Google Fiber Will Help Move the Triangle into the Future

The recent news of Google Fiber breaking ground was met with excitement across the region.  This was another milestone in the continued growth of the digital infrastructure that will help propel Raleigh, Wake County, and the Research Triangle region forward.

Digital infrastructure like high-speed broadband is critical to a community’s ability to communicate and innovate in a connected, global economy. 

The Research Triangle region is a model of public – private partnership to push digital infrastructure forward.  The NC Next Generation Network (NCNGN) initiative, a regional initiative focused on stimulating the deployment of next generation broadband networks in North Carolina, allows the public and private sectors to become tighter across the region to help set in motion an ecosystem that would allow Google to join private sector fiber providers like AT&T U-Verse Fiber and others to quickly roll out high-speed broadband. 

It is such partnership between the public and private sectors that has made our community on the second metro in the US with both Google Fiber and AT&T U-Verse Fiber.  That is a differentiator and something for us to continue to leverage. The competitive edge between the two companies  is key to expanding access to competitively priced high-speed broadband services that our citizens and business need to thrive in the new economy.

The Google Fiber plan has five stages:

1. Exploration

2. Design

3. Construction

4. Sign-Up

5. Installation

According to Google, construction includes stringing and laying thousands of miles of brand new, state-of-the-art fiber optic cable.They will lay enough new fiber in the area to reach from here to Canada, and engineers and crews will be in the streets for a long time.