It was also noted by Google in Mid September 2005 that they were offering a limited test of free wireless internet service named Google WiFi. Supposedly a community outreach imitative Google is participating in by offering access from two locations near the Mountainview California Search engines headquarters.
I am not sure how much of community outreach this is as the two locations Google offers the service from are a pizza shop and gym. Isn't there a library in the community? Basically this is a test for Google to gather user feedback before they explore a full fledged push to become an internet service provider and telecommunications company.
This initiative was supposedly brought about by one of the Google engineer’s 20% time project. I could buy into that, except for the fact that Google has been purchasing the dark fiber with the explanation that it’s a natural thing to do for a company with such a large website. I have to hand it to their spin doctors, who are a cut above the rest.
There are more hints that Google is going to get into the game in a much bigger scale than many expect and that is evidenced by a few pages on their website. There is a frequently asked questions page found here: http://wifi.google.com/faq.html. There is an installer page here: http://wifi.google.com/download.html. This page is the Google Secure Access script needed to link to the wireless network.
I think it's apparent that Google is in some way, shape, or form going to offer internet access to the world at large. Be it tomorrow or after a year of tomorrows, but definitely sooner than later Google’s going to fulfill their mission statement right from the first sentence "Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". There is no mistake what it says, and I would have to say it is what they intend to do.
When you also consider that Google's many offerings can all be accessed via WAP and i-Mode phones, it is a slam dunk they're coming to a city near you. They will have an impact on local advertising revenues, but there is a silver lining to the news. Local businesses are going to invest money in online advertising because of one reason and one reason only: it works, plain and simple. Whether Google or the local newspapers get the budget for the increased online ad revenue will be determined not by a brand name, but by what the local business has always received from local newspapers. That is customer service.
So let me stand at the top of the mountain and yell this across the land, Dear local newspaper owner, your survival is dependant on how well your customer service people outperform the faceless presence of Google. Train your customer service people well, enable them to make decisions on their own, and reward them well. A happy employee is a healthy bottom line in the making.
As for now, most newspapers local presence will allow them to maintain their ad revenues should Google enter the WiFi market. But the customer services they offer will have to be top notch to continue to compete.
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