Thomas Anglero has an interesting entry in his blog on how Google might take on the telco world. I guess speculation as to whether or not this is feasible is sort of pointless on my behalf as I'm obviously not an expert on any matters telco. Anyway, this sort of move would trigger another interesting question: if Google were to provide free wireless speech while utilizing the advertising model to finance the whole shebang, how disturbing would the advertisements be? And could there be a possibility of any sort of (even small scale) slashback from consumers who are getting more and more tired of how advertisements are everywhere?
There have been other similar suggestions for advertisement-based "free" mobile phone access and I guess the same questions must have popped up there too. Namely if the pendulum swings too far away from the equilibrium, will the trend turn towards the direction where some consumers would prefer to pay a -- perhaps even significant -- premium to rid themselves of advertisements. It could also be used as a status symbol; "I am wealthy enough to not have to subsidize my calls with advertisements."
Actually, this would all be in line with some widely held beliefs in regards to corporate strategy; in the long run the players who focus on competing through cost and the ones who compete in the luxury niches will survive and the middle-tier will cease to exist. Maybe in the future we'll have Google & Co. provide free calls and the current telco operators turning into "premium" boutiques, offering a bigger and more polished brand that attracts the upper-middle class?
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