A mobile datacenter patent has been issued to Google based on its December 2003 filing, giving the company a technology similar to that of Sun’s Project Blackbox.
At first blush, this may explain why Sun changed its ticker symbol to JAVA; they knew old pal Eric Schmidt wasn’t going to save their hardware business by purchasing a bunch of their mobile datacenters. Ars Technica noted the issuance of Google’s mobile datacenter patent.
However, Google isn’t a hardware maker. Though their patent differs from what Sun puts inside of its Blackbox mobile datacenters, there’s every reason to think Schmidt and Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz could agree on a generous cross-licensing deal.
This would let Sun build in the technology specified in Google’s patent, and Google gets a fleet of mobile datacenters uniquely suited to being plugged into all that dark fiber the company owns.
The timing of the patent, and the beginning of YouTube videos with ads on AdSense, may not be coincidental. Google has made significant promises regarding its AdSense video content.
Delivering on that promise requires infrastructure, an issue that Google probably understands as well as or better than they understand search. Here’s something else to consider.
What if Google rolls out 300 of these datacenters, plugs them into strategically located Internet peering points, and erects big towers next to them to provide wireless Net access. Maybe those towers will use WiMAX technology. Maybe they will work on the up-for-auction 700MHz wireless spectrum.
This is where rumors of the Google Phone get a lot more intriguing. We don’t see a GPhone as a compelling product unless Google runs the network, and can make VoIP and Net access available on the hotly anticipated GPhone device.
Antennas would do what the telecoms have failed to accomplish under ten-plus years of favorable conditions per the 1996 Telecommunications Act: go the last mile with true high-speed Internet access. Instead of fiber to the home, the signal will go through the air, probably for a nominal fee (if any) supported by Google’s ubiquitous advertising.
Gary Forsee must be glad he got pushed out the door at Sprint. Google could be in position to take a wrecking ball to the existing wireless access model for telecommunications.
