UDATE: Doing some research on my last chapter, I re-read this interview in Fortune(sub required). Sheds some light on the subject of Google’s interest in fiber:
SCHMIDT: Let me tell you some things about broadband. The first is that we see broadband users use Google a lot more. Now, we don’t know what is the causality. We don’t know whether it’s the broadband that allows it, or whether it’s a demographic profile or something, but we do know that broadband users use Google much more and they buy more things. They live on the Internet because of broadband.
So, it is strategic for Google to have broadband deployment worldwide. Every person who converts from narrowband to broadband is more likely to be using Google and its services.
I think Ross is probably right, Google just needs someone to help them negotiate their internal needs. But then again…