Comments on: Google goes big with free Wi-Fi campaign

By: Gene

Gene — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:03:04 +0000

I was an early user of Google. Now, I avoid it as it gathers all users information, keeps it, shares it with federal agencies without a warrant, and work far too closely with Big Brother. The pusher always makes the first one free.

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:14:51 +0000

Hi Tsahi, I agree. Google is just a sponsor so it’s really the Wi-Fi equivalent of having your logo on a NASCAR vehicle. It’s not that Google wouldn’t invest in infrastructure (Google Fiber), but why bother if so many others have already made the investment.

By: Tsahi Levent-Levi

Tsahi Levent-Levi — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 05:47:59 +0000

This is a short-lived move and its main reason is to check out if free WiFi is sustainable for Google (my guess is that it isn’t). And it gives Google some nice publicity – from the move itself and less from the WiFi hot spots.

In the long run, I don’t see Google as a WiFi provider. There are other players in this game such as transportation companies and city councils on top of the regular Telcos and iPass/Boingo companies. It will be interesting to see how this one ends.
Here’s the list of those I view as the main players in the WiFi games: http://blogs.amdocs.com/voices/2012/08/14/who-will-win-the-wifi-olympics/

By: Lance

Lance — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 04:16:17 +0000

This is stupid, they should actually finish what they started in their own town of Mountain View before they go to New York. And no Apple products allowed? Sounds like another Crashing Google Wave.

By: frank

frank — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:32:21 +0000

I don’t doubt that if the roles were reversed Apple wouldn’t use the opportunity to promote their iTunes store? What’s wrong with Google wanting to promote their play store? At the end of the day it would be a targeted marketing campaign, and there is nothing stopping Apple running an iOS option alongside the promotion, should they adopt NFC

By: Mayson

Mayson — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:19:33 +0000

Especially given the higher income/spending propensity of Android users….

By: Kevin Fitchard

Kevin Fitchard — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:18:27 +0000

I don’t think Google’s aim is something so nefarious as denying access to Apple users. I think it’s just more targeted marketing. The goal of the sponsorship is to drive people to the Google Play store so people will download and purchase content and apps. Google Play just isn’t supported on iOS and other non-Android smartphone platforms, though you can use it on laptops, which explains why Macs and PCs get access to the promotion.

I didn’t go into the detail in the post. But it’s not necessarily the case that all iPhones would always be denied free access to these hotspots. Boingo and Cloud 9 sell sponsorship inventory to other advertisers (though Google appears to be by far the biggest), so if a particular hotspot location has an alternate sponsor or some other hybrid ad-paid option, iPhone owners maybe able to access those networks for free.

By: Dave Wright

Dave Wright — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:59:09 +0000

Wow, this is a very interesting move by Google. We’ve been talking a lot about this shift to ad-supported Public Wi-Fi here at the Wi-Fi World Summit this week.

Wondering if they are excluding MacOS devices as well.

By: Louis

Louis — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:19:56 +0000

Yeah, I’m sure the advertisers will be happy that more than half the public won’t be able to see their ads.

By: frank

frank — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:07:35 +0000

Nick, if Tapit were delivering the marketing campaign, there would be no need for that. There would be clear visual aids indicating the facility at entry points a) making it known that free WiFi was available and b) by having a tapping point, you could connect simply by tapping rather than go through your handset settings menu. SIMPLE