If you buy dark fiber, and then light it up to connect server farms (which are spread across the country/world) and peer with other telecom networks, the world would generally view you as a network service provider.
Now if you wirelessly connect your HQ in say Mountain View, California to a citywide wireless network in city of Mountain View, you would be in the last mile service provider business. And if your name happens to be Google, we shall call this network of dark fiber + wireless combo as GoogleNet.
Except Google executive Chris Sacca says Google’s dark fiber buys “are misunderstood.” Okay, perhaps he has a point, but…. Read this story, though you might have heard/read some of it before all right here., and make up your own mind. Previous GoogleNet coverage.
Part of the problem is refering to what they are buying as “dark fiber”. In fact, most of what GOOG has purchased are lit services, like wavelengths. They are, in fact, using them for peering. Of course, metro dark fiber for data center connectivity is also used. This is the case for every big content provider, and many large enterprises.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Try to make my own mind (always a good exercise).
First I build a certain number of separate railroad sections. They don’t need to be connected and have completely different scope: one is for downtown, another one is for a long distance, one section is just for people, the other one just for freight trains, etc… (all “Fair enough”).
At a certain point I realize that a junction here, bridge there and… voila` I can go coast to coast always sitting on the same railroad carriage!
… just an exercise