Re: Really?
Better, I don't know. Faster, quite likely. At least in areas surrounding the Google Cities. Time Warner, now Spectrum, increased it's speed significantly in areas where Google was rolling out. Comcast also started pushing faster plans.
Indeed. Competition did actually spur on some development, at least locally. And even if you didn't take Google Fiber, then the contention on the backhaul from your existing provider's cabinet would have dropped as your neighbours did, which in principle would mean you got closer to your advertised speed more often. Diversity is good.
Sadly, it didn't translate to a more widespread rollout. Just direct competition in contested neighbourhoods.