Over the past several times, rumors have abounded that Google planned to bring Fiber to New York City, however, if the company did decide to bring the service to the city, it would have a difficult time gaining a foothold. A complex of tunnels originally built for telephone wire in 1888 lies beneath Manhattan running all the way to the Bronx controlled by Empire City Subway, a subsidiary of Verizon. Verizon claims that it maintains the tunnels, pointing to the presence of its own fiber optic network as proof. Reports from Crain’s New York, however indicate that these conduits are filled with cables from defunct Internet providers. The conduit system that could supply Google Fiber is a crowded mess, a situation that is most unlikely to change in the short term.
Another major hurdle that Google might have to clear in order to bring Fiber to the Big Apple is how badly the current mayor wants the service. Although Mayor Bill de Blasio once said that New York City should do everything in its power to give its citizens universal access to high-speed Internet, the question remains as to whether New York would give Google everything it would need to install its network.