When Google Fiber entered the Internet service provider market in Kansas City, the strangest things began to happen. Current providers Comcast, Time Warner Cable, which operate in different parts of the metropolitan area, had to start acting like they were in a competitive business. Last week, bost Comcast and Time Warner announced that they’re doubling Internet speeds for most customers, with no price increase.

There’s no catch, just competition. Customers who currently pay for 25 megabit per second service will get 50 mbps; customers who pay for 50 will get 105, and customers who pay for 105 will get 150.

The Kansas City Star does point out that similar speed boosts have been put in place in other markets where Comcast does business, including in Texas, in California, and in the Northeast. Yet the choice of Kansas City surely has nothing whatsoever to do with the presence of Google Fiber in that area. Neither does AT&T’s build-out of their own gigabit fiber network.

Comcast is boosting Internet speeds for Olathe, Independence and other KC suburbs [Kansas City Star]

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