While AT&T is first to bring gigabit access to Houston, consumers have search giant Google to thank. In mid-2012, the company launched its Google Fiber Internet and cable TV service in Kansas City with a goal of spurring Internet providers to offer faster speeds, said Brett Sappington, research director at Park Associates.

"Google looked at the current pace of innovation and decided more speed would increase that," Sappington said. "And Google sells ads on its services and knew faster speeds would get people using more of those services, and they'd see more of Google's ads."

AT&T has been rolling out GigaPower as it seeks to become more competitive with cable-based Internet providers whose speeds have traditionally been faster than its telephone-based DSL services. This ramping up of speeds by Internet service providers is being driven by demand from video streaming and the growing number of connected devices in consumers' homes, Sappington said.

"We have numbers that show the average U.S. home has 6.5 connected devices," he said.

From the article "Internet providers compete with faster download speeds" by Dwight Silverman.

Next: Streaming services losing big bucks to password sharing
Previous: Report: HBO Now streaming service to cost $15 a month

Be the first to leave a comment.

Have a comment? Login or create an account to start a discussion.