Google is on a wireless buying spree. Credit: The Motley Fool.
Chalk up another wireless win for Google (GOOGL -1.97%) (GOOG -1.96%). According to GeekWire, the search star acquired Alpental Technologies weeks ago for an undisclosed sum. Early backers had poured $850,000 into the company.
Why should Google stock investors care about this deal? Alpental was experimenting with 5G wireless technology that has been known to connect buildings a mile apart at speeds of up to 7GB per second. For perspective, consider that my home XFINITY service doesn't even reach 35MB per second.
A portfolio of big wireless ideas
Reading that you might think investors would be bidding Google stock to new highs. That they aren't is a sober reminder that 5G wireless remains in the early stages of development. A national rollout could take years. I'm perfectly willing to wait.
As an investor, what matters to me is what the Alpental deal represents. Namely, that Google is committing resources to improving wireless infrastructure in the U.S. and abroad even as it slowly expands its fiber network beyond Kansas City, Missouri.
You know the list. A year ago, Google unveiled "Project Loon" for placing broadband-serving balloons to remote corners of the globe. In April, the search star acquired drone maker Titan Aerospace to expand Internet delivery to hard-to-reach regions of the globe. Then, earlier this month, Google took the next step and revealed plans to put as many as 180 satellites into low-Earth orbit. To these efforts you can now add Alpental's 5G technology. Google is wiring the world with wireless.
Meanwhile, back in Kansas City ...
Google's planned merger of fiber and Wi-Fi is where this plan starts to get really interesting. In Kansas City, the search star is working on a free public Wi-Fi network that's anchored to its fiber network.
Now imagine that same setup on a grand scale. Drones, balloons, satellites, and 5G wireless extending fiber "hubs" in major cities so that everyone who wants fast access to the Internet, gets it, producing oodles more data for Google to monetize in the process.
Sound crazy? I think that day is coming, Fool. Maybe not tomorrow, or next year, or even a few years from now. Heck, it could take a decade or more to realize pervasive wireless connectivity. But that's the future as I see it, and it's why I'm hoping to never sell my shares of Google stock.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. What do you think of the Alpental deal? Would you buy, sell, or short Google stock at current prices? Leave your take in the comments box below.
