AT&T joins Time Warner in Google Fiber fight

Metro Council could take two significant steps at Thursday's meeting to bring faster Internet speeds to Louisville but one of its ideas to streamline construction is being opposed by Time Warner Cable and AT&T, which have questioned if the city has the authority to regulate that needed infrastructure.

Council members are expected to discuss an ordinance that would streamline the installation process by giving Internet service providers easier access to city rights-of-way, which in this case would be utility poles. The measure would allow a utility pole's owner to permit a single contractor to install the new equipment and possibly move other companies' equipment that are already on the pole.

The current process allows each company to send out their own contractors to do that work, which can take up to six months or more. That clogs up the installation process, said Councilman Bill Hollander, who is sponsoring the ordinance.

“We are trying to do everything we can to position the city to be a leader in broadband,” Hollander, D-9th District, said.

In a Feb. 9 letter obtained by The Courier-Journal, however, an attorney for Time Warner Cable said the company has serious concern that such a change will negatively impact their business.

"The ordinance is simply unworkable," Gardner Gillespie, who is representing the company, said. "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."

Gillespie told Mayor Greg Fisher's general counsel and several members in the letter that if approved the measure opens the cable company up to "unacceptable risks." It warns customer could see degraded service and outages by permitting other contractors to adjust or move its equipment.

In a separate letter sent Thursday morning, AT&T Kentucky President Hood Harris also said the measure infringes their agreement and “would likely disrupt the service our customers receive.” The vast majority of utility poles in the city are owned by either AT&T or Louisville Gas & Electric.

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“For those reasons, we believe the Metro Council should table the ordinance until an agreement can be reached that is in the best interest of both customers and broadband providers,” Harris said.

Spokesman Daniel Hayes said AT&T is working with Metro Council and Fischer's office to reach a deal "that is in the best interest of both customers, union workers and broadband providers."

A Hollander spokeswoman confirmed members are working on an amendment to the legislation leading up to Thursday night's meeting.

Time Warner is also questioning if the city has the legal authority to regulate equipment attached to utility poles, saying that power is given to the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Gillespie adds the city would also be violating Time Warner's constitutional rights by allowing others to take possession of their property.

"Since 1981, when the commission first asserted jurisdiction over the rates, terms and conditions applicable to the pole attachments made by operators of cable television systems," Gillespie said. "The commission has consistently extended its jurisdiction to safety and engineering issues."

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.

"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."

Tech consultant Dannie Gregoire 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."

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In his letter to the city, Time Warner's attorney said the company is also looking to voluntarily add high-speed Internet and "supports the goal of streamlining access to infrastructure by all broadband providers. But TWC cannot agree with the means" proposed in the ordinance.

Councilman Kevin Kramer said he expects amendments will be introduced to fix some of those concerns but added that most members do not agree with Time Warner's stance.

"I don't know if the concern that's been raised has a resolution that will satisfy the companies," Kramer, R-11th,  said. "And I don't think the concern they have is great enough to end the conversation."

The other part of the plan before council members is a resolution that would allow a company to make one franchise agreement — negotiated by metro government — rather than more than separate deals with more than 80 suburban cities within Jefferson County such as Glenview, Jeffersontown and Shively.

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Most have already approved similar resolutions and that is expected to sail through the council on Thursday.

Both plans are part of the city's effort to attract ultra-fast Internet companies such as Google Fiber to the city but proponents believe these changes will attract other companies too.

"We hope that it will help us no matter who the provider is," Hollander said. "There likely will be multiple ones. The more competition the better."

There are at least three other tech companies — BluegrassNet, SiFi Networks and FiberTech Networks — that have expressed interest in building a local fiber-optics network in parts, or all, of the community. AT&T also said it is planning to unveil ultra-fast gigabit access to Louisville customers.

Supporters of both measures say that a fiber network would increase Internet speeds at least twenty-fold for downloading material, streaming movies, gaming and other activities.

"It's not just the geek community that should be excited," Gregoire said. "Most people aren't exposed to what this level of high-speed is going to bring them. They think they're content with 30 megabytes and can't imagine using anything else."

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