The town of Cary has become the latest in North Carolina to ratify an agreement that will clear the way for AT&T to deploy its 1Gbps-capable “U-verse with GigaPower” platform.
AT&T said the plan outlines “potential fiber deployments to deliver ultra-fast broadband to parts of Cary,” but has yet to identify which areas will be getting access to the telco’s fiber-based GigaPower network.
“This investment by AT&T is in addition to its ongoing investment to expand its fiber network to tens of thousands of North Carolina residents and businesses over the next two years,” said Cary Mayer Harold Weinbrecht, in a statement.
Earlier this week, Raleigh stamped its approval, which followed recent agreements between AT&T and the cities of Winston-Salem and Durham. AT&T still has pending ratification in two more North Carolina areas – Carrboro and Chapel Hill.
All of these agreements are flowing through AT&T’s ongoing discussions with the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN), an initiative comprised of six cities, four universities, and local business leaders, that’s aimed at stimulating deployment of next-gen broadband networks in the state.
AT&T said GigaPower is part of other initiatives underway in the state, including its rollout of LTE wireless service, which is currently offered in 24 North Carolina markets, and a pledge to expand its U-verse footprint, which currently covers Raleigh, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Ashville, and their surrounding areas. AT&T said it has poured more than $1.6 billion in its N.C. wireless and wireline networks between 2011 and 2013.
AT&T has already begun to deploy GigaPower to parts of Austin, Texas, where it’s currently offering symmetrical speeds of 300 Mbps, with plans to expand that to 1 Gbps later this year. AT&T has previously announced plans to roll GigaPower to Dallas this summer.
AT&T announced in April that it would hold GigaPower-related expansion talks with municipalities in at least 21 new major metros, including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City and Los Angeles.
