Google Fiber could turn cable, phone giants into boiled frogs

Google’s ambitious push to build superfast networks in specific cities, may seem like just another wild idea to come out of the Silicon Valley giant.
 
But Google Fiber, as the initiative is called, may just turn out to be a smart long-term business idea, one that poses a serious threat to traditional telephone and cable companies, a Bernstein analyst said Tuesday. In fact, analyst Carlos Kirjner argues, “Our analysis suggests that long-term investors in cable and telephone companies should at least seriously consider the possibility of ‘the frog slowly being boiled,’” he wrote.
 
“We think the impact of Google Fiber on incumbent cable and phone companies will be limited in the near-to-medium term, in large part because it takes time to deploy networks,” Kirjner wrote. “Despite this limited short term impact, Google plays a very long game.”