The Googlenet?

Is Google planning to build its own Internet? Could be.

Concerns that cable and phone companies want to charge Google and other new media companies for use of their networks are fueling continued speculation that the search giant is looking to build its own Internet.

I think I read first about this Internet access issue on AMERICAblog. AT&T, Verizon and other "pipeline" owners apparently think it is unacceptable for the Internet to remain free. Of course, it isn't free. I pay hundreds of dollars a year for my cable Internet access. My employer pays thousands of dollars per year for its T1 line.

So, what exactly are these companies talking about? Do they resent the fact that companies and individuals are using the information superhighway for commerce? That corporations like Google are sucking massive stacks of cash through the pipeline? Maybe that's it. Maybe they're just looking for a bigger slice of the pie.

If that is the plan, however, they will find that it will not work out quite the way it looks on paper. First, there is the very real possibility of a company like Google cutting their legs out from under them by building its own network, as indicated in the story quoted above.

It reminds me of the story of Image Comics which was formed during the 1990s by a group of former writers and artists from Marvel and DC. Image enjoyed enormous success with its stable of fan-favorite creators and titles such as Spawn. The company made a lot of money.

After a couple of years, comics distributors, the companies that actually haul the books to comic shops, started agitating for a larger percentage of the gross receipts. Todd McFarlane, Spawn's creator and one of Image's founders, discussed the matter in an interview in The Comics Journal. During the course of the interview, McFarlane mentioned casually that if the distributors tried to play hardball, he would just stop dealing with them altogether and distribute the books himself. Now, McFarlane did not want to be comic books distributor, but he had no intention of letting a middleman bend him backwards over a barrel. Suddenly, there was no more talk of distributors trying to strong-arm Image Comics. They understood that, just to make a point, this guy was willing to cut them completely out of the picture. They decided, wisely, that a small slice of the pie was better than no slice at all.

I am sure that Google has no burning desire to be in the Internet infrastructure business. But, I am equally sure that it would rather do that than pay extortion to some network owner in the form of massive, double access fees. And, massive fees are certainly what we are talking about. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of antagonizing the entire Internet-using world?

It is entirely possible that Google is floating these rumors just to see how badly Verizon, et al want to mix it up. But if not, this could really change the face of online communications. The Post writes that if Google builds its own Internet, it would give users access by way of a computer appliance that costs one-time fee of a hundred bucks. C'est tout.

Also, quite apart from Google's plans, this could make states and municipalities finally get serious about community WiFi. You want to shut AT&T up about charging double fees for Internet access? Tell them you're going to turn the World Wide Web into a publicly-owned utility.

See how much they have to say then.