After months of construction around the Carrboro community, contractors for Google Fiber are nearing the end of their work.
Infrastructure for the high-speed internet service is being installed around the town, with micro-trenching construction restarting this April following a delay from the initial outbreak of COVID-19. The contractors have been installing a fiber optic network to deliver their gigabit internet, which promotes having ten times the download speed than average cable internet.
Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck recently and shared an update on the project.
“Google Fiber has finished all of the core and distribution paths of their network in Carrboro,” she said, “including access to almost all neighborhoods. Over the last couple of months, they’ve been working on drops [in service] to homes in different neighborhoods. [Fixing] that will be the final step before they’ll be able to open it up and offer the internet service to homes.”
Lavelle indicated there will be other steps to complete before the service is officially launched, including improving the service for certain neighborhoods.
“There are still some areas in our town that were hard to get through due to rock,” said the mayor. “But they’re hoping to finish that up in the next month. They’re doing some final fiber-optics splicing and I believe a couple months ago, they began signing up some neighborhoods.”
Despite construction on some streets, it’s not always clear what areas will eventually have access to Google Fiber. Lavelle said many residents have been contacting the town for clarification, and she suggests checking Google’s web page where you can search your individual address.
“People ask,” she said, “‘when are we going to get ours, when is it going to be here?’ There’s really no pattern in when they bring up one neighborhood versus another, it just depends how the construction goes together. But the bottom line is: they should continue to progress and cover a good part of Carrboro in the next five to six months.”
For more details on the Google Fiber construction project and how to share questions or concerns, visit the Town of Carrboro’s website.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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