Update June 12- AT&T today announced it also has won a deal to bring gigabit service to Durham, N.C.
AT&T has finalized one of the deals it had pending to deploy gigabit service in the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions of North Carolina, announcing today that the city of Winston-Salem has ratified a gigabit agreement with AT&T.
Winston-Salem is one of six North Carolina university communities that put out requests for proposal (RFPs) for gigabit networks through the North Carolina Next Generation Network. Back in April, AT&T said it was in “advanced discussions” with the NCNGN about those networks. The carrier said today that ratification is currently pending with the other five North Carolina cities – including Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh.
The Winston-Salem Gigabit Network
AT&T calls its ultra-high-speed service, delivered over fiber-to-the-home infrastructure, U-verse with GigaPower.
The company already has deployed U-verse with GigaPower in Austin, Tex., initially supporting 300 Mbps service but with plans to upgrade to gigabit speeds this year. The company plans to expand to Dallas this summer and also is considering bringing gigabit service to 100 additional U.S. cities and municipalities.
Winston-Salem is a big win for AT&T because the company reportedly beaten out several other network operators including Google Fiber, which was one of the first companies to deploy gigabit service.
Previously AT&T said that its plans for the NCNGN communities would include options for public Wi-Fi hotspots, free AT&T U-verse with GigaPower at up to 100 public sites, an all-fiber network connected to up to 100 business buildings, and free 3 Mbps U-verse Internet service to 10 affordable housing complexes.
In today’s announcement the company said it will expand its U-verse footprint – as distinct from U-verse with GigaPower– to more areas of North Carolina outside of Greensboro and the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions, where U-verse is already available.
