Google Fiber has begun the formal application process for putting its networking equipment in Portland, the latest signal the company may soon confirm plans to offer hyperfast Internet service in Portland.

It's been obvious for months that Google intends to go ahead with offering fiber-optic service in Portland: The company has begun hiring a local staff, it's won tax breaks for the service and it's been meeting with Portland land-use planners to map out its network.

Google has also contacted at least two neighborhood associations -- Hillsdale in Southwest Portland and Montavilla in Southeast -- to express interest in serving their communities. Montavilla resident Benjamin Kerensa said Google told his neighborhood association that work could start by summer.

Nothing's for sure until it happens, though. A 2014 Oregon Supreme Court ruling on an obscure state tax nearly derailed Google Fiber's plans until the Legislature created an exemption last year. Until Google makes a formal announcement on Portland, something else unforeseen could yet disrupt its plans.

Google declined to elaborate on last week's land-use filing. The company applied to put a "fiber hut" at 4645 Southwest 19th Avenue. (Hat tip to @maccoinnnich, who spotted the filing.)

Google's fiber huts house networking equipment, serving as a hub for fiber lines passing to utility cabinets distributed along streets throughout a city. The application is for one of seven sites Google Fiber expressed interest in last fall, but it hadn't followed up with formal applications until now.

The single application could serve as a test to see how the fiber huts fare in the city's review process. If things go smoothly, additional filings may follow soon after.

Google Fiber promises Internet connects at 1 gigabit per second, 40 times faster than the federal standard for broadband service. It offers cable TV service, too, and the company announced this week that it will also offer phone service in the markets it serves.

It charges $70 a month for gigabit service, another $60 for a cable TV package and $10 more for unlimited local and long-distance phone service.

Since Google announced interest in serving Portland in February 2014, Comcast, Frontier and CenturyLink have all announced plans to offer their own gigabit connections. CenturyLink has been the most aggressive, rolling out fiber-optic service to much of Portland, but the upgrade has been accompanied by a sharp uptick in the number of complaints about the company.

Google Fiber already serves Austin, Kansas City and Provo, and is adding other markets across the country. An analysis this month by the telecom industry research firm MoffettNathanson found the company has just 53,000 video subscribers in those markets. The tally didn't count Internet-only subscribers, but analyst Craig Moffett suggested the numbers show Google Fiber is still experimenting with its business model.

-- Mike Rogoway

mrogoway@oregonian.com

503-294-7699

@rogoway