calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
| Sometimes, when you're in a business, you realize that there is a need for other aspects of commerce in order for your business to flourish. However, you may for various reasons not want to become "dominant" in those fields, because you believe:
1. they would be distracting to your core business,
2. they might take too much capital,
3. they might not produce the margins your core business can, or
4. your core business might do better with a hotly competitive market in the other field.
Examples:
RCA radios needed broadcasters, so RCA started NBC but encouraged others to broadcast as well.
Kodak home movie film needed projectors, so Kodak encouraged Bell & Howell to develop them.
American automakers worked with gasoline and tire manufacturers to make gasoline and tires readily available.
Many computer and computer component manufacturers have encouraged development of standards and technology that they don't directly exploit, but which encourage sales of their core product(s).
I agree that Google COULD be starting on an ambitious course to provide Wi-Fi nationwide. On the other hand, they may have examined the business model and decided for various reasons that they'd prefer others do it quickly so that use of their core business will grow--but that someone needed to show how it's done and that there's money to be made from the ad revenue.
It's all speculation at this point, but speculation is fun, isn't it? (At least Las Vegas and Atlantic City think so....)
calvoiper
--
VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
