The free Wi-Fi network offered by Google in its hometown of Mountain View has gone live. But don’t look for the search giant to go nation-wide with its broadband wireless agenda. The New York Times’ John Markoff has this piece today noting that Google has said no to jumpstarting wireless competition to incumbent broadband providers beyond its deal with EarthLink to deliver wireless services in San Francisco.
Not that Google wouldn’t like to see a third broadband pipe into homes; it would make net neutrality a moot issue.
“I think there wouldn’t be a Net neutrality debate in this country if we really had a competitive environment for access,” said Chris Sacca, a Google executive who heads special initiatives for the company. “The Internet is not pervasive as it could be, or democratic.”
There are roughly 300 open contracts for municipal Wi-Fi services around the country, and Mr. Sacca noted that Google had not been an active bidder for any of the contracts, including a plan for a service covering the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Om, who broke the story on Google’s interest in Wi-Fi, quotes Sacca as saying that Google just wants to be a “catalyst” in showing how easy it is to mount competition. The network cost Google $1 million to build, for a city of 72,000 residents, a cost level that Google says is a low barrier to entry.
Cynthia Brumfield at 9:39 AM|Comments(0)
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