Google's motives for abandoning Network Neutrality

It is now clear that Google underestimated the public's desire for true network neutrality over both wireless and wired services -- something the company quickly discovered after issuing a joint policy recommendation with Verizon last week. Google seems to be saying that it has been negotiating on the side of consumers for net neutrality and has found a good compromise. The public's reaction seems to be, "I didn't know that I elected Google to negotiate on my behalf and frankly I don't have to compromise with some huge wannabe monopoly whose only desire is to milk more profits out of me by offering less for more money."

What happened? What is Google's motivation to cede wireless net neutrality? It has to do with Google's future ambitions. Google is a strong partner with Verizon now, but Google has products -- like GoogleTV -- in development that are going to need even more support, from all carriers. Now that Google is moving out of the data center into your house with devices and OSes and even wires, the priorities are realigned. It would be realistic to expect their stance on net neutrality to realign as well.