google_fiber_truck_kc.JPG

A Google Fiber contractor service van in Kansas City, the company's first market.

(Mike Rogoway/The Oregonian)

Google Fiber appears poised to begin rolling out high-speed Internet service in North Carolina, one of several regions under consideration as Google contemplates expansion.

The widely watched industry journal DSLReports.com reported Friday morning that Google Fiber is sending out invitations for simultaneous events in Charlotte and Raleigh to be held next Wednesday. TV station WRAL cites industry sources confirming Google Fiber is going ahead with a fiber rollout in North Carolina.

No word, yet, on where things stand in Portland. City officials say they haven't received a similar invitation, and Google Fiber did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking an update on its plans.

Google Fiber delayed a decision late last year on a fiber rollout under consideration since February. In addition to Portland and five suburbs (Gresham, Lake Oswego, Tigard, Beaverton and Hillsboro), the company has been contemplating service in eight other metro areas across the country.

If Google Fiber does proceed in North Carolina, it does not preclude the company coming to Oregon. Google says it hopes to proceed in multiple locations, provided the networks pencil out economically and logistically.

Google Fiber offers gigabit connections – 1,000 megabits per second – for $70 a month in three markets where it operates: Kansas City, Austin and in Provo, Utah. It offers an accompanying cable TV service for an additional $50 to $60 a month.

Google's gigabit speeds are roughly 100 times faster than standard broadband Internet connections today, though that gap is closing rapidly. In 2014, Comcast, CenturyLink and Frontier Communications all accelerated their residential Internet speeds.

Fiber-optic connections carry data as pulses of light, increasing the capacity of communications' networks and enabling faster speeds. But building a brand-new network requires installing thousands of miles of cable, which is hugely expensive. Portland estimates Google would spend at least $300 million if it chose to serve the city; suburban networks would add millions more to that total.

Competitive fiber service has been a top priority for Portland since the 1990s, but state and local officials are concerned that a quirky Oregon property tax – which values telecom networks in part on the brand value of their corporate owners – could scare off Google Fiber.

Oregon lawmakers expect to take up that issue, known as "central assessment," in the upcoming legislative session.

-- Mike Rogoway

503-294-7699; @rogoway