Google Fiber's 1Gbps Internet speed is accused of hype

According to foreign media reports, the traditional Internet market has been criticized for its lack of competition and the inability to meet speed-up requirements, but the Google Fiber plan launched by Google may change all this.

Google's fiber plan is different from any other broadband service. Google said that Google's fiber speed can reach up to 1Gbps per second. This means that users can download 100 photos or 100 songs in just three seconds; downloading a complete high-definition movie only takes seven seconds. In other words, Google's fiber speed is equivalent to 100 times the current average speed.

Google Fiber has faced an extremely hot market demand since its launch, and Google has also signed service agreements before Google Fiber was built, which is unprecedented. Google Fiber's high speed is accompanied by extremely high construction costs. Google estimates that it will cost $20 million to $28 million to build network resources to serve 15 million people.

Currently, Google Fiber is only available in three cities in the United States. Previously, Google has announced plans to launch the Google Fiber construction plan in nine other metropolitan areas in the United States. These selected cities are all willing to devote efforts and resources to the implementation of Google Fiber.

Faced with the promotion of Google Fiber in the US market, traditional large broadband service providers have to change their pace for the first time to resist the impact of market share changes. In most areas of the United States, consumers have two or three companies as alternatives when choosing broadband services, while in some areas consumers only face services provided by one company. All traditional broadband service providers will control the network speed to around 10Mbps per second, and a small number of companies will provide users with 50Mbps bandwidth, but no company will provide 1Gbps bandwidth.

Facing the impact of Google Fiber, traditional broadband service providers have begun to change themselves. Comcast is the top broadband service provider in the United States, with 21 million users across the country. The company is currently planning to launch a free bandwidth doubling plan, for example, 50Mbps users can be upgraded to 105Mbps for free, and 25Mbps users can be upgraded to 50Mbps for free. In addition, companies such as AT&T and Centurylink are also studying broadband speed-up plans to retain old customers and attract new customers.

Frontier Communications is a medium-sized broadband service provider with only 2 million users in the United States. Faced with the continued rise in popularity of Google Fiber, Frontier Communications has adopted a unique approach to compete with it. Frontier Communications CEO Maggie Wilderotter has some unique and very flawed views on Google Fiber. Wilderotter believes that broadband users do not need 1Gbps speeds at all. If broadband service providers talk about 1Gbps, it is more like a behavior of "playing" with consumers. After all, most consumers do not understand the real difference between 1Gbps and other grades of Internet speed. Wilderotter also believes that Google's insistence on 1Gbps speed is simply hype. Frontier Communications provides users with Internet services that charge $30 per month for 15Mbps bandwidth. Before the emergence of Google Fiber, 15Mbps was considered a good Internet speed, and it only took about 15 minutes to download a movie with it. Google Fiber charges consumers $70 per month and provides internet speeds that far exceed Frontier Communications, but the fact is that Google Fiber is more popular with consumers than Frontier Communications.

The author believes that the ultra-high Internet speed provided by Google Fiber is not completely necessary, but this does not mean that there is no market for it. In fact, both Google Fiber and traditional broadband service providers should focus on understanding and satisfying customers, so that the market can compete in an orderly manner and all participants can make profits.

The author of this article, Brian Nichols, is a contributor to the American investment and financial website Motley Fool.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.