Google Fiber is now in Louisville thanks to new fiber deployment strategy

Enlarge (credit: Google Fiber)

Google Fiber has begun taking signups in Louisville, Kentucky, after a tumultuous process involving lawsuits filed against the local government by incumbent broadband providers.

AT&T and Charter both sued the metro government in Louisville and Jefferson County last year in an attempt to stop a new ordinance designed to give Google Fiber easier access to utility poles.

The lawsuits haven’t stopped the new ordinance, as AT&T’s was thrown out of court and Charter’s is still pending. But instead of hanging wires on utility poles, Google Fiber ended up burying the cables with a “microtrenching” strategy that is quicker than traditional underground fiber deployment.