It seems that not everybody in Austin is happy with the installation of Google Fiber in the community. Google has been accused of producing damage and disruption during its Fiber installation in the area.
When Google began installing the infrastructure which promises to bring high-speed Internet service to Austin, quite a few residents complained, saying that the installation process of Google Fiber along with the company's contractors caused damage and disruption.
Residents of Lambs Lane in Southeast Austin claim that Google and its contractors left construction eyesores in the place. Their materials left by workers also clogged storm drains which triggered flooding.
Back in October last year, residents recounted how water rushed to their houses which wrecked lots of their belongings.
"We are ruined," told Arnulfo Cruz to GovTech.com in Spanish while sobbing. "We don't understand. I don't know what to do. I don't sleep at night because I don't know what is happening tomorrow."
Last year, 254 out of 363 complaints, linked to the installation of Google Fiber, were filed with 3-1-1 services in Austin. A number of these issues range from landscape, lawn and home damages, trespassing and obstructing private driveways.
In April 2013, the Mountain View-based company revealed its plan to bring the ultrafast Google Fiber to Austin. With Google Fiber, users are able to download a TV show in three seconds, 25 songs in a second and a high-definition movie in less than 36 seconds, thanks to 1-gigabit speeds Google Fiber offers.
During the time, Austin city officials and community groups believed that the infrastructure would certainly be helpful to the economy and technology sector in the place.
"The next big thing in Austin!" said the chief executive of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas, Eugene Sepulveda, upon learning that Google would build a 1-gigabit broadband network in Austin.
A couple of days ago, Google Fiber won the legal battle against Time Warner Cable and AT&T.
Specifically, TWC and AT&T attempted to keep Google and other high-speed Internet providers from using city-owned utility poles in Louisville, Kentucky.
Representatives from TWC made a plea to city officials, saying that possible Google Fiber installation could interrupt service for its consumers, which could then trigger outages.
AT&T, in the meantime, claimed that once Google uses the utility poles of the city, this would be violating union agreements.
