Nashville Mayor Barry wants three technology giants to come to the table to resolve their differences over proposed legislation that would change how companies manage equipment on the utility poles across Nashville. Meanwhile, a Google Fiber official said the company may walk away from Music City if a resolution isn’t reached.
To hasten the construction of its fiber internet system in Nashville, Google is pushing legislation that would allow companies to move equipment belonging to rival companies on utility poles. The legislation is opposed by AT&T and Comcast.
The legislation had been scheduled to go before the Metro Council tonight, but has instead been deferred to the Sept. 6 meeting.
The Tennessean reports that Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has tasked Nashville Electric Service CEO Decosta Jenkins and Metro Department of Law Director Jon Cooper to convene all of the parties to find a solution.
"High-speed broadband service is critical to the city of Nashville's future," Barry wrote Monday in a memo to Jenkins and Cooper. “A resolution to this issue that is fair to all will only benefit our citizens."
At a special joint meeting Monday of the Metro Council’s Budget and Finance and Public Works committees, Google Fiber representative Chris Levendos, head of network deployment and operations, said the company may walk away if the council fails to act.
“Worst-case scenario is either elongation or it just ceases to happen,” Levendos said, according to The Tennessean.
