Google's Speedy Mobile Pages Will Begin Rolling Out In Early 2016

Google's initiative to make Web pages load faster on mobile browsers will begin rolling out in early 2016, according to the Alphabet Inc. unit. Already, the search leader has secured commitments from some of the top news outlets, advertising services and analytics outfit in the world.

The technology giant made clear its intention to speed up the mobile Web in October when it announced its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project. It will achieve this goal by creating a set of technical specifications that publishers can adopt to make their websites and online content load faster when accessed by mobile users.

"Google will begin sending traffic to your AMP pages in Google Search early next year, and we plan to share more concrete specifics on timing very soon," Google said in a blog post Tuesday, adding that AMP has collected commitments from some of the major players on the Web.

On the content side, AMP has received commitments from the likes of Al Jazeera America, AOL, CBS Interactive, Slate, The Next Web and Thrillist, as well as IBT Media's International Business Times and Newsweek. AMP has also received pledges from some of the major online advertising services, including AdSense, AOL, DoubleClick, OpenX and Outbrain. In addition, top Web analytics outfits such as Adobe Analytics, Chartbeat, comScore and Parse.ly have stated their intentions to adopt the AMP framework.

The release of AMP will benefit consumers in multiple ways. It will make it easier for all kinds of content -- whether text, photographs, videos or ads -- to load on their mobile browsers. AMP essentially makes Web pages load more efficiently, which could cut the amount of time users spend surfing the Web on their phones, as well as the amount of data required to do it.

Within Google, AMP is a response to the Facebook Instant Articles feature that was released this year. That feature makes it possible for Facebook users to rapidly access articles from a select group of news outlets when using the social network's mobile app.