Companies that enjoy monopoly over a market are likely to get complacent since they don’t have a competitor breathing down their neck, and that’s why it’s vital to ensure competition so that users get the best bang for their buck. That’s precisely what’s happening for residents of Charlotte, North Carolina. Soon after Google announced that its Fiber gigabit internet service is moving into Charlotte, the incumbent cable operator TWA decided to significantly improve internet speeds.
This isn’t the first time that Time Warner Cable has responded to Google Fiber’s launch in a new market. Last year when Google confirmed Fiber’s expansion to Austin, Texas it didn’t take a lot of time for TWC to bump subscribers of its 100 Mbps internet plan to 300 Mbps for free.
TWC is implementing speed improvements across all three tiers. Subscribers on the Standard, Extreme and Ultimate plans that previously got 15 Mbps, 30 Mbps and 50 Mbps will now receive 50 Mbps, 200 Mbps and 300 Mbps respectively.
Speed improvements come at no extra charge to customers, who will now get to experience just how much a little bit of competition can keep a company honest.
Time Warner Cable has said that an improved TV service will also be offered to Charlotte, North Carolina residents who will now receive 1TB of storage for recorded programs, that double than they previously used to get.
It was back in January when Google confirmed that Fiber will be moving into Charlotte, NC. It is currently in the process of finalizing network design so construction on the infrastructure needed to launch the service can begin.
Filed in . Read more about Google Fiber.