© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Google Fiber Still Not Building Huts, But Moving Forward In San Antonio

Google

Nearly 5 months ago, the city asked Google Fiber to stop building a network of telecommunications hubs in San Antonio after complaints surrounding the first one in Haskin Park.  Mayor Ivy Taylor raised concerns about the Google's use of parks and the hut proximity to homes. Subsequently, city staff recommended the relocation of eight huts, nearly half of the planned network. 

At the time  of the pause in construction, Councilman Mike Gallagher and city staff predicted a redesign wouldn't cause a major delay. 

Google has not constructed a new hut since, which are vital for any rollout of its high speed fiber internet. The city says Google has yet to provide a formal update to their network design, but will use fewer huts.

Google bought the wireless high-speed home internet provider WebPass a year ago and has rolled out the service in other cities. No word on what role, if any, WebPass technology could play in San Antonio's build out.

 

June 21, Google Fiber Texas LLC  asks the Historic Desgin and Review Commission to approve a plan for a fence around a future hut at West End Park on the city's southside. West End was one of the parks Taylor had identified as suffering from the construction of a hut. City staff did not recommend it be relocated.

TPR has previously reported that Google Fiber has started selling internet plans in cities that were announced around the same time as San Antonio. San Antonio represents the largest city geographically that Google Fiber has begun construction in.  

Google Fiber has suffered from cost overruns and failed to meet subscriber goals in the past, and is still costing more than it makes for parent company Alphabet.

Paul Flahive can be reached at Paul@tpr.org