"But what if the company’s goal was never to unleash the disrupter itself so much as to encourage incumbent broadband providers to do so, helping Google’s expansion in adjacent markets such as video and emerging markets including smart homes?"
I don't think it's a what if. If you can think back to the state of broadband (e.g., Verizon, Comcast, and mobile speeds) when Fiber was announced, and the following the subsequent increases, there's definitely a strong correlation to Fiber's influence.
Goggle got what they wanted by pretending to do something it had no interest in doing. That's not a failure. It's damn clever.
I don't think it's a what if. If you can think back to the state of broadband (e.g., Verizon, Comcast, and mobile speeds) when Fiber was announced, and the following the subsequent increases, there's definitely a strong correlation to Fiber's influence.
Goggle got what they wanted by pretending to do something it had no interest in doing. That's not a failure. It's damn clever.