With the proliferation of mobile and wearable devices, people’s daily lives are becoming more connected to the Internet. However, the Internet itself has not become much faster for most users despite recent technology trends. A study found that the United States has an average connection speed of 10.5 Mbps, which is less than half that of the average connection of the fastest country, South Korea. Meanwhile, countries like Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Finland all have faster higher speeds. However, recent developments in broadband deployment and the mobile scene may lead to better speeds for Americans from coast to coast, which will lead to greater possible commercial opportunities online through mobile Internet.
“We can’t be stuck behind Latvia forever.”
One new program that could mean increased Internet service for all is Google Fi, a initiative by Google to provide very cheap, fast mobile data service to subscribers on a pay-as-you-go system. Although Google has stated that this is not an attempt to “disrupt” the telecommunication industry, there will nonetheless be shockwaves based on certain users making use of the service. The price offered is lower than the vast majority of current offerings by major providers. There are a few limiting factors that may lead to this service not having a hugely profound impact on the telecom industry, however. The most important one is that the cell phone users who wish to use the service will need to have a Nexus 6 Android phone. This demographic will be rare enough that there will likely not be profound effects on the market unless Google decides to lift this restriction.
Of course, there are other low-cost providers also seeking to fill the same niche in the market. Republic Wireless is a service provider that offers an incredibly low price of five dollars a month, assuming users are content with only making calls over Wi-Fi signals. While this isn’t feasible for most people right now, it could wind up being very useful in cities with free Wi-Fi, or to people who primarily use their phone at locations that offer Wi-Fi.
Comcast and Time Warner merger failure
Another business deal that could potentially spur new growth in the deployment of fast Internet was the breakdown of the Comcast and Time Warner merger. This business deal, which has been in negotiations for roughly a year, was worth $45 billion. It represents the most spectacular collapse of any major merger in recent memory.
“It sends a clear signal to the market that the dominant cable gatekeeper cannot stand in the way of skinny packages from programmers, online offerings, the kinds of things we’ve been hearing about,” said Gene Kimmelman, the president of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge and previous antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department.
While increased competition in the mobile space is forcing carriers to consider their options when it comes to lowering rates and raising speeds, there hasn’t been much in the broadband arena. Comcast and Time Warner have very few zones of overlap in their network coverage, which means it is difficult for users to switch unless they happen to live in a city with a smaller service provider operation, according to the Washington Post. There is still room for major companies to start offering lower prices, but whether or not they will depends on the success of startups in disrupting the market.
Hopefully, the combination of fast download speeds offered by major tech companies like Google and the Time Warner and Comcast merger failure will work alongside change in the broadband and mobile markets to give the U.S. faster connections speeds. We can’t be stuck behind Latvia forever.
