The Genius Of Google Fiber

As Google picks up its pace on rolling out fiber Internet service – announcing Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah in the past 10 days – one has to admire the sheer hubris of what it’s doing. Just as in mobile, Google is forcing the industry to provide low-cost access to the Internet, where it stands waiting to reap the bonanza of advertising-based services. Competitors race to keep up, expanding their broadband or mobile offerings, thereby furthering Google’s monetization strategy even as they try to thwart the advertising giant.

It’s Google’s world. We just get to live in it. And click on ads.

Free Fiber Internet For the Huddled Masses

According to Internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, the broadband Internet access game is already over, and Google has won. As he notes, “Google Fiber is not a test, it’s a takeover plan.” Calacanis argues that Google’s real plan with fiber-to-the-home isn’t necessarily the home broadband connection, but rather free wifi attached to each of the routers installed to use its broadband. With this free wifi network blanketing a city, it’s game over for the traditional telcos:

“Google is going to kill AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and the cable companies. Kids don’t talk on the phone and they don’t have a ton of money. If they can be reasonably sure they’ll have a wifi network, then they are simply not going to sign up for AT&T or Verizon.”