Comcast is boosting its broadband internet speeds in areas were Google Fiber is set up. They’re also enhancing their services in areas without Google Fiber, but they didn’t fool anyone with their announcement last week that they would be increasing speeds in Kansas City, a Google Fiber market.
These new-and-improved internet speeds come at no additional cost to customer. Those paying for 25 megabit service will be upgraded to 50 megabits, those paying for 50 megabits will get 105, and those paying for 105 megabits will get a whopping 150 megabits, which is enough for all but the most voracious of video streamers.
To put this perspective, 25 megabit per second download speed is plenty fast for most people. However, the higher the download speed, the higher-quality streaming experience you get on sites like Netflix and YouTube.
Google Fiber, however, is on a completely different level, offering download speeds at 1 gigabit per second. At this speed, users can download a full two-hour movie in less than a minute.
But speeds are always increasing with increasing demand. Just last year, a download speed of 50 megabits per second was viewed as exceptionally high, beyond what would be necessary for the majority of internet users. 6-10 mps was seen as the good middle ground for most users.
Time Warner is also “coincidentally” doubling their internet speeds in Google Fiber markets. AT&T is also building out a gigabit network in Kansas City, as well as elsewhere, to compete with Google Fiber’s.
Companies are scampering to increase their download speeds because consumers are growing less and less patient in this era of instant gratification. Research shows that consumers typically only wait four to 20 seconds for a web page to load. With that kind of impatience, internet providers who can’t provide the highest speeds are going to be out of the game.
With consumer eyeballs spending so little time on webpages, it’s important for companies to make the most of their web marketing. Hiring a web design company to provide your customers with the most pleasant web experience possible is not a bad idea. You want your customers to be able to easily navigate your website, to get the information they need as quickly and efficiently as possible.