Google Fiber Closes on Webpass, But CLEC Transfer Still Faces State Review
Google Fiber may start deploying wireless network technology after closing part of its Webpass acquisition Monday, the company said in a blog post. The California wireless ISP's point-to-point wireless capability is seen as a key part to the acquirer's evolving broadband strategy (see 1609070026). Google still needs regulatory approval by the California Public Utilities Commission for the acquisition of a Webpass telecom affiliate. The National Diversity Coalition opposed that deal at the CPUC last month, and one observer predicted the state review could take months.
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In August, Google postponed fiber builds in multiple California cities while exploring how wireless technologies might be used to reach more customers. The delay closely followed Google Fiber’s decision to buy Webpass, a California CLEC specializing in point-to-point wireless broadband that could be combined with fiber to spread high-speed Internet to more homes.
“Our strategy going forward will be a hybrid approach with wireless playing an integral part,” Google Fiber President Dennis Kish blogged. “Webpass has proven that point-to-point wireless is a reliable way to connect more people to high speed Internet in a high density environment, by setting up wireless transmission links between buildings. Residents simply plug their device or router into the data jack Webpass installs in their unit, and they’re good to go, browsing with speeds reaching up to a Gig.” The FCC Wireless Bureau OK’d transfer of the Webpass license to Google Fiber last month, said a Sept. 14 public notice. Google Fiber said it plans to extend and accelerate Webpass deployment in three cities where their operations overlap: San Francisco, San Diego and Chicago.
The deal helps Google connect condos and apartments, an area where Webpass has excelled, said Institute for Local Self-Reliance Community Broadband Networks Director Christopher Mitchell. “I don't expect [Google] to ditch fiber, but a fiber-first strategy in bigger cities is quite difficult,” he emailed Monday. “The Webpass approach allows Google to very quickly start turning on customers because they will not be stuck waiting for the big incumbents like AT&T or Charter to make space for Google on utility poles. Google will use fixed wireless to connect to building roofs and distribute Internet access to units in the building. Over time, they can build the fiber out when the anti-competitive delays from existing providers are not as harmful because they already have revenue coming in.”
Google expects to close later this year on Webpass Telecommunications, the CLEC affiliate of Webpass, Kish said. The technology is part of what Google completed Monday and can be used right away, and the CLEC business holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the CPUC that includes pole access, interconnection and other regulated telephone company benefits. The National Diversity Coalition opposed that deal in a Sept. 19 protest filing at the CPUC posted Monday in docket A16-08-009.
Google failed to satisfy the statutory public interest test and “relies upon broad and generic statements of possible benefits,” the coalition said. “Applicants provide no information regarding how experimentation with new technologies through acquiring Webpass will improve Google Fiber’s services. Experimentation is a valuable step in improving technology, but it can just as easily result in wasted resources that do not produce useable advancements or useful information. Greater benefits to the public interest and technological advancements may be realized by protecting start-ups from acquisition, preserving smaller companies that think differently and are more entrepreneurial than larger established corporations.”
The coalition also cast doubt on Google’s commitment to diversity, saying the company employs “a disproportionately low percentage of minorities.” The CPUC should condition the deal on Google increasing diversity and providing low-priced internet service to disadvantaged communities, it said. The coalition proposed a proceeding schedule that would extend the review through next July. Google didn’t comment on the protest.
The CPUC probably will take months to review the deal, predicted Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum, a community broadband consultant for cities. “That's normal [for the CPUC] even for minor, non-controversial transfers with no third party intervention at all,” he emailed Monday. “Arguably this is minor and uncontroversial, but Google has deep pockets and that attracts intervenor filings.” In California, applicants must pay an intervenor’s costs if the intervenor makes a substantial contribution to a decision. The policy encourages intervention, said Blum. The agency didn’t comment.
A few days before completing the deal, Webpass resolved a dispute with AT&T in California (see 1609290033). Webpass filed an application for arbitration May 25, after AT&T refused to give permission to run fiber through the telco's conduits and insert splice cases and coil loops in AT&T manholes. “We reached a mutually acceptable agreement,” an AT&T spokeswoman said Monday. "Terms are confidential."