Google’s deadline for responses to the Broadband for Communities Project passed March 26^th.  Over 1000 municipalities responded throughout the USA http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/.  They will announce the finalist communities by the end of the year.   Recently, a discussion started during coffee at CTIA – will they actually build it? 

First, the naysayers speak up.  They cite the game of chicken Google apparently played during the wireless auctions forcing up the bidding, and engaging a discussion about net neutrality, and never spending a dollar.  Next, Google just collected free information about the needs, performance and current state of broadband networks throughout the US, soon after Clearwire finished their first 30 cities.  Surely, Clearwire can use this information to figure out where to go next.  They can use this information to lobby the FCC regarding the stated need and popular opinion for open broadband networks from over 1000 towns and cities nationwide.  Google now has contact information to city leaders that can be used to rally the populace if/when net neutrality comes to the debate.  In summary, a genius PR move with little intent behind it.

Next, consider the case as seen by from the glass half-full mob.  Proponents look at Google’s massive balance sheet and suggest they could build out this network for $50-100M and serve 50,000 residents on the low-side and $500-1B on the high side.  This puts Google in at the FCC as a wireline carrier with a testbed unlike any other in this scale and scope.  An open network, that lets anyone build applications and services on a shared infrastructure.  They can argue that VZ and AT&T need to unbundle (again) their local loop, after the re-regulation of the local loop protected them from competitors riding on their plant on the cheap.  Hence, VZ/AT&T will have been drawn into the canyon for a re-re-regulation ambush. In summary, a genius chess move, with even more to come.

Just technically speaking.  Consider the technical need for an open testbed with shared applications across a 4G wireless network?  With the launch of the iPhone and now the iPad, competition for developer resources is intense. Google can offer an open development community access to hosted processing, storage and networking all the way to consumers on a 1 gigabit wireline and high-speed wireless (Clearwire) access.  This gives them a fundamental competitive advantage over Apple, Microsoft and certainly any of the carriers in luring developers to their platform.

Finally, this is a different field of players than Google has engaged with in prior incarnations.  They are engaging directly with communities and citizens; not just playing a poker game with the FCC and incumbent carriers.   The rewards of public opinion and support are very high, as are the price of failure whether real or perceived.  In today’s open vocal culture, authenticity is rewarded, misinformation and half-truths are exposed.  

More on Google’s RFI found here: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/overview