We'll operate an "open access" network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers.
The way I read that, Google isn't offering a gigabit connection to the internet. They're offering a gigabit connection to Google. You'll still have to pay somebody else to get anywhere else. And that person may or may not have throttling, bandwidth caps, etc.
I'm sure the guys at Google have considered that, and this is no doubt a shot across the bow of the major ISPs to drop the net neutrality debate. But if they (the major ISPs) are the only ones who step up to the plate to offer ISP access FROM Google, it's hardly a loss to them. And I hate to mention it because I can't recall the specifics, but I remember reading that there are regulatory reasons Google wouldn't want to get into the "official" ISP business due to the way their backbone is built out, and the major ISPs know this.
But what if you could offer the opportunity to get some of the end-user cash to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers that don't currently offer end-user service, without really having to add anything to their network. That would be a more beneficial and effective shot on a number of levels.
For one, the big guys of the web (Akamai, Limelight, etc) are already multi-homed to the major backbones. So if you have AT&T service at home, odds are you're never leaving AT&T's network to watch your Netflix movie. In which case AT&T holds all the cards because you're paying for the service, and if they could, they'd be charging Netflix to prioritize their traffic to your house. Netflix has to pay because it's the only way to get the packets to you. This starts making other Tier 1 carriers irrelevant...that is unless they had a cost effective way to offer end-user service.
And if the model holds up, the loophole might just work for municipal broadband. There's a long list of examples for municipalities trying to build out fiber networks and getting shut down by the major carriers. But the "I'm not the ISP" loophole (if it holds up) might be big enough for municipalities to jump on the "GoogleNet" without Common Carrier interference.
I suppose tinfoil isn't needed in some scenarios, but I wouldn't expect gigabit "internet" access any time soon, just gigabit access to Google.
What is algebra, exactly? Is it one of those three-cornered things? -- J.M. Barrie