What if Google wanted to give wi-fi access to everyone in America?

[Hellfighter]

Free wi-fi? Get ready for GoogleNet
What if Google wanted to give wi-fi access to everyone in America?
August 19, 2005: 4:09 PM EDT
By Om Malik, Business 2.0

NEW YORK (Business 2.0) - What if Google 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. Sounds crazy, but how might Google (Research) go about it?

First it would build a national broadband network -- let's call it the GoogleNet -- massive enough to rival even the country's biggest Internet service providers. Business 2.0 has learned from telecom insiders that Google is already building such a network, though ostensibly for many reasons.

For the past year, it has quietly been shopping for miles and miles of "dark," or unused, fiber-optic cable across the country from wholesalers such as New York's AboveNet. It's also acquiring superfast connections from Cogent Communications and WilTel, among others, between East Coast cities including Atlanta, Miami, and New York.

Such large-scale purchases are unprecedented for an Internet company, but Google's timing is impeccable. The rash of telecom bankruptcies has freed up a ton of bargain-priced capacity, which Google needs as it prepares to unleash a flood of new, bandwidth-hungry applications. These offerings could include everything from a digital-video database to on-demand television programming.

Cost savings in the millions
An even more compelling reason for Google to build its own network is that it could save the company millions of dollars a month.

Here's why: Every time a user performs a search on Google, the data is transmitted over a network owned by an ISP -- say, Comcast (Research) -- which links up with Google's servers via a wholesaler like AboveNet. When AboveNet bridges that gap between Google and Comcast, Google has to pay as much as $60 per megabit per second per month in IP transit fees.

As Google adds bandwidth-intensive services, those costs will increase. Big networks owned by the likes of AT&T (Research) get around transit fees by striking "peering" arrangements, in which the networks swap traffic and no money is exchanged. By cutting out middlemen like AboveNet, Google could share traffic directly with ISPs to avoid fees.

How would it work?
So once the GoogleNet is built, how would consumers connect for free access? One of the cheapest ways would be for Google to blanket major cities with wi-fi, and evidence gathered by Business 2.0 suggests that the company may be trying to do just that.

In April it launched a Google-sponsored wi-fi hotspot in San Francisco's Union Square shopping district, built by a local startup called Feeva. Feeva is reportedly readying more free hotspots in California, Florida, New York, and Washington, and it's possible that Google may be involved. Feeva CEO Nitin Shah confirms that the company is working with Google but won't discuss details.

Google's interest in Feeva likely stems from the startup's proprietary technology, which can determine the location of every wi-fi user and would allow Google to serve up advertising and maps based on real-time data.

So is Google about to offer free Net access to everyone? Characteristically, the company is cryptic about its goal.

"We are sponsoring [Feeva] because [it is] trying to make free wi-fi available in San Francisco, and this matches Google's goal to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible," says Google spokesman Nate Taylor. "We don't have anything to add at this point about future plans."

To which we speculate: Today San Francisco, tomorrow the world.

Source CNN New's: http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/19/tech..._biz/index.htm

More info link:"Feeva"

basic Feeva is:
free wireless internet access for your business or organization.

If you qualify, we will provide you with all the necessary software and equipment to provide customized wireless (WiFi) internet access at no charge to you or your customers.

i signup to it see what happings lol i don't think i get it, but i give a good try

there is a drawback to this a company don't like their employee using their computers system for person use, they will fire a employee real fast even e-mails are check. i think this will be adware to the max too.

[Lucky]

very cool man...

[Hellfighter]

cell-wireless transfer 2-3gb of data into the internet

[BADDOG]

Very interesting article Chief!!!!

Warm Regards

[Jeff]

Would be something to see happen.

[Stu]

Originally posted by Jeff
Would be something to see happen.

I think it probally will to
-Tecceh2

[Scott]

There are alot of Wi-Fi hot spots around the bigger cities right now.. There is even a campaign of people setting up wi-fi networks for there neighborhood.. Pretty cool, although it will probably be awhile before everyone can access it.. I still haven't went wireless since I have no real need for it.. Still like the good ol trusty wires . But my new laptop will be wi-fi capable