Google Threatens Telecommunication Companies

Google announced February 10, that it would be testing its version of a new higher speed Internet. It will be offering this Internet access in certain communities to show people the abilities that the faster broadband network would have.

The company fully believes that their internet would be able to speedily stream 3-D medical images from hospitals to specialized medical centers and would make downloading full length movie only a matter of minutes.

Google has been frustrated with the low speed broadband that the United States currently has. The broadband networks in the U.S. are considerably slower than that of other well developed countries. But this is not Google's first attempt at changing broadband networks. Google paid $4 billion to buy a portion of a wireless spectrum to loosen the control carriers have over that area.

Google is proving "that we can have super-fast open broadband networks that break the duopoly of cable and telephone companies that we have today." said Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press.

Critics say this is just a public relations effort by Google to get broadband companies to offer higher speed internet to its customers and therefore have to play by Google's rules.

Google maintains that it is just trying to advance business and technology. Richard S. Whitt, Google's Washington telecommunications and media counsel say Google is using the test to get broadband companies to offer higher-speed internet at lower costs.

No matter what the intentions the test will be administered to many communities and could reach up to 500,000 internet consumers.