Officials in Winston-Salem have ratified a formal agreement with AT&T meant to speed the telecom company’s deployment of ultrafast broadband connections in the city, according to AT&T.
The agreement stems from work by the N.C. Next Generation Network consortium, which took proposals from multiple providers interested in building fiber networks capable of delivering internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, which is about 100 times faster than typical broadband speeds. AT&T’s proposal was selected for consideration in Winston-Salem as well as Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Cary, Durham and Raleigh.
No cash incentives are involved in the agreement. The city agrees to respond quickly to AT&T’s permit and inspection requests during construction of the network and to help it promote the service. AT&T retains the right the decide when and where to offer the service based on market demand, but it also agrees to provide some service to low-income housing in the various NCNGN cities.
“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. “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 is currently studying anticipated demand to decide on a strategy and timeline for rolling out the service, but when the plan was announced in April AT&T officials hoped to have some service available by the end of the year. The company has said it is also considering offering its gigabit service in Greensboro and Charlotte.