The City of Raleigh’s network includes a downtown fiber ring that connects major City facilities and the Raleigh Convention Center. Raleigh provides free outdoor Wi-Fi in the center city and two City parks. Through a BTOP grant, the City provided broadband access to 1,482 underserved households.

In collaboration with a traffic signal project, 125 miles of additional fiber is being added throughout Raleigh’s 142.8 square miles. This fiber backbone will serve as the foundation for the municipal network.

Four local universities and surrounding communities joined to initiate the development of ultra high-speed bandwidth at low price points to stimulate innovation, economic development, and improved access and education. This regional partnership is called North Carolina Next Generation Networks (NCNGN). The NCNGN members’ governing boards have approved master network development agreements with AT&T. AT&T was one of eight vendors that responded to the RFP issued by NCNGN. In addition to outlining the terms of AT&T’s proposal to provide 1-gig broadband connections to local residents and businesses, the agreements include initiatives to increase access to broadband.

In early 2014, Google announced it is considering 34 additional cities, including Raleigh, for Google Fiber. Raleigh has successfully completed the Google Fiber checklist.