Comcast is such a tease. The cable internet provider set up an 11-mile gigabit network that can download 23 episodes of 30 Rock in less than two minutes. Exciting? You betcha. Coming soon to your home ...

Generally speaking, if you want really fast internet, your best choice has been 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). There have been a handful of places, such as Chattanooga, Tenn., with faster internet. But ...