Nashville gives final approval of Google Fiber 'One Touch' plan

Google Fiber scored a major victory Tuesday in its effort to expand to Nashville, netting final Metro Council approval of a proposal known as One Touch Make Ready that the company has made the focal point of its gigabit internet rollout here.

But while the council's action — which came by a voice vote — caps weeks of intense debate and failed negotiations surrounding utility pole attachment methods, it probably sets the stage for a legal battle. Executives from AT&T, which sued Louisville, Ky., after it passed a similar ordinance, have made clear that Nashville can expect a lawsuit if One Touch Make Ready becomes law.

Supporters of Google Fiber have framed the issue as allowing more competition against existing providers Comcast and AT&T, which have both opposed the measure. The council's top proponents pushed that theme Tuesday.

"Davidson County can be swiftly outfitted with fiber infrastructure no matter the carrier, with speed,” Councilman Anthony Davis, a co-sponsor of the ordinance, said ahead of the vote. “It is great policy. It is simply common sense and it makes Nashville a premier internet and technology city.”

The council's approval Tuesday came after it first voted 26-12 to defeat a proposal from Antioch-area Councilwoman Tanaka Vercher, a critic of the measure, to delay voting for two meetings. She said the council needed more information on how Google plans to pick which communities it will serve. A similar deferral effort was narrowly defeated by the council two weeks ago.

The ordinance now heads to the desk of Mayor Megan Barry, who has refrained from taking an up-or-down position on One Touch Make Ready, seeking compromise among providers. Nevertheless, she plans to sign the bill into law.

“One Touch Make Ready appears to be a common-sense way of speeding up the deployment of high-speed internet throughout Davidson County," Barry said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, the likelihood of protracted litigation could delay implementation of this law designed to benefit Nashville’s consumers," she said. "That is why I encouraged fiber providers to work together on a solution they could all agree upon, which they were not able to do. My hope now is that any potential legal disputes over this new law can be resolved quickly, and we can move forward with expanding fiber access throughout the city.”

At issue is how utility poles are made ready for new providers. When a new line is added to a pole, each existing line must be moved by its owner, a process that can take months per line. Google Fiber sought to expedite the process by allowing one approved contractor to move all the lines at once, a policy change that would reduce traffic and sidewalk disruption, the company argued.

Chris Levendos, Google Fiber director of national deployment and operations, praised the outcome of Tuesday's meeting, saying it "will allow new entrants like Google Fiber to bring broadband to more Nashvillians efficiently, safely and quickly."

AT&T, among other arguments, has pointed to contracts with union workers that would be violated by the legislation. Comcast says that One Touch Make Ready puts workers' safety at risk and could lead to service disruptions for consumers.

“As we have emphasized throughout this debate, the 'One-Touch' policy is not a good solution for faster deployment of infrastructure," AT&T Tennessee President Joelle Phillips said in an emailed statement. "We appreciate the efforts of council members and representatives of NES, Public Works, Metro Legal and Comcast who invested the time to discuss better alternatives and to collect accurate facts. That’s the Nashville way, and that’s how we should work together on the many tech policy issues that will arise as technology — and the way we all use that technology — continues to rapidly evolve.”

Comcast officials also said they were disappointed by the vote and that the company would evaluate whether "further proceedings" were necessary.

"Throughout this process, Comcast has been committed to working with all stakeholders in Nashville on a collaborative solution to improve broadband deployment processes," Comcast spokeswoman Sara Jo Walker said in an emailed statement. "We thank the councilmembers who were willing to take a deep look at the risks associated with, and inaccuracies of ‘One Touch’ and stand up for a better solution that is beneficial for all consumers."

At-large Councilman Bob Mendes, who voted against the One Touch Make Ready bill, cited the need for a solution with "better balance." He bemoaned that the issue has been portrayed in the media and council "as a black and white, soundbite-driven sort of a debate where you're either a good guy or the bad guy. You're either pro-technology or anti-technology.

"That's sort of reductionist politics," he said. "I don't think it should have a place here. There is a better way forward."

The council also voted 25-14 to defeat a nonbinding resolution proposed by Councilwoman Sheri Weiner that sought to create tighter deadlines on make-ready work and add penalties to providers that did not adhere to them. To reach that goal, it sought a memorandum of understanding among providers.

Weiner said she introduced the resolution so that "everyone can take a deep breath to see if we can come up with a comprehensive solution," but Google Fiber's proponents argued the resolution would bind Metro government moving forward. Google Fiber representatives said the company would not sign the memorandum of understanding.

In its effort to defeat One Touch Make Ready, Comcast and AT&T had proposed changes to the existing make-ready process, but bill sponsors said those adjustments did little to address the delays and allowed existing providers to serve as "gatekeepers" of competition.

Companies now appear to be preparing for a legal fight.

Fleur Knowlsey, senior counsel of Alphabet’s Access group, in a letter to council members and city attorneys Monday, offered to share the company's in-house and outside attorneys to help Metro fight future litigation from AT&T.

AT&T Tennessee recently tapped high-profile Nashville attorney Bill Harbison to join the company's legal team.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison. Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.