San Antonio got a step closer to getting Google Fiber on Thursday after the city approved a real estate deal with the ISP/pay-TV entity, the San Antonio-Express Newsreported.
According to the paper, the city okayed a long-term , master lease deal with Google Fiber Texas LLC that will clear the deployment of 40 Google “fiber huts” that are used to help power the network.
That green light doesn’t guarantee that Google Fiber will be deployed in San Antonio, which is already served by incumbents AT&T and Time Warner Cable. But it does move the process forward, and provide the “legal framework needed,” the paper said, citing San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro.
San Antonio is one of 34 possible expansion cities in nine metro that Google Fiber is “exploring.”
“Mayor Castro and his staff have been wonderful to work with as we’ve begun mapping out what it would look like to bring Google Fiber to San Antonio. It will still take several months to work through the full planning process, but the vote this week is a great start,” Google Fiber said in a statement.
As part of its expansion plan, Google Fiber, which has plans to offer speeds up to 10 Gbps, will provide updates on its selection process throughout the year as it meets with city leaders in respective markets.
Its two-planning process includes a city-provided “fiber-ready checklist” with info to help Google plan out the construction and speed up planning, taking into account the area’s network of poles, conduit, and water, gas and electricity lines.
Google Fiber posted a copy of that checklist (pdf) in late February. Google Fiber has set a May 1 deadline for cities to respond to items on the checklist. According to its permitting process, Google Fiber is seeking applicable areas covering the entire city, or a minimum of 20,000 households.
The checklist also contains the Network Hut License Agreement, which calls for initial term of 20 years from the effective date.
