Both Comcast and AT&T have managed to offer super-fast broadband services around U.S. cities faster than Google, which has promised an 1 gigabit Internet speed offering. Google has been trying to lay a fiber network to compete with cable providers and telephone companies. Curently, Google Fiber is available only in four markets, and Google's competitors are lowering rates and have been building faster lines to keep customers from defecting to the technology giant.

Earlier this year, Comcast began testing cable-based gigabit technology in Atlanta, and plans to roll it out to Nashville, Tennessee; Chicago; Detroit; and Miami later this year. It’s already selling a fiber-based, 2-gigabits-per-second service nationwide. AT&T is also expanding to 36 more cities. FairPoint Communications and Windstream Holdings are also adding markets.

In the first quarter, Google parent Alphabet poured almost $280 million into capital expenditures primarily related to the fiber venture, which has resulted in lower prices for customers in its target areas.

Google’s 1 gigabit access costs $70 a month, while Comcast offers lower-speed Internet access packaged with more than 80 TV channels for as little as $80.

At the end of March Google introduced a phone service that can be bundled with broadband and TV, similar to what cable and telecom companies offer.