I got a mass email from one of my city council members the other day.

Where I live, there’s a pretty good chance that any news coming from city hall could have something to do with the latest mass FBI indictments, city officials arrested for being drunk and disorderly, or 25% property tax increases - but this email instead concerned one of our more forward-thinking council person’s plans to apply on behalf of the city to take part in Google’s experimental 1 gigabit fiber-to-the-home network trial program.

1 Gbps internet access - imagine web apps running as crisply as locally-installed desktop applications, HD video streaming at lower compression rates, 30 frame-per-second Skype video calls, and lastly, as computing cycles move from the CPU on your desktop (or your lap) up into the cloud, ever-thinner operating systems.

And that’s where Google comes in.  You may not have heard much about Chrome OS yet, but you will soon.

Because Google has …A Plan.

The plan is as follows:  Accumulate a large amount of cash (check).  Acquire the leading web video destination (check).  Build a suite of web-based productivity tools (Google Docs, Google Apps: check).  Build a web browser (Chrome: check).  As said browser slowly gains in popularity, gradually extend and enhance functionality with said web-based productivity tools until the application evolves into a standalone lightweight operating system for the web (Chrome OS: in progress).

Final destination?  Ubiquitous cloud computing.

For that scenario to actually play out, though, first there will have to be a much faster internet in place than we have today - and that’s especially true here in the US.  While a recent NetworkWorld editorial notes that premium 100 Mbps connections are already possible via Verizon FIOS and DOCSIS 3.0 cable, a recent Akamai study has the average US broadband connection clocking in at a slightlyless impressive 3.9 Mbps (so while Google claims 1Gbps would be 100 times faster than what most US customers have access to, it would actually be closer to 250 times faster!).

Chrome OS is a huge deal for Google - on a macro level, it’s where the company heads next.  That’s why they’re ready to spend large on this experiment of theirs - and they will, because even with the cooperation and assistance of a willing local government, laying fiber to 50,000 or more homes is a pretty heavy lift.  However, it’s not just technical research bang they’re getting for their buck: to the extent this project shows results, it will put tremendous pressure upon the US internet service provider industry to up its game and improve lagging overall US internet standards - some would argue that’s already started happening in response to the announcement alone, in effect making the Google experiment a success before even a foot of fiber is in the ground (it’s no coincidence that the initiative occurs on the heels of several less than successful attempts on Google’s part to ask the FCC to encourage US internet bandwidth innovation).

Bandwidth, net neutrality….  it would appear Google just doesn’t think very much of your neighborhood ISP these days.  And if that’s not enough, they’re also in the process of implementing another service we’ve historically depended upon our internet service provider to provide - DNS.  As the technology responsible for the mapping of domain names to internet addresses, DNS is an absolutely crucial (and a remarkably vulnerable) component of the internet - and since The Plan requires not only a faster internet but a more stable one as well, the company is willing to try its hand at DNS and to “get ‘er done” (to borrow a cable company-related catchphrase).

Is a better overall internet experience in Google’s self-interest?  Sure it is.  Will Chrome OS have legs?  Too soon to say - but in the meantime, Google’s research into the kind of internet needed to support it should be welcomed, as should any technological experiment (which, after all, is all it is).  Some folks in and around the US cable/telco industries, though, are Not Amused.  A blog post I recently came across provides a glimpse into the kind of fear and loathing Google’s experiment is causing in these quarters: when not labeling the experiment “suspect” and “silly” or expressing concern for Google shareholders over the cost, the post strives gallantly to make the argument that (Good) high bandwidth trials and tests currently underway in the EU (by incumbent ISPs) are precisely the reason why (Bad) high bandwidth trials and tests (by Google) here in the US are unneeded.  No mention is made of that pesky Akamai study ranking the US 18th globally in terms of internet bandwidth - to the contrary, at one point a comment is made to the effect that the cable industry deserves more credit for broadband “leadership” than they get, adding “just think what it would be like to still be on dial-up“.

It’s not surprising that some would see Google’s experiment in high-performance internet access as another baffling tangent for the search giant to go heading off on.  I think the Google fiber experiment makes perfect sense, though.

That is, if one views it in relation to… The Plan.

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