In an effort to point out just how bad Internet speeds are in the United States, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and YouTube have created a Video Quality Report tool that automatically figures out where you are, who your Internet service provider (ISP) is and displays a graph showing what percentage of videos were streamed in high, standard or low definition by your ISP and at what times the network was most congested. Google/YouTube has posted an explanation of the tool and how to use it on its official blog site.
As the owner of the most popular video streaming program on the planet, Google has a big stake in high-quality video streaming. The proposed mergers threaten Google’s notion of net neutrality and could force the company either to install its own high-speed broadband backbone (very expensive, even for Google) or pay Comcast or AT&T or Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) a small fortune to keep the video flowing at rates that customers are happy with. And as more and more consumers purchase high-definition monitors, those consumers will expect to see high-definition video and the demand for data will rise.
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That is what’s behind its Google Fiber program. Google wants the telecom companies to know that it will build its own network if it must and that if the telecom firms do not want to play nice, Google has another option. Google Fiber is a so-called last-mile business that promises to offer 1 gigabits per second (1 Gbps) bandwidth speeds at roughly the same price most ISPs now charge for a fraction of that.
The Video Quality Report tool is just another way of reminding Comcast, AT&T and Verizon that Google won’t just roll over as the telecoms firms try to tighten their grip on what does and does not flow through those Internet pipes.
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