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posted by martyb on Sunday February 10 2019, @04:23AM   Printer-friendly
from the they-couldn't-dig-it dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Google Fiber's biggest failure: ISP will turn service off in Louisville

Google Fiber will turn off its network in Louisville, Kentucky and exit the city after a series of fiber installation failures left cables exposed in the roads. Google Fiber's customers in Louisville will have to switch ISPs and will get their final two months of Google Fiber service for free to help make up for the disruption.

Google Fiber went live in Louisville late in 2017, just a few months after construction began. The quick turnaround happened because Google Fiber used a shallow trenching strategy that is quicker than traditional underground fiber deployment and doesn't require digging giant holes. Instead of a foot-wide trench, a micro-trench is generally about an inch wide and four inches deep. In Louisville, Google Fiber reportedly was burying cables in "nano-trenches" that were just two inches deep.

But Louisville residents soon found exposed cables, as a WDRB article noted in March 2018. "When you're walking around the neighborhood, [the lines are] popping up out of the road all over the place," resident Larry Coomes said at the time. "People are tripping over it."

In August 2018, Google Fiber announced a plan to fix the problem, WDRB reported at the time. But Google Fiber never quite got it right, and yesterday the Alphabet-owned ISP announced that it will leave the city in a blog post titled "Saying Goodbye to Louisville."Google Fiber is now in Louisville thanks to new fiber deployment strategy

"As we told our customers today, we will be turning off the network on April 15 and their next two months of service are on us," Google Fiber wrote, pledging to "work with our customers and partners to minimize disruption."


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by wisnoskij on Sunday February 10 2019, @05:04AM (1 child)

    by wisnoskij (5149) <{jonathonwisnoski} {at} {gmail.com}> on Sunday February 10 2019, @05:04AM (#799016)

    Is there not some form of installation code akin to building codes that would prevent utilities from installing unsafe and unstable services along public roads and walkways?

    Did Google not have to show some form of project summery and installation plan to the city council to get permission?

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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday February 10 2019, @05:19AM

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday February 10 2019, @05:19AM (#799022) Homepage Journal

    Consider the amount of money they have to shovel around and how much less expensive city officials are than federal ones and you'll have your answer.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.