AT&T said it’s “in advanced discussions” with the...

AT&T said it’s “in advanced discussions” with the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) to bring AT&T U-verse with GigaPower Internet service to North Carolina’s Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions. NCNGN is a regional initiative to encourage next-generation network deployment in North Carolina. AT&T is proposing to deploy U-verse fiber in Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh and Winston-Salem. Those areas have sufficient demand for U-verse’s 1 Gbps speeds and local policies that “support broadband network investment,” AT&T said Thursday. The plan would include options for public Wi-Fi hotspots, free U-verse with GigaPower service at up to 100 public sites and fiber connections to up to 100 business buildings, AT&T said. The telco would make free 3 Mbps U-verse High Speed Internet service available at 10 affordable housing complexes for a total of 3,000 homes. The local governments in the six cities will need to ratify the agreement. Venessa Harrison, AT&T-North Carolina president, said in a news release that the telco is “encouraged” by its conversations with NCNGN and believes the negotiations show “how dedicated its policymakers and university and business leaders are to bringing the latest technology to the state.” NCNGN participants “are encouraged by AT&T’s interest to deliver ultra-fast bandwidth to the Research Triangle and Piedmont regions,” said NCNGN Steering Committee Chair Tracy Futhey in the AT&T news release (http://soc.att.com/1kNqsFS).