Microsoft, Milkmen, Net Neutrality, and Being Evil

I give Microsoft some grief to time to time, but I really have to admire the effort they've been showing of late. MSNBC is reporting that Microsoft is teaming up with MetroFi to provide ad-supported wireless Internet access within the boundaries of Portland, Oregon. What's more, Microsoft is also exploring the same sort of deal with 13 other cities across the United States.

In return for free Internet access, users' browsers will display a one-inch ad across the top of their browser window, which helps explain (or at least justify) Microsoft's minimalist approach to its new browser, IE 7. I'm not 100% certain, since it hasn't been launched yet, but it also appears as if users will have to go to MetroFi's designated homepage when logging in, exposing users to more advertising.

There are a lot of questions unanswered here, but the idea of free Internet access invites intrigue, if not participation. If the advertising becomes too much of a burden, and if the speed, reliability, and security justify it, $20 per month is a reasonable price for high-speed, portable Internet access.

But will the courts let it stand?

Maybe it's the cynic in me, but something tells me that it's only a matter of time before the Verizons, T-Mobiles, Sun Microsystems, and AT&Ts of the world sue Microsoft for offering for free what they wanted to charge consumers for (Why they don't just give their consumers the finger, I don't know).

In a free market, the model for making money constantly changes with innovation. Just as home refrigeration and supermarkets negated the need for milkmen (who, notably, didn't sue GE for selling refrigerators), so does the feasibility of ad-supported access negate the need for overpriced telco access.

To compensate, the ISPs will either have to drop their prices, offer better service, or both. I doubt better service will include something like - I don't know - slowing down access to certain competitive websites, like Net Neutrality is supposed to prevent, (but if they just shut down the nodes that spam comes from, I wouldn't particularly mind).

Or they'll just file an injunction to get a judge to prohibit that evil Microsoft from  gaining a competitive edge.

The point, of course, is that the market is showing itself to be much more efficient than government could ever hope to be. And although it will be awhile before ad-supported access makes its way to all the major urban hubs in the U.S., if my cynicism is misplaced, at least, I think we can all sit and drool over how we can make use of this channel to better match the right products with the right consumers without needing to shout at them.

For the record, if Microsoft were to seek to use the government to prevent anyone else from offering similar service, I would have a problem with that, too. - Cam Beck