Google instantly dominated all other ISPs in speed after releasing their consistently fast service with a relatively small price tag... but what does the future hold for Google Fiber?
The United States is sinking into a quagmire of perpetually slow internet service, so much more visible when compared against the connection speeds of European and Asian ISPs. Thanks to a stagnant pool of national U.S. Internet providers, those that do exist have become complacent, as there are few other providers for customers to leave to (and certainly none that would be much better).
Google, the self-purported white knight of the technology world, swooped in recently to announce that they would be adding "Internet service provider" to their ever-increasing resume. The new service, going by the name of
Google Fiber, would
premiere in Kansas City only, so as to test the waters of a possible market.
Fiber
offers three plans: the $120/mo. Gigabit + TV; $70/mo. Gigabit Internet; and the Free Internet for a one-time $300 activation fee (or $25/mo. for 12 months).
The price is excellent for buyers. Being very competitive, the prices are already something for the other ISPs to look out for. It only gets worse for the likes of Verizon and AT&T, though, as Netflix reported that on average, users of Fiber have considerably faster speeds than any other ISP listed, surpassing even the heavyweight champion of US providers: Verizon FiOs.
Now there's blood in the water.
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said
on stage at The New York Times' Dealbook conference about a week ago that Google Fiber "isn't just an experiment, it's a real business and we're trying to decide where to expand next." This spells bad news for the fat-cat ISPs who have become too comfortable in their Internet thrones.
