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Cox Sues Tempe over Deal with Google Fiber
Cox Sues Tempe over Deal with Google Fiber
Cox Communications has expressed displeasure with the manner in which the City of Tempe awarded Google Fiber the contract to provide Gigabit-speed wired Internet service.
As a result, Cox has gone to court to sue Tempe for violating the laid down procedures. Cox filed its lawsuit on September 14 in U.S. District Court in Arizona claiming the city is “establishing a discriminatory regulatory framework”.
Further, the lawsuit accuses the city of violating the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 by contracting Google Fiber. It is understood that Tempe issued separate license agreements to both Cox Communications and Google Fiber which is the main bone of contention.
On one hand, Cox was awarded a traditional cable license when implementing its Gigabit Internet service. On the other hand, Google Fiber created a “video services license” but all is not well with Cox and they are now bruising for a tough legal battle. In their court filings, Cox has claimed that introduction of the new category is biased because it offers fewer restrictions on Google Fiber amounting to favoritism.
The gist of their lawsuit is that Google Fiber has been given a “unique benefit” that none of its competitors including Cox enjoys. However, assistant city attorney Jenae Naumann feels the content of the lawsuit is mere allegations and nothing is accurate. He said the main intention of the city is to have residents enjoy Gigabit speeds in the best way and there was nothing wrong with contracting Google Fiber.
In a statement reacting to the lawsuit, Naumann said; “The city of Tempe is requiring all its providers of video services to Tempe subscribers to comply with whatever federal, state and local laws are applicable to them and Tempe’s license agreements with Cox, CenturyLink and Google Fiber reflect that.” Cox has been against the deal since July and they are determined to stop it.
Cox is currently deploying it’s own Gigabit service called “Cox Gigablast in select markets.
Cox Gigablast Internet Speed Test and Installation
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