I think the time you are referring to was at least a few news cycles after the start of Google fiber. I think it genuinely was received as the Cool New Thing f

I think the time you are referring to was at least a few news cycles after the start of Google fiber. I think it genuinely was received as the Cool New Thing for a while. Then the cities applied to be Google fiber cities. Then fiber rolled out to some cities. At some point competitors responded by upgrading their service. And then with some retrospection, we collectively looked back at that series of events and said "ah, this must have been Google's plan all along." I honestly don't doubt that Google's initial plan was insanely ambitious. And that what transpired, while falling far short of the original vision, nevertheless did advance their interests. But my recollection of the events as they unfolded in real time wasn't that this was their plan from the start, or that people felt that way, until a few news cycles passed and it was clear that it spurred other internet providers to action. But I do agree with you that it definitely did become the prevailing wisdom, eventually.