Can We Trust Google's Wi-Fi Gift?

When Google (GOOG) announced yesterday that it was offering free Wi-Fi at 47 airports this holiday season, it didn't take long for Googlewatchers to suspect an ulterior motive. After all, this is a company that has found a way to make billions off of services it offers for free. And no one gives you somethin' for nothin'. So what, our Internet sourpusses ask, is Google's hustle here?

Meg Biallas at National Public Radio offers one scenario: Plugged-in travelers will be invited to make charitable donations in the spirit of the season, and Google will pocket some of the proceeds as a "processing fee." That said, Biallas concedes, the company is waiving such fees for two of the three nonprofits it suggests people donate to. And Google is matching donations up to $250,000. So that angle feels played out. Still, we like where Meg's going with this somehow.

ChannelWeb reporter Rick Whiting thinks it's about Google's rep. The company, he writes, could use a little more suction in Washington, as it's pushing Net Neutrality and high-speed wireless Internet access. Its brand has taken a hit with Google Book Search and Gmail's recent troubles, and competitors Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) have already rolled out free Wi-Fi around the country. Google, he figures, needs some good PR.

Finally, Seth Weintraub at ComputerWorld thinks Google may use this opportunity to do some consumer research and test new technologies. "Why did Google choose this Christmas campaign?" he writes. "Could they be seeing how many people would use a free Wireless ISP service with advertising? This could be a survey to grab numbers on how many people use this and what type of bandwidth they use. Or could this be a beta test of their upcoming wireless IPv6 ISP service?"

Obviously, it's only human nature to get your bullshit detectors revved up when someone wants to give you something for free. But Google has a tendency to make everyone a little more guarded when it rolls out something like this. The company revolutionized the advertising market when it offered the best search engine for free, and its rivals, from AltaVista to TomTom (TOM2) to every media and entertainment company on the planet, never saw what Google was up to until it was too late. Google has a way of making money before anyone sees its next move, and we're all watching, waiting to catch wind of the hustle. Those guys are just too damn smart; they gotta be up to something.

Update: Google spokesman Andrew Pederson read our post and called to say: Calm down, everyone. We're just giving people a little gift for the holidays. Sheesh. "Is that a negative thing?" he asked incredulously. "Is that bad?"