Google Fiber Is High-Speed Internet’s Most Successful Failure
I see this a bit differently, and I frequently use the history of Google Fiber as evidence for strong net neutrality regulations.<p>In the areas where it was deployed, Google Fiber was wildly successful.  And yet, Google threw in the towel.  Why?<p>It _isn’t_ because Google Fiber is was unprofitable. To the contrary, it was profitable _despite_ driving broadband prices way down in its service areas.<p>It’s because the incumbent ISPs simply have too much power.  That power comes in many forms:<p><pre><code>  1. Excessive industry lobbying power;  
  2. Anti-competitive exclusivity agreements;  
  3. The ability to stall rollouts indefinitely in the absence of “one touch make ready” policies;  
  4. Required cooperation with and permission from governments who feel less pressured to move quickly once their residents have at least one incumbent provider;
</code></pre>
etc.<p>If the incumbents are <i>so well protected</i> that one of the most powerful corporations in America found the barriers to entry too burdensome, then how can <i>anyone</i> argue that there is any semblance of a “free market”?  What hope is there for startup ISPs?<p>The incumbents have received hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, so they already had a government-assisted head start.  And, despite prices being so inflated that they <i>halved overnight</i> wherever Google Fiber rolled out, they are <i>still</i> able to effectively stave off meaningful competition.<p>Would that be possible in a healthy, competitive marketplace?  No.  So we need to stop treating it like one, when it clearly isn’t.