A decade ago, Microsoft thought it could ignore bureaucratic rumblings with little or no fallout. That attitude led to the historic Microsoft antitrust trial and the realization that bureaucrats can indeed wield bigtime impact. Google is now learning a similar lesson, albeit in a different way.
In the race to provide WiFi access to Internet users, one strategy that looked like a shortcut was to partner with government bodies that seemed inclined to offer a near monopoly to companies who agreed to provide citywide wireless Internet service for “free.” In April of 2006, Google was awarded permission to build such a network in conjunction with Earthlink.
Local governments control the so-called “rights of way” for companies to set up their broadband wireless equipment throughout a city. When a company is awarded the main rights-of-way permissions, one might think that future service provision would be in the bag. In a world where everyone followed the Google motto, “don’t be evil,” that would be the case, but in San Francisco, reality has set in for the search giant.
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