Google's Fiber Project Hits a Snag

An update on Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s 1-Gig jig in middle-America kicks off Thursday's cable hot sheet.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s getting a taste of what it's like to be a facilities-based service provider. Its ambitious FTTH network build in the Kansas Cities is getting bogged down as Google negotiates fees to string its fiber lines to public utility poles -- exactly the sort of thing that cable operators and other incumbent broadband service providers have historically had to deal with, reports The Kansas City Star. Ironically, Google originally picked the region in part because it believed these negotiations would be swift and allow it to get its fiber network off the ground quickly. An official with the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities told the paper that the final details of the access agreement should be wrapped up "within the next week or two." (See Google's Fiber Engineers Descend on Kansas City and Google to Plant More Kansas City Fiber.)

L2 Communications President and CEO Kraig Beahn is in hot water for allegedly tapping into Mediacom Communications Corp. 's plant in Albany, Ga., and reselling voice and Internet service to a business customer. Here's WALB's story:

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) has completed an all-digital migration in Central Maine aided by one-way Digital Terminal Adapter (DTA) devices, which Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is relying on heavily as it continues to reclaim valuable analog spectrum. TW Cable subs can obtain as many DTAs as they need for free until next December, according to WABI-TV. (See Comcast Starts to Kiss Analog TV Goodbye.)

Former Cox Communications Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. CTO Chris Bowick has joined the advisory board of Triage Partners LLC , a firm that provides certified technicians to cable, broadband and telecom companies.

Mark Cuban's HDNet is being rebranded as AXS TV in mid-2012 as the billionaire adds talent agency CAA and Ryan Seacrest as investors, notes Businessweek. With Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH) coming on board, the channel is poised to expand distribution to 35 million homes.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable