What is the biggest impediment to Gigabit deployment?
- AT&T: The state of the City’s permitting system. Average of 90 days to bury cable through the system. In other City’s this is approved in a week or less.
- Charter: Issues around timing it takes for downtown customers. Timing delays jeopardizes those projects.
- Google Fiber: Getting permits complete.
Would common duct bank or common right of way on Austin Energy polls facilitate Fiber rollout?
- AT&T:
- Charter: Common cable presents technical challenges. Liability. Reducing costs downtown would be helpful.
- Google: Shared conduit, or other shared measure is something they would like to support. Have done this in private communities.
What is your company’s opinion on net neutrality?
- Charter: There is no throttling or paid prioritization.
- AT&T: We continue to support an “open internet”. We do not support Title 2 Restrictions. Light regulatory touch
- Google Fiber: Obviously in support. When we see more competitions it creates more access.
Comparing Austin to other cities like (Portland, Lowell MA, Singapore) we are behind on . What is the biggest infrastructure obstacle to
- Charter: Discuss merger between Brighthouse, TWC, and Charter.
- AT&T: Reiterates the problem is with permitting, not the physical infrastructure.
- Google Fiber: Number 1 issue is to create access. Challenge is expanding quickly enough to meet customer demands. Committed to trying technologies that can bring services more quickly. Mentions the Digital Inclusion initiatives for underserved communities.
How do providers plan to expand small cell technology to the rest of the City?
- At&T: Very close to deployment. Fee schedule approved by ordiance and master license agreement. Currently the city has said they would like to limit deployment to only 25 nodes per provide in downtown. Unaware of metrics how when Phase 1 ends. Unaware of when they would be able to expand beyond downtown.
- Google Fiber: Oberserving the technology. No immediate plans to deploy small cell technology.
- Charter: Focus is on core business. TV pacakging, consumer facing package simplfication. Small cell is not the focus.
Is there structural, enginerring, or physical infrastructure obstacles for deployment?
- AT&T: Permitting is the top concern. The City’s requirement to have all PE sealed by engineers. PE licensing requirements goes beyond State requirements. Adds a time consuming task and cost to permitting process. PE seal, is only required in Austin, no other cities have the same requirement. Other cities require call before you dig.
What emerging technology will most impact providing high speed internet efficiently?
- AT&T: Small cell technology. Nodes that are attached to infrastructure throughout the City. Densify network by freeing up capacity on macro/cell towers. Will be essential for 5G, Smart Cities, and Internet of Things. Priject Air Gig, will allow low cost multigig internet to be delivered over power lines.
- Google Fiber: Can’t speak to specifics but they are planning on testing new technologies in Austin. New engineering techniques to lay fiber. Less costly.
How do Federal, State, and local regulations help and/or hurt your efforts to deploy new technology?
- Charter: Discriminatory and competitive issues present problems.
- AT&T: at the local level they would point to 3 areas of public policy. Streamlined permitting process. Right of way access and access to infrastructure. Resonable fees. Municiply owned utility is helpful to deploy small cells when it comes to poles. Other municipal utilities, like San Antonio, reworked their pole attachement requirements.
- Google Fiber: Keeping an eye on whats emerging at all levels of government. Can get back with a more detailed answer.
Has your company developed a community engagement plan? If so, how is it tailored to the City of Austin and its rapidly growing population?
- AT&T: More than providing high speed internet. Training skills. Low cost broadband options, Access, up to 10mb for $10 or less. Digital U, online resource. How to go online safely and securely. STEM education at early ages and high school dropout prevention. Contributed $100k to Goodwill to provide devices for 450 low income students to bridge homework divide. Partnered with Aikin HS Digital U initiative aligned with curriculum. Partnered with Girls Who Code, gave 20 high school girls access a full time summer camp. Announcing a new partnership with Meal on Wheels teaching senior citizens how to use their mobile devices.
- Charter: New company, new initiatives. A special product, Spectrum Internet Assist, 30 by 4 connection. $14 per month, no modem fee. Eligibilty is a student participating in the national school lunch program. More details to come:
- Google Fiber: Have a variety of community engagement programs that fit in with digital inclusion, digital literacy, and STEM education. Providing “Communitiy COnnections” to bring high speed gigabit to nonprofit centers and schools throughout the City. Partnered with Housing Authority for access for HACA residents. Low cost internet product, 25mbps for $15 for underconnected communities. Austin already has local providers, like Ausitn Free Net, African American Youth Harvest, Latinitas. Provide them support, sponsoring programs. Playing the enhancement role. Looking to increase support for that are taking advantage of gigabit technologies, working with Mozilla Gigabit Community Foundation. Conversations with US Ignite gigabit programs. Open to feedback to what that looks like.
When your comapnies chose to expand service, what are the determining factors other than demand that you are considering?
- AT&T: Network maintainces is expensive and time consuming. Focus on not losing customers. Looking at the networks needs for macro and micro tower. Looking at network exhaustion. Have a strategic planner that is looking at urban planning, sprawl, new development. Network traffic relief.
- Google Fiber: Still building out the network. Started in South Austin and just now crossed town lake. Network hub is in S. Austin so that’s why they had to start there.
- Charter: Difference in commercial vs residential. Have to be able to make upgrades to the whole City because they serve the whole city.
When it comes to permitting processes delays, what are we as a City missing? What is actionable? What are no brainer fixes we could make to the permitting process?
- Charter: Would require followup.
- Google Fiber: The feedback has been with resources in the City. Traffic control permits, they just don’t have enough on the paper or the capacity to do the work.
- AT&T: Little things seem to add up. Inconsistencies in reviewing. Errors in reviewing permits. Conserved with Austin Energy’s reluctance to open up their assets.