Officials for Carrboro have ratified an agreement that will clear the way for AT&T to rollout its fiber-based, 1-Gig capable U-verse With GigaPower to parts of the city.

The agreement stems from a North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) initiative comprised of six cities, four universities, and local businesses. AT&T has already received approval for GigaPower from Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Cary, Winston-Salem and Durham.

"It is exciting that Carrboro has the opportunity to partner with AT&T GigaPower initiative. The state-of-the-art technology that this network delivers will help both residents and businesses," said Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle, in a statement. "In addition, I am pleased that this service will be extended to community centers and other public gathering spaces to provide access for our diverse community."

Specific locations, availability, and pricing for products powered by the coming GigaPower network will be announced at a later date, AT&T said.

But it’s possible that it will follow the GigaPower pricing plans it’s put into place in parts of Austin, Texas, where it currently offers symmetrical 300 Mbps speeds, with plans to upgrade to 1 Gbps. There, the broadband service runs $70 per month, $100 per month when paired with the U-verse Voice Unlimited service, $120 per month with the U200 TV package with HBO, and $150 per month with U200 TV with HBO and U-verse Voice Unlimited. All offers are saddled with one-year commitments that could result in an early termination fee of up to $348, according to the fine print.

The Austin version of U-verse with GigaPower is also capped at 1 terabyte per month. AT&T charges $10 for each additional bucket of 50 Gigabytes above that threshold, with a maximum monthly overage charge of $30.

The Raleigh-Durham, Carrboro, Cary, and Chapel Hill are among the areas identified as possible expansion sites for Google Fiber, which is exploring a plan to bring its 1-Gig platform and video service bundles to an additional nine metro markets and up to 34 cities.

Time Warner Cable, which is deploying a 300 Mbps service as part of its ongoing all-digital “TWC Maxx” upgrades, is the incumbent cable operator in the region.

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.

AT&T said city officials in Winston-Salem, N.C., have ratified an agreement that will pave the way for the telco to roll out its 1-Gbps-capable, fiber-based U-verse with GigaPower service.

The ratification comes about two months after AT&T announced it was in “advanced discussions” with the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) to deploy its fiber-based U-verse with GigaPower platform to parts of the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions – areas that have also drawn attention from Google Fiber. NCNGN is an initiative comprised of six cities, four universities, and local business leaders, that’s aimed at stimulating deployemtn of next-gen broadband networks in the state.

AT&T said similar GigaPower plans tied to the NCNGN initiative are pending ratification in five other North Carolina areas – Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh.

AT&T plans to be working on the build in Winston-Salem "within a few weeks," and will be sharing more detail on rollout plans closer to the launch, an AT&T spokeswoman said via email.

AT&T has already begun to deploy GigaPower services in pockets of Austin, Texas, starting off with symmetrical speeds of 300 Mbps, with an expected ramp to 1 Gbps by mid-2014. AT&T has previously announced plans to roll GigaPower to Dallas this summer. In April, AT&T said it will hold GigaPower-related expansion talks with municipalities in at least 21 new major metros, including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City and Los Angeles.

“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.”

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

AT&T said it is in “advanced discussions” with the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) to deploy its fiber-based U-verse with GigaPower platform to parts of the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions – areas that have also drawn attention from Google Fiber.

U-verse GigaPower, already being deployed in parts of Austin, Texas, is designed to deliver speeds up to 1 Gbps. The NCNGN is a regional initiative aimed at stimulating the deployment of next-gen networks in the state.

According to AT&T, the proposed plan is to weave fiber to the areas of Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, “where there is demand for ultra-fast broadband and local policies that support broadband network investment.” AT&T said the proposal also includes an option to deploy WiFi hotspots at up to 100 public sites and to connect up to 100 business buildings to the all-fiber network. The plan also calls for AT&T to provide a free 3 Mbps Internet service to as many as 3,000 homes in ten “affordable housing complexes.”  

The deal would also pave the way for AT&T to roll out its suite of other U-verse services to residents and businesses in Durham. In North Carolina, AT&T’s U-verse footprint currently covers Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, and Asheville.

Google Fiber, which has rolled out 1-Gig services in Kansas City and Provo, Utah, has identified several N.C. areas, including Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, as sites for a proposed 34-market expansion.

AT&T, which claims to have invested more than $1.6 billion in its North Carolina wireless and wireline networks between 2011 and 2013, said the next step is for the governing bodies of the named NCNGN member communities to ratify the agreement.

“We’re encouraged by our conversations with NCNGN and remain committed to investing in our communities and delivering the technology people want,” said Venessa Harrison, president of AT&T-North Carolina.

 “This kind of private sector investment is essential to ensure our regions remain competitive and at the forefront of next-generation applications that are important to all sectors of the economy,” added Tracy Futhey, chair of the NCNGN steering committee and VP of information technology at Duke University.

AT&T launched GigaPower last December to parts of Austin, where it’s starting off with symmetrical speeds of 300 Mbps, with plans to ratchet that up to 1 Gbps by mid-2014, about the same time Google Fiber is expected to start connecting homes to its 1-Gig network in the city.

AT&T announced last month that it will deploy its U-verse with GigaPower platform in Dallas sometime this summer. AT&T also has expressed interest in deploying GigaPower to San Antonio, another potential Google Fiber expansion location. 

Separately, AT&T and home builder PulteGroup announced a deal to bring U-verse GigaPower to four currently open for sale single-family communities and five existing communities in the Austin area.