Portland, Ore., reached a franchise agreement with Google...

Portland, Ore., reached a franchise agreement with Google Fiber, in which the company will have use of the city’s public right of way, a Google spokeswoman said. Under the agreement, Google agreed to pay the city the standard 5 percent franchise fee that other utilities pay (http://bit.ly/1jOurTw). The City Commission must approve the measure. “This franchise agreement is an important step along the path to Fiber. It gives us permission to build here, and it also outlines the ways that we'll partner with the city to invest in local infrastructure and give back to the community. There’s still a lot of work to do beyond this one agreement, but we hope to provide an update about whether we can bring Fiber here later this year,” Google said in a statement.