An agreement has been made between the city of Bee Cave and Google Fiber to install a fiber optic network throughout the city using public right of way.

This agreement, announced at a City Council meeting Jan. 14, is the first step toward bringing new infrastructure that would provide faster internet speeds to the city of Bee Cave, Director of Communications Crystal Cotti said.

The overview

Following approval of this agreement, several steps must be taken for the network to be laid out and implemented, Cotti said. Design and engineering phases will come next, after which Google Fiber will submit permit applications to the city of Bee Cave for consideration. If those are approved, network construction will begin.

That construction phase typically takes somewhere between 18-24 months, Cotti said. In terms of how long it will take residents to have access to the new fiber network, that will depend on how the permitting process goes, said Jason Bone, Head of Technical Operations in Central Texas for Google Fiber.

“We would expect to be able to—assuming that the permitting process is pretty straightforward, which we believe it would be—start construction sometime before the end of 2025 and then be completed before the end of 2026,” Bone said. “For a city the size of Bee Cave, it would move pretty quickly.”

As construction is completed in different areas throughout the city, service is turned on usually within one or two months of that specific area’s build completion, Bone said.

What residents should know

The city’s agreement with Google Fiber is non-exclusive, meaning residents may still choose from other fiber vendors if they wish.

“Customers will have the option to use Google Fiber,” Cotti said. “There’s an opt-in process, of course, we’re not saying everybody in Bee Cave is going to use Google Fiber. ... Google Fiber wants to make this investment in the city, but they’re not the only potential fiber vendor.”

As service is made available, residents will be able to receive email notifications and updates on their home’s service availability by signing up on Google Fiber’s website and entering their home address, Bone said.

Google will also provide residents with information in a variety of other ways, including putting out door hangers and signs throughout the community, and connecting with local HOA groups to explain what residents can expect, Bone said.

What’s next?

As to what construction will look like, Google’s typical method for installing cables is by placing them underground, creating what are called ‘micro-trenches’—small trenches cut into street pavement along which cables can be run, Bone said.

“Everything is below ground, so in that deployment we don’t have cabinets that we’re going to be placing all over, we’re not putting pedestals in yards,” Bone said. “It’s all in the front easement or the front right of way, and all of our facilities where we splice the fiber, or leave coils for access to be able to serve homes, are all in vaults that are sub-grade.”

City Manager Julie Oakley said the city has ordinances in place which prohibit excavating or cutting into public streets, meaning Bee Cave will need to work with Google Fiber to figure out how construction will work and address whether ordinances should be amended.

In terms of the project’s scope, Bone said the new fiber network is intended to serve as many Bee Cave residents as possible.

“Our deployment toolkit that we use allows us to deploy pretty broadly across the city,” Bone said. “Our goal is to serve the entire community.”