Does anyone else see this?
When Google announced their investment in BPL company Current Communications last week, I started to put the pieces together and saw something big.
Tell me if you think I'm off base with my thinking.
Google buys into Current Communciations and creates a broadband infrastructure by using the existing power grid. To make it easy, I am assuming the States for my thinking, although I know emerging countries will benefit more from BPL (broadband over the powerline).
BPL allows every outlet in your house/office (with the appropriate hardware) to provide broadband internet access. Just like you plug in your toaster for electricity, you plug in your PC or laptop and get high-speed net access.
From this I see Google becoming a service provider, but which kind?
Remember Google became a registrar with The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Is Google planning on selling domain names?
(question, could a phone number be registered as a URL?)
There is also lots of speculation Google is trying to get into the VOIP space, Yahoo's acquisition of Dialpad could expedite this.
Could a "Google VOIP" add a download be the way they get on the mobile phone?
My thinking is that a Google VOIP app could create such demand that people will download and THAT will be how Google gets on every mobile phone, and that is how they create a mobile OS.
Let me put my Google goggles on and describe what I see.
1.Google teams up with utility companies to provide broadband service
2.Google buys into a company that offers/or sells WiFi/Wi-Max equipment
3.On all Google sites (web, images, toolbar etc), they offer their VOIP service by registering your phone number(s) as a URL. My Google turns into a portal for all of your needs
4. Google and utility companies place a Wi-Max antenna every mile? on every power box
5.They offer a download app that allows VOIP through your utility company
6.Google has now created a high speed platform for the masses for all sorts of search queries that require broadband (video)
7. Google buys into a GPS/LBS company/service and offers a true high speed mobile search platform for both mobile users and advertisers
How did Google get so big? They created an application that people use everyday (search), made it easier to use and find, and advertisers followed the traffic.
I have a bunch of other ideas that get created from this scenario, but let me know if you think it makes sense or if I'm way off base with my thinking.
2 comments:
I hope bpl goes nowhere. It would guarantee a world of radio interference and make it nearly impossible to prevent a chaotic and growing storm of radio pollution. It also puts too much into one infrastructure. If the power grid goes down like it did last year, then we lose power AND communication.
I believe Google is going to hit a giant wall. They will try to grow at unprecedented rates and trip a few times on the way. If they try to own a new internet infrastructure, there will be too many big players who will try to prevent it; the government might be one of them. The military does NOT want our limited radio spectrum littered with noise.
It will be interesting to watch, but I think Google had better not try to be too many things too soon. They're beginning to make too many people defensive, and these players together are more potent than Google.
It could still very well be that Google leaves the Voip-war to others and bet on video/tv for pc and mobile phones. Revenue in voice is on a fast decline, but VOD is on the rise...
The powerline provider option i think is sort of a backup insurance in case it does takeoff, perhaps there's been a breakthrough recently that got IBM and Google interrested; anyway it'll have to come to market within 2 years or Wimax seems the best bet yet.
You've definately got a point that if Google wants to be a main portal on the mobile phones they have to somehow get involved and quick! But they can also strike deals with say Nokia & cohorts to use Symbian as the platform and Google as the search portal...
Anyway things are moving fast, so it shouldn't be long we see more of the mobile-search iceberg emerging...
Capastorm
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