Skip to main content

Comcast exec thinks there’s little demand for Google Fiber level speed

comcast
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer recently, Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen wrote an editorial in which he claims customers simply aren’t ready to handle gigabit networks like Google Fiber. Specifically, Cohen claims most American homes don’t have the hardware to take advantage of the increased speed. In addition, Cohen states the majority of websites simply can’t deliver content at the speed available on current broadband networks. Assuming demand becomes sizable enough for Cohen and Comcast to actually take notice, he states “a competitive marketplace of wired and wireless broadband providers will be ready to serve it.”

broadband-5The majority of the editorial sings the praises of America’s existing broadband network and discounts critics that are seeking faster Internet speeds. For instance, Cohen praises overall coverage around the United States as well as affordability of monthly service and broadband speed increases over the past six years.

Cohen also credited broadband providers for the success of companies like “Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter and Pandora” and praised mobile broadband providers for getting 4G LTE networks up and running.

However, Cohen did not mention the poor reputation issue plaguing companies like Comcast, Time Warner and other broadband providers. According to the most recent Harris Interactive summary report, Comcast ranks “poor” on the 2013 reputation chart; specifically gauged by the general public. In fact, Comcast has been rated poor for the last two years and companies like Time Warner and Verizon Communications also rank low on the list. Alternatively, Google has ranked in the top five for the last few years.

Comcast and other broadband providers also continue to have an issue with raising speeds for customers around the nation. The most recent version of Netflix’s ISP speed index places Google Fiber at the top of the list with an average speed of 3.41Mbps. Alternatively, Comcast has fallen from fourth place to eighth place on the list since the start of the year and averaged just over 2Mbps each month.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
All the ways Intel Macs are still better than Apple Silicon Macs
cheap macbook deals

MacBooks are pretty amazing these days. Thanks to the efficiency of Apple Silicon, you get all-day battery life, as well as the ability to edit videos when unplugged from power. The new MacBook Air with the M3 chip is even good enough for gaming.

All of that is in contrast to the Intel Macs of the past.

Read more
This bundle deal saves you $1,000 on an Alienware PC and monitor
An Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop alongside a gaming monitor on a desk.

You don't have to go through gaming PC deals and monitor deals yourself because there are bundles like this one from Dell -- the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming desktop and the Alienware 34-inch curved QD-OLED gaming monitor for a package price of $2,900, which is $1,000 less the original price of $3,900. It's still not cheap, but you'll be getting a top-of-the-line gaming rig with just one purchase. You'll have to hurry with the transaction though, as we're not sure if the bundle will still cost cheaper than usual by tomorrow.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R15 gaming PC and 34-inch curved QD-OLED gaming monitor
It's the Alienware Aurora R16 that sits on top of our list of the best gaming PCs, but its predecessor, the Alienware Aurora R15, remains a worthwhile purchase because of the power that it packs. It's equipped with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X processor, AMD Radeon RX 7900 graphics card, and 32GB of RAM that's the sweet spot for high-end gamers, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need. These specifications make it more than enough to run the best PC games without any issues. The gaming desktop also features a 1TB SSD for ample storage space, and it comes with Windows 11 Home pre-installed.

Read more
Here’s proof that Snapdragon X Elite laptops can play hit games without issue
A laptop and a camera on a table with a Qualcomm logo on the screen.

Windows laptops with Qualcomm's ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite chip are set to come this summer, but we're already getting a preview of how good the devices will be for gaming. A recent video surfaced online showing how one of the most popular PC games, Baldur's Gate 3, can run on a Qualcomm reference laptop with the chip -- and it does look to be pretty impressive.

As shared by Devin Arthur on X, Qualcomm ran this game on a sample laptop at 1080p resolution. The demo was done in a public setting, and it's not clear what else was changed beyond that, but it does appear stable, with little to no lag.

Read more