Fiber a "game changer" for Tempe, saying the service should bolster quality of life and help small businesses and economic development efforts.

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Since the project is in its early stages, it’s unknown what the monthly service will cost in the Valley, which areas within those cities would get connected first, or how long it will take for residents to get a service connection.

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As a comparison, Google selected Kansas City, Kan., in March 2011 as the first city in the country to receive its network.

Kansas City’s first customer was connected in November 2012.

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Google Fiber residential rates in Kansas City are $130 a month for internet and TV, and $70 a month for internet, according to Google Fiber’s Kansas City website.

The service is about 100 times faster than basic broadband connections. Nationwide, the average Internet speed is about 11.9 megabits per second.

Google Fiber provides speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second. Google now also has service in Provo, Utah, and Austin, Texas.

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Under the agreement approved Thursday, Google would pay Tempe a 5 percent license fee, quarterly, based on Google’s gross video revenues over the 10-year life of the agreement.

Tempe’s agreement doesn’t extend any subsidies or tax breaks to the company.

Google did receive a few waivers from the city’s code.

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The first gave Google permission to hang wires in areas of the city with existing overhead lines. Tempe code prohibits creating new overhead lines without a waiver. Cox Communications received a similar waiver earlier this year, wrote Assistant City Attorney Jenae Naumann in an e-mail.

Even with the waiver, Google must still obtain permission from the pole owners, such as SRP and CenturyLink, Naumann wrote, noting most of Tempe’s overhead lines reside north of U.S. 60.

The city also waived one section in its indemnification clause. This means the city could get sued, and foot the court bill, if a competitor sues over a license issue related to Google Fiber.

But the city believes its ordinances can withstand scrutiny.

“While the City can never prevent anyone from bringing a lawsuit against it,” Naumann wrote, “the City is confident that its updated ordinance provides the authority to issue a license to Google Fiber and that the proposed license agreement with Google Fiber is lawful and competitively nondiscriminatory within the parameter of federal and state law.”

Also in the agreement, Google Fiber expresses its intent to provide access throughout Tempe, however Google won’t be required to expand service to every corner of the city. The company retains the right to “determine the scope, location and timing of the design and construction of its Network, as well as the windows during which residents may enroll for services.”

Google determines service areas by the number of homes that express an interest in Google Fiber, according to a Google Fiber information pamphlet.

While Google has garnered a lot of attention, Cox Communications has been providing fiber internet connections in limited parts of the Valley since last fall, with service currently available in parts of Phoenix and Tempe.

It has been offering such high-speed connections to businesses since 2007.

The company doesn’t mind the competition, as long as the playing field remains level.

After Thursday night's vote, Cox issued a statement saying that Tempe appeared to have violated federal and state law. "The waivers granted by the City also give Google Fiber a free pass on obligations that affect public safety -- such as emergency alert messaging -- and protection of subscriber privacy," John Wolfe, Cox Communications Southwest Senior Vice President and General Manager, said in a written statement. "We are confident the residents and businesses of Tempe share our concerns with these waivers."

In response to Cox's allegations, Tempe City Attorney Judi Baumann said the agreement spells out the city's authority to execute the agreement as written.

Republic reporter Ryan Randazzo contributed to this article.