[a-priori]

The only reason Google is getting 'special treatment' is because they've shown that they're willing and able to spend the capital necessary to develop the residential telecom network in North America. The incumbent network operators and ISPs have been dragging their heels on that since the 90s, and since then it's fallen behind other parts of the world.

Google Fibre is good for customers (hence the media buzz) and it's good for municipalities (hence their cooperation). Put the two together, and it looks like Google has a red carpet laid out in front of them simply because they're Google.

But really it's just genuine excitement that someone -- anyone -- is bringing long-overdue upgrades to home internet connections.