Winston-Salem strikes AT&T ultra-fast Internet deal; Carrboro next?

A regional ultrafast network designed to delivering Internet and entertainment access at fiber-optic speed is another step closer to becoming a reality.

The City of Winston-Salem is the latest municipal participant in the North Carolina Next Generation Network project to make a deal with A&T for the deployment of an ultra-fast Internet and entertainment network.

This agreement is the first to be approved by a city council and signed.

The Carrboro Town Council is expected to review the proposal tonight.

City managers in Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham have received approval from their councils to sign the agreement, an AT&T spokesperson tells WRAL TechWire. 

The formal Winston-Salem agreement was announced Tuesday.

The NCNGN consortium members include Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State and Wake Forest universities along with the six municipalities. 

AT&T brands its high-speed offering as “u-verse with GigaPower,” a play off the word gigabit which is 10 times faster than standard cable TV Internet access.

The telecommunications giant already offer its U-verse entertainment and Internet cable-like service in parts of the Triangle and Triad.

“We’re thrilled that Winston-Salem will be in the next round of cities for AT&T’s rollout of its U-verse with GigaPower,” said Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines in a statement. “Our City has a well-deserved reputation as a technology and medical leader and a network of this magnitude will help take the work underway in both those areas to new levels of innovation and achievement.”

AT&T also has disclosed plans to offer GigaPower in other North Carolina cities beyond the NCNGN proposal.

Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary and Carrboro also are part of the NCNGN consortium.

“We’ve already received great input from North Carolinians eager for the fastest available speeds,” said Venessa Harrison, President, AT&T-North Carolina. “This ultra-fast fiber build will help foster innovation, enhance education, and encourage growth.”

Several cities, including Raleigh and Cary, are also negotiating with Google to bring a Google Fiber network to the Triangle.