With the creation of Google Fiber, Google fired the starting pistol that began the high-speed, high-stakes internet arms race. The name of the game is speed. All parties concerned are working to raise download and upload speeds in an effort to provide the fastest possible internet.
What does this mean for the everyday business user? The rollout of Google Fiber has been a positive in the industry for two reasons: speed and escalation.
Speed
Google Fiber is freaky fast. Like, “Superman and the Flash run a footrace and the winner gets the other guy’s superspeed added to his own superspeed” kind of fast. With speeds of 1GB/second, the world is literally a click away.
Gone are the laggy days of the ‘90s, waiting an hour for the screen to load a picture of Teri Hatcher’s Lois Lane heroically adorned in Superman’s cape. You can now download an entire hour-long episode of Game of Thrones in less time than it takes to say “Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons.”
With Google Fiber, people spend less time waiting for files to download and upload, which is great for business. Time is money, so it makes sense that an internet connection that is 100 times faster than the current average connection will translate to higher productivity and a more efficient workplace.
Escalation
When Google Fiber was released to limited markets, the 1,000 Mbps rates astounded both customers and the competition. AT&T, the reigning king of ISPs, was faced with an ultimatum: provide superior, high-speed services to customers or face being dethroned by Google. Other ISP companies followed suit, and Time Warner even offered a bump to 300mbps for free. Now internet speeds are increasing steadily across the board.
Google, by creating a new service with astonishing speed, effectively jump-started the next future of the internet.
The escalation has in turn spread to major cities, which are now duking it out for top notch speeds. Google Fiber has just today (11/15/2017) flipped the on switch in San Antonio, TX. ISPs have even more of an incentive to improve their product when cities are lining up for the newest technology. The end result is quicker speeds for businesses, universities, and even gamers.
What’s Next for Google Fiber’s Internet Speed Arms Race?
The race is far from over, and will go on for some time. AT&T and other companies are able to utilize existing physical infrastructure elements, which gives them a way to catch up to Google’s technology. We will all continue to log-in, via one ISP or the other, to check the progress.
Give us a call or send us a message if you’d like to chat about how IT solutions like a quicker connection can positively impact your office. We can’t wait to hear from you.