Is The Last Mile here? Two weeks ago, Google dipped its toes into the competitive distribution universe with the launch of Google Fiber in Kansas City, Missouri. The promise: deliver super-high speed Internet. So now the search giant is competing against big telecom and cable broadcast companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast.
TV operators, says SNL Kagan, should be very afraid. At $120 per month, Google Fiber subscribers get Internet speeds 172 times faster than the average broadband connection, a 2 terabyte DVR box and some basic cable channels. But the underlying implication for Google is that by speeding up the Web, it can increase ad impressions, which leads to more revenue. Of course, Google believes a faster Internet will make everything — from businesses to education to city development — better.
Google’s dominance is search has led the company to creating hardware and platforms and software and now distribution. In other words, Google owns us. But as long as we have super fast Internet, who cares, right?
Internet connectivity issues have been a long and tiring discussion, and Google Fiber could be the answer. Now, if they could only develop the one futuristic thing we all need: a hoverboard.
More in Media
The Rundown: Google has drawn its AI payment lines — and publishers’ leverage is narrow
For publishers trying to navigate AI licensing, the message was blunt: Google is willing to pay for access, but not for training – and it remains unwilling to define AI Overviews as a compensable use of journalism.
Media Briefing: Google’s latest core update a reminder that pageviews can’t remain the primary metric
Google’s latest core update signals pageviews can no longer be the primary metric, favoring intent-solving publishers over scale.
After an oversaturation of AI-generated content, creators’ authenticity and ‘messiness’ are in high demand
Content creators and brand marketing specialists on how 2026 will be the year creator authenticity becomes even more crucial in the face of rampant AI-generated “slop” flooding social media platforms.