Googlenet?

Business 2.0 speculates that Google may offer free wireless Internet access to residents of major cities in return for the knowing the precise location of every Wi-Fi user.

1 minute read

August 21, 2005, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"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.

...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."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Friday, August 12, 2005 in Business 2.0

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