By free access to everyone I mean the United States, at least for the moment. Business 2.0 Magazine reports that Google may be creating a network of free Wi-Fi access in the United States. Evidence shows that Google has been buying up unused fiber-optic cable in the US in an effort to reduce it’s future bandwidth bill as it rolls out more and more bandwidth intensive services such as Google Earth. Is Google making yet another brilliant play that may one day see it as the largest Internet service provider in the US offering free access funded by targeted advertising?
What if Google (GOOG) wanted to give Wi-Fi access to everyone in America? And what if it had technology capable of targeting advertising to a user’s precise location? The gatekeeper of the world’s information could become one of the globe’s biggest Internet providers and one of its most powerful ad sellers, basically supplanting telecoms in one fell swoop.
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I think Google is highly over rated — althought I have it as my homepage…I often use other search engines and have had better luck finding relevant info.
I think people like Google the same reason people like Apple Computers and Starbuck coffee — it is almost some sort of sense of pride or community to a brand… as if by using it, owening it, or drinking it…makes you cooler or at least makes you think you are.
When Google went public I believe they lost their focus…which was average joe’s like you and I looking for info….I used Google in the past because they focuesed on SEARCH…now they seem to be spreading themselves thin…and well their search results show it!
Hmm, I would disagree.
I think Google is as much over rated as a search engine as Windows is over rated as an Operating system.
Google controls a great proportion of the flow of information on the internet, they can, potentially, control what you and I read. That is power.
Now once they start giving you free wifi internet, and giving you ads based on your location, and perhaps… not giving you certain info based on location. Think of the possibilities.
Hrm, this article is dated in ’05 and this is the first time I ever heard of the idea of google internet. I hope it’s true, though. Free broadband Internet? If it were true, I’m sure that the speeds would undoubtedly be capped.
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I haven’t seen anything regarding free google internet. I think thy are focusing more on applications and there g-phone right now.