The local government in Nashville, Tenn., voted by a wide margin (32-7) this week to give preliminary approval to a One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) ruling that would make it easier and faster for Google Fiber Inc. to deploy gigabit services in the city. The proposal has drawn fire from incumbent broadband providers, and particularly from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), which has argued that the ordinance could lead to network outages and would certainly give unfair advantage to new market entrants.

To review, the OMTR ruling promises to streamline the process for attaching new fiber lines to utility poles in Nashville. Google Fiber says that there are 44,000 utility poles in the city that need to be prepared for new lines. Of that 44,000, only 33 have received attention so far. And the slow pace is stymying the company's efforts to deploy new gigabit services. (See Gigabites: A Love Letter to Nashville.)

While the preliminary municipal vote this week was a win for Google Fiber, it's not the last hurdle in Nashville. A final vote will take place on September 20 before the ordinance is handed over to the mayor's office for his signature. Assuming the ruling passes, Google Fiber is still likely to face holdups while AT&T challenges the ordinance in court. The telco has already sued Louisville over similar action.

For all the excitement Google Fiber has generated in the broadband world, the company still has one major problem even in the cities where its gigabit service is available: low, low, very low adoption. According to new estimates by analyst Craig Moffett (hat tip, Fierce Cable), Google Fiber likely had no more than 453,000 broadband customers at the end of June. The poor adoption rate has many, including Moffett, believing that parent company Alphabet Inc. will ultimately abandon the broadband infrastructure game. Google Fiber has repeatedly said that's not the case, however. Now if only it could put up some better numbers to prove it.