Google As Your (Free) Broadband Provider?

Rumors, Conspiracies, etc.

from the anything-could-happen dept

Rather than the Google-iTunes rumors, how about a Google as your broadband provider rumor instead? That seems to be the gist of Om Malik’s latest Business 2.0 column, where he discusses the possibility of Google offering free, ad-supported, WiFi around the country (I’m assuming it’s his latest article because he just linked to it on his blog — according to Biz 2.0, the article was published on January 1, 1900). It seems to pick up on the blown out of proportion rumors from earlier this year about how Google was starting a VoIP offering because they were looking for someone who could set do some deals for some dark fiber. While there are plenty of reasons why Google might want some dark fiber that have nothing to do with offering either VoIP or free WiFi (making the story highly speculative), it’s still an interesting idea. It still does seem a little far out there, but something about it does fit with the Google vision of the world (even if it does echo of silly dot com bombs of years past). Still, after everyone started freaking out that the FCC’s latest ruling would kill all broadband competition, it would be nice to see at least someone else jump in with a totally different business model in mind, just to shake things up a bit.