21
Apr
It is a mistake to think that the only thing preventing rural areas from getting broadband internet is an unwillingness in the private sector to build the necessary infrastructure. It is easy to blame broadband providers for not going that extra mile, but reality is far more complicated than that. Exhibit A in this regard is Google Loon, an ambitious project launched by Alphabet a decade ago and permanently shuttered in early 2021. Loon failed for one simple reason: it did not possess market sustainability. The same goes for Google's Station project. Its ambitious goals included giving internet access to…