NCTA’s McSlarrow Says Google Often Doesn’t Live Up to Commitments
Google’s track record raises questions about how serious the company is about building a high-speed broadband testbed, NCTA President Kyle McSlarrow said on an episode of C-SPAN’s The Communicators scheduled to air this weekend. Google’s announcement of the testbed has the strong support of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. McSlarrow also cautioned that it’s difficult to predict how the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit will rule in Comcast v. FCC, argued in January.
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McSlarrow cited as examples Google’s failed partnership to build a Wi-Fi network throughout San Francisco and its brief pursuit of the 700 MHz C-block. “Google, in the last couple of episodes where they've either made an announcement or said they were going to do something … either failed to do it, in the case of San Francisco and the EarthLink experiment, or they backed away, in the case of the 700 MHz auction,” McSlarrow said. “They said they were going to bid. They asked for all of those regulatory mandates, and they decided not to play."
Whether Google will create a testbed remains in doubt, McSlarrow said. “I have no idea whether they're going to do the same thing today, which is why I keep saying it’s an announcement,” he said. “We'll wait and see."
Google runs a Wi-Fi network in Mountain View, Calif., where it’s headquartered, and succeeded in triggering open-access conditions for the 700 MHz block by making $4.71 billion bid. “We've been gratified -- if not surprised -- by the enthusiasm and excitement from consumers across the country who want better and faster Internet access,” said Rick Whitt, Google’s Washington telecom and media counsel, in response to McSlarrow’s comments. “We can’t wait to see what people do with ultra high-speed broadband.”
Google is a big, “sophisticated” player, with significant influence in Washington, McSlarrow said. “They've got $21 billion in cash lying around, which is why they can throw a half a billion dollars or whatever it is at this experiment,” he said. “They don’t perceive, to the extent that I wish they did, that when they try to regulate everyone else,” eventually the regulators will “come for them too.” McSlarrow said he’s “leery” of asking the federal government to impose the net neutrality rules sought by Google and other high-tech players. “We already have a world that we know works pretty well, which is largely a lightly regulated world,” he said. “It has allowed companies like Google to flourish."
McSlarrow also questioned how many users will be able to take advantage of the throughput speeds proposed by Google. “It has to be an experiment. … It’s a one gigabyte service. By and large, there are very few PCs or laptops in America in your house that can even handle it.”