AT&T Gigabit Broadband Likely Coming to North Carolina

AT&T took the unusual step late last night of announcing that it is “in advanced discussions” to bring a gigabit network to parts of the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions of North Carolina.

Normally companies like AT&T wait until a deal is iron-clad before announcing it. The unusual announcement illustrates just how competitive the gigabit business is becoming -- in the right markets, at least. Austin, Texas for example now has three network operators offering or planning to offer gigabit service and a fourth that has increased its broadband speeds to 300 Mbps.

And in North Carolina, a local news outlet reported that eight service providers are negotiating with North Carolina Next-Generation Network (NCNGN) about the gigabit network. One of these appears to be Google Fiber, which early 2014 mentioned Raleigh-Durham (NC) and Charlotte (NC) as two of the nine communities where it was considering building gigabit networks.