Who Will Win the 1 GigaBit Ultra High-Speed Internet Race?

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[Commentary] While the United States is a leader in Internet technology, and while the majority of citizens have access to the Internet, providing ultra-high speed access has not been on anyone’s radar. However, all of a sudden the overwhelming focus is on speed. So where are we in the rollout of this service and who will the winners and losers be going forward? Who needs this much speed?

Neither carriers nor customers were screaming for ultra-high speed Internet connections. Everyone seemed happy and satisfied. Most customers got their high-speed Internet access from their local phone company or their cable television company. However others like Google wanted more. They didn’t see carriers upping the speed so a few quarters ago they decided to get into the service provider business. They built and rolled out a full, one Gigabit service in the Kansas City area. This move turned out to be a big success. Out of the blue customers and companies loved it and cities wanted to be the next in line for this competitive advantage. In any case the first mover advantage will be in play. Winners will be companies like AT&T, CenturyLink and C Spire. Google too if they stay a service provider. The early players in this new space. Winners will be early adopter cities who will have an advantage very few others cities have. Winners will be users who have access to the newest and fastest service in the market.

[Kagan is a Technology Industry Analyst and consultant]


Who Will Win the 1 GigaBit Ultra High-Speed Internet Race?