When I’m daydreaming at my desk, I like to think about the constant barrage of information that is traveling through and around me as light (visible, radio waves, etc.). As mind-boggling as this thought is, the idea that these waves of light are regulated by the FCC throws me for an even further loop. Think about it. They regulate light.
Okay, I’m not here to cause waves. I’m only here to perceive them and report.
This week the FCC rejected LightSquared Inc.’s plan to create a wireless high speed internet network, because of its potential to interfere with GPS signal. According the WSJ, “LightSquared says the problem is with GPS receivers, which are too sensitive and listen outside of the GPS boundaries.” LightSquared, intent on taking legal action, hopes to secure itself a significant slice of internet’s future.
Of course LightSquared isn’t the only player in the infrastructure race. You may have heard of this other internet company out there: Google. Although these two companies share some of the same ambitions, they differ in strategy. LightSquared intends to spread information over the air; Google is investing in fiber. Their project, dubbed Google Fiber, looks to first provide Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO with high-speed gigabit-per-second fiber-optic cable.
Google, however, is also investing its resources in a few other projects – namely in the consumer electronics market. For example, last week Google announced it is working on a music streaming player a la Sonos. This would be Google’s first major endeavor in the product designing game. Sure, it has its Android phones, but its project history has its dark spots. An example: the infamous Google TV with Logitech and Sony; also, the poorly selling Chromebook with Samsung and Acer. Hey, least the commercials were funny.
I mean, look at Google’s take on social media: Buzz and G+. Google has a tough time breaking into already established markets. Allow me to digress. I’ll share with you something funny I found on the internet.
Social Media Explained:
Twitter – I’m eating a #donut
Facebook – I like donuts
Foursquare – This is where I eat donuts
Instagram – Here’s a vintage photo of my donut
YouTube – Here I am eating a donut
LinkedIn – My skills include donut eating
Pinterest – Here’s a donut recipe
Last FM – Now Listening to “Donuts”
G+ — I’m a Google employee who eats donuts.
According to Time writer Harry McCracken, It could be that “Google is being drawn into consumer electronics simply out of an obsessive desire to take on Apple…” – a difficult task in my opinion.
In a November article Joshua Topolsky of the Verge references Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, “[Jobs reveals] that he had finally ‘cracked’ the problem with TV and was working on what he called an ‘integrated television set.’” Look what iTunes did to the music business. Could Apple do the same with TV? Channels could be soon replaced by apps. Content could soon be easier access without having to pay for hyper-bundled packages. This however, is all speculation.
Okay, okay. I may have given Google a bit too much smack today. Google may be spreading itself too thin in some areas, but it still helped me write this article.