A consortium of universities and municipalities are working to bring ultrafast Internet access to central North Carolina. North Carolina State, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Duke will submit a request for proposals Friday to Internet providers.
Marc Hoit is Vice Chancellor for Information Technology at NC State. He says the communities of Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham and Cary are supporting the initiative as an important tool for economic development. He says uses include new television technology, tele-medicine, education and the arts.
"The proposal is for gigabit fiber to the businesses and to homes. Gigabit is a thousand times faster than what most people currently get. Responses are due April first so we expect 6-to-10 people to propose coming in and building out gigabit fiber to our community."
Hoit says a winner or winners will be chosen by May first with network build-out done in as little as six-to-twelve months.
