Google’s fiber deployment in the Kansas City, Mo., area shows that...
Google’s fiber deployment in the Kansas City, Mo., area shows that deregulation works and raises intriguing questions about the future structure of the broadband industry, Director Fred Campbell of the Communications Liberty and Innovation Project wrote on the group’s blog.…
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“Google is building fiber in Kansas City because its officials were willing to waive regulatory barriers to entry that have discouraged broadband deployments in other cities,” he said (http://xrl.us/bnjxtg). “Google Fiber demonstrates that the problem isn’t deregulation, a lack of competition, or an unwillingness to invest in American infrastructure. It’s the imposition of burdensome bureaucracy, unnecessary costs, and political favoritism at all levels of government.” Campbell also suggests regulators should ponder what the success of Google Fiber could mean for the future of how the industry is structured. The money tends to be on the edge of the Internet, he said. “What if large Internet ‘edge’ companies -- Google, Apple, and Microsoft -- were vertically integrated with the large infrastructure providers -- Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T?” he said. “If the government allowed that to happen, it’s possible that the enormous profits generated by the edge companies ... would be used to rapidly drive ultra high-speed network deployment rather than fill cash coffers in offshore banks. Google is sitting on $43 billion overseas. Apple has more than $81 billion and Microsoft has $54 billion. By comparison, Verizon currently has about $10 billion in cash, which is less than one quarter of Google’s overseas holdings.” Campbell was Wireless Bureau chief at the FCC under former Chairman Kevin Martin.