The people spearheading the NCNGN project are pushing ahead with their own plans even as they welcome the news that a Google Fiber network could be headed to the Triangle.

“This is great news for the region, but this is still preliminary and our efforts are still continuing,” Elise Kohn, the program director for the North Carolina Next Generation Network, told WRALTechWire shortly after the Google Fiber news broke Wednesday.

Google listed the Triangle among nine metropolitan areas where it would consider building a high-speed fiber optic network as it has in Kansas City and is doing in Austin, Texas as well as Provo, Utah.

Charlotte also made the list.

However, NCNGN targets a much broader area than Google Fiber. NCNGN wants a network that covers the Triangle and reaches to the Triad.

Kohn said the partners in the NCNGN project are “going as quickly as we can” with their own plans.

NCNGN already is tackling one of the key points Google raised in explaining which areas might get its network: Cooperation with local governments on such issues as right-of-ways.

Several towns and cities are part of the NCNGN initiative and have committed to working with a company – or companies – chosen to build the network. Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest also are involved.

NCNGN received numerous responses from a “request for proposal” unveiled in 2013 that spelled out priorities for the network project.

Kohn would not disclose if Google was one of the responders to the RFP. Only Time Warner Cable has chosen to disclose that it filed a response.

However, while NCNGN remains focused on its own efforts, Kohn said the Google news could boost attention to the need for higher-speed broadband.

“We certainly hope so,” she said when asked if Google’s announcement would had momentum to what NCNGN is attempting to do. 

“Google is a big name, and they have done this before,” she explained.

“This also validates this kind of a network. This is a positive sign.”

NCNGN’s Response

A full statement issued at the NCNGN website reads as follows:

“Today’s announcement that several Triangle area cities and towns are among a small list of communities across the country that Google is exploring as future sites for Google Fiber is welcome news to the 10 municipalities and universities collaborating on the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN). Google’s announcement validates the pioneering and on-going work communities have done to try to bring faster networks to central North Carolina to satisfy citizen demand for faster Internet speeds.

“Today’s announcement does not change our members’ commitment to participation in the NCNGN initiative but instead offers one more layer of opportunity and competition that will help bring competitively priced access to gigabit internet speeds that would be 100 times faster than today’s basic speeds.

“During its assessment, Google will consider many technical and legal details about the areas before deciding whether to bring Google Fiber to the communities named today. In the meantime, the NCNGN members are continuing to work with multiple vendors on plans to provide citizens with competitively priced access to gigabit internet speeds.”