I will not be able to prove it to you, but your theory is incorrect. As stated elsewhere, the project was kickstarted at the height of the mid-2000s map-tech e

I will not be able to prove it to you, but your theory is incorrect. As stated elsewhere, the project was kickstarted at the height of the mid-2000s map-tech explosion, and it was a loss-leader much like Google Earth and Google Maps (which were barely monetized, even to this day). If nothing else, remember that in mid-2000s, Google was overflowing with cash and was growing rapidly. It was just beginning its transition from "search and only search" into apps (gmail, docs, etc) and mobile. Web ads were pouring in money at a rate hard to comprehend, and the "value" of SSIDs or whatever else you suggest were being farmed, was not even a rounding error.