Not So Fast: A Google Fiber 1-Gigabit Mystery

By David Talbot, MIT Technology Review, September 28, 2013   
This post has been viewed 2,939 times.

 

Google’s 1-gigabit service made a big statement, but what’s still far from clear is who actually uses it–and for what

Google Fiber’s affordable 1 gigabit-per-second Internet service in Kansas City has been held out as an instrument of national shaming (see “When Will the Rest of us Get Google Fiber?”).  But a few niggling questions remain.  Who is really needs or uses the 1-gig service?  What can you actually get from it?I was reminded of these questions last week, when Netflix said Google Fiber customers were getting the fastest service in the nation. Then there was the number: 3.8 megabits per second.  Huh?  Well, that’s a measure of the performance of Netflix streams on the network, not of what your  home link is capable of doing.Google spokesman Jenna Wandres says Netflix servers can only process streaming video at 5 megabits per second for high definition content.   So that explains the number.  But it also serves as a reminder that you only need 5 megabit speeds to get high-definition Netflix (assuming nobody else in the house is using the Internet).   Keep that in mind next time your carrier tries to upsell you.
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