MetroNet Partnering with North Carolina City on Fiber Network Posted on Share Home » MetroNet Partnering with North Carolina City on Fiber Network MetroNet and the City of Hickory, North Carolina are partnering to bring MetroNet’s fiber optic internet, TV and phone service to businesses and residents. The press release seems to imply that the MetroNet deal with the city of Hickory is a public-private partnership, in which a municipality pays some of the costs of network construction. The release states that MetroNet will invest more than $36 million in the city, but does not indicate how much funding, if any, the city will contribute.