A decade ago, Microsoft thought it could ignore bureaucratic rumblings with little or no fallout. That attitude led to the historic Microsoft antitrust trial and the realization that bureaucrats can indeed wield bigtime impact. Google is now learning a similar lesson, albeit in a different way. In the race to provide WiFi access to Internet users, one strategy that looked like a shortcut was to partner with government bodies that seemed inclined to offer a near monopoly to companies who agreed to provide citywide wireless Internet service for “free.”
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Will Google Learn Government 101?
Posted by: Sonia Arrison September 22, 2006 04:00 AMA decade ago, Microsoft thought it could ignore bureaucratic rumblings with little or no fallout. That attitude led to the historic Microsoft antitrust trial and the realization that bureaucrats can indeed wield bigtime impact. Google is now learning a similar lesson, albeit in a different way. In the race to provide WiFi access to Internet users, one strategy that looked like a shortcut was to partner with government bodies that seemed inclined to offer a near monopoly to companies who agreed to provide citywide wireless Internet service for “free.”