SKEPTICS CALL GOOGLE'S FIBER ANNOUNCEMENT POLITICS AND HOT AIR

摘要

Google's plan to set up a broadband testbed for wider and better access "is short on details, with no information on capital spending, and, in our view, should primarily be seen through the lens of regulatory posturing," Bernstein Research said. "Notably, the FCC issued a laudatory press release which surreptitiously appeared on the web only moments after Google's announcement." The company's "gambit is reminiscent of their bid on C-Block 700 MHz spectrum in return for Open Access provisions," Bernstein said. "Google did indeed bid, the rules were applied to Verizon Wireless, and Google then dropped out of the auction." American Consumer Institute President Stephen Pociask asked, "If Google builds these networks, will they tie their services to their applications? Will their network be open and free?" It could be "public policy showboating," he said. "But if they can go in and be a competitor, we should give them a shovel and let them start building." The industry shouldn't view Google's trial as part of an effort for the company to become a major transport player in the broadband market, analysts at Analysys Mason said. Its municipal Wi-Fi network in Mountain View, Calif., is a "flop" and its collaboration with EarthLink didn't work out, analyst Rupert Wood said. Although the fiber project proposed promises broadband speeds 20 times faster than those of Verizon FiOS, and provides a fully open access model to service providers, "there is more than a little politicking and PR in the announcement," he said.