What's behind Google Fiber's expansion push?

Google, which has market capitalization of about $405 billion (plus $60 billion in cash), just announced it's expanding its fiber network rollout, which Netflix consistently clocks as the speediest in the sector. Google Fiber claims to be 100 times faster than the typical household broadband connection -- good enough to download an entire HD flick in half a minute. The cost of a full nationwide rollout of Google Fiber could well hit $140 billion, according to Goldman Sachs estimates. By comparison, Google made $2.26 billion in the way of capital expenditures -- mostly for production equipment, data-center construction and real estate purchases -- in its latest quarter. To hedge its cost commitments, Google is asking (coaching, even) municipalities for infrastructure blueprints and streamlined construction plans. Jonathan Atkin, a telecom analyst with RBC Capital Markets, believes the media giant is talking big fiber chiefly to send a message, especially in the wake of Comcast announcing its intention to take out Time Warner Cable. "I think they just want to keep vendors, distributors and regulators on their feet," he says, noting that the prospect of a content- and distribution-heavy Google would make consolidating cable companies think twice about impinging on network neutrality.