

Hello Ma Google - The worst news ever for cell-phone carriers - nickb
http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/2007/09/17/Cellphone-Carrier-Breakups/

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buss
I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm getting increasingly worried that
Google will become too big and too powerful. Google already knows more about
me than I'm comfortable with, but damn it if gmail isn't great. I would really
prefer to keep them as a content provider and not a service provider. Sure
they're friendly now, but as they grow they lose their initial purpose and
guiding principles. Remember "Don't be evil"? Where has that rule gone, now
that they help the Chinese government censor information?

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jsjenkins168
It is understandable why you think that way, given Google's aggressive
ventures into other areas such as mobile services. But I personally think they
will bring good things for both users and startups. The reason being that
Google is committed 100% to openness. I think their interest in the 700Mhz
spectrum is an example of this commitment. The fact that they are willing to
spend the money to purchase the spectrum and then build out an open access
network for others to freely use (including potential competitors) makes me
think very highly of them and their efforts.

As far as the Chinese censorship issue, that is a tricky situation. China is a
gold mine of growth potential, which Google obviously has interests in
tapping. They cannot risk losing access to that market over censorship issues.
In a business sense, censorship seems justified to me given the situation.
China is just that important.

Apple is the company who I worry will become too big and powerful. The
difference between them and Google is that they are decidedly NOT in favor of
open access. They are exactly the opposite from google, building walled
gardens around their stuff to prevent competitors from sharing in their glory.
The iPhone is a perfect example. As someone interested in wireless startups, I
lose sleep over the Apple and their iPhone. Its hard to compete with Apple
when they dont let anyone else in on that platform. I think there are a few
things startups could do better than Apple on the iPhone, but as it stands
right now this is a nut that just cant be cracked.

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snifty
Instead of saying something cynical about the fact that you see business
models as trumping human rights, I'll just link you to a more-balanced-than-I-
can-be post about the sort of caution we should have regarding Google:

[http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2006/01/google_...](http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2006/01/google_in_china.html)

As far as Apple is concerned, they'll crack their own nuts. Biology 101 tells
us that if you refuse to let anyone get near your nuts, you can't reproduce.

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seren6ipity
Thanks for the link!

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henning
"As Greg Butz, a senior vice president at cable operator Comcast..."

That company has multiple kinds of vice presidents? Jesus christ. Try getting
a straight, plain English answer out of them about the difference between a
senior VP and non-senior VP.

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rms
I really hope Google ends up controlling the old TV frequencies, just because
it will be so much more interesting than the alternative.

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neilc
Same here; I, for one, welcome our new Googly overlords. I bet there are some
interesting startup ideas in this space, even (relatively) late in the game...

I do wonder about the author's offhand assertion that Google are the "odds-on
favorite" to win the auction. Does anyone know if there's any evidence to back
this up? Last I checked, Google were only willing to _conditionally_ meet the
opening auction price if their conditions were met, let alone whatever they'd
need to pay to win the auction.

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jsjenkins168
Google initially claimed they would only bid if all of the open access
standards they proposed were accepted by the FCC. Not all of the rules were
accepted, and the ones that were are now being challenged in court by the
Telcos. It is rumored that FCC chairman Kevin Martin is now working on a
proposal to at least partially reverse some of the open standards that were
ratified, in response to the Telco's uproar. It is not looking good... Despite
this, Google has publically stated that they will "most likely" still bid in
the auction.

I have read of at least one analyst who believes that the Telcos are more
likely to win the auction than Google. Possibly out right by a single carrier
or through collusion between multiple. As much cash as Google has, It could be
difficult for them to justify spending >$10B on a wireless spectrum when they
are still perceived as an internet search company. Investors may not be very
happy about that. For the Telcos, this is their core business and the expense
is highly justified. While this is all speculation at this point, the
consensus so far does not paint a very pretty picture for open access
unfortunately. We will just have to wait a few more months and see how things
play out.

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chaostheory
Here's the contrarian (and in my opinion the more realistic) view:

[http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070727_0025...](http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070727_002573.html)

Google is in very a dangerous position right now... taking on the telcoms is
different from taking on MS

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dfranke
I'm somewhat tempted to load up on underwater put options on Verizon.

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jsjenkins168
Agreed. Going short on the wireless Telcos is starting to sound like a good
idea :)

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nextmoveone
Will there be Google Phone along with their spectrum(if they win)?

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jsjenkins168
There will be a Google phone regardless of the outcome of the wireless
auction. Most reports suggest it is just a few months away from being
unveiled.

