Alphabet Shutting Asian Service That Sped YouTube

Alphabet is shuttering Accelerator, a year old-service designed to speed streaming performance of popular YouTube videos in Asian countries with slow Internet access, according to a person who has worked on the project. Alphabet wants to focus on Google Station, a more recently developed effort meant to be introduced in more countries, said a person close to Alphabet.

Accelerator launched in the Philippines last March and is available on WiFi networks in places like malls, hospitals and airports. Accelerator was free for users but venues like malls and airports had to pay to offer the service, which required an Alphabet-made device that connected to the internet. Alphabet has also talked about bringing the service to India.

Google Station is aimed initially at India but will be rolled out elsewhere. It won't involve Alphabet selling hardware, although the company will advise internet providers and businesses on what hardware to buy. Alphabet will make money from selling cloud-based software for managing WiFi hotspots, according to a person close to the company.