re Why Google Fiber Failed to Disrupt the ISPs

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Brett claims 
'Google has been spending millions of dollars -- much of it flowing via foundations, dark money 501(c)(4)s, academia, 
"think tanks," and so-called "public interest" lobbying shops -- to lobby for government regulations that would make 
ISPs barely profitable or even unprofitable, “

but i am far from convinced from my experience and his “proof” def


> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat net>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Why Google Fiber Failed to Disrupt the ISPs
> Date: August 2, 2017 at 2:14:37 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net, "Ip ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
>
> Dave, and Everyone:
>
> As an ISP with 25 years' experience, I can say with certainty that Google Fiber failed to disrupt "the ISPs" (as if 
> we are a homogeneous group) because:
>
> 1. Being an ISP is incredibly hard, and Google didn't have -- or develop -- the chops to do it. One of the reasons 
> Google has been so incredibly profitable in its other businesses is that it provides essentially no customer service 
> or support for any of them. It is COMPLETELY inexperienced at providing personalized technical support, and is not 
> willing to spend the money to do so. It is also unused to being blamed for every tiny technical problem which is not 
> its fault (a situation which ISPs encounter daily). Yet its own lobbyists, and those of other edge providers, 
> encourage consumers to blame any network, computing, or service problem on the ISP.
>
> 2. Google Fiber was never intended to be a long term, going concern. It was a money-losing publicity stunt, intended 
> to stimulate governments at all levels to regulate ISPs. (They'd ask, "If Google can provide broadband that cheaply, 
> why can't you?" Never mind the fact that Google Fiber was highly unprofitable and therefore unsustainable.)
>
> 3. Google Fiber was at cross-purposes with other efforts within Google -- in particular, its lobbying efforts in 
> Washington DC. Google has been spending millions of dollars -- much of it flowing via foundations, dark money 
> 501(c)(4)s, academia, "think tanks," and so-called "public interest" lobbying shops -- to lobby for government 
> regulations that would make ISPs barely profitable or even unprofitable, allowing Google and other edge providers to 
> collect most or all of the money flowing to and through the Internet ecosystem. Being an ISP itself exposes Google 
> itself to the very attacks that other portions of the same company are mounting against ISPs.
>
> 4. To keep Google Fiber from being even a greater loss than it already was, Google was forced to go into the pay TV 
> business -- a business against which it competes (via YouTube and its advertising businesses) and which is heavily 
> regulated. It wasn't prepared for the enormous regulatory burdens of doing so, nor for the extreme difficulty of 
> negotiating with content providers (including content monopolies such as ESPN and "must carry" local TV stations) for 
> reasonable rates. And it did not get into the local telephony business, which is an even deeper regulatory tar pit, 
> even though a "triple play" offering might have boosted revenue. Why? Due to the huge regulatory burdens that this 
> would impose.
>
> In short, Google found out that this money losing publicity stunt -- which it listed in its financial reports as one 
> of its "other bets" -- was even a worse bet than it thought. Expect it to sell its last mile fiber networks to other 
> carriers within the next 12-24 months.
>
> --Brett Glass




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