Why is Google up for Cerf?

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Vint Cerf, Google

... make money off this sort of thing? National banks could pay to highlight their neighbourhood ATMs. Shopping outlets could offer coupons to diners in a local area.

"Say I'm going to Paris and I may want a list of museums within five miles of this hotel. Or where's the nearest hospital? Where's the nearest ATM machine while I'm in the car? These questions have to do with my own mobility. Others have to do with economics and demographics, like what can I learn about my population?" said Cerf.

"There are lots of people who are beginning to accumulate data that binds the geographic location to the data that you're interested in such as surveys from Gallup or the Census. These kinds of things can be powerful and monetised," he added.

Google has not announced any plans in the mobile market beyond making its basic services available on wireless devices. But recent moves indicate that execs there may have something big in mind, and Cerf, with his communications protocol background, could play a big role.

Google has been investing heavily in a communications infrastructure, buying up dark fibre, or fibre-optic cable that's already been laid but is not yet in use. In July, it also invested in Current Communications, a company that provides technology for delivering broadband Net access over power lines.

Google has also quietly partnered with the small San Francisco company Feeva in an effort to test the delivery of advertising over Wi-Fi networks. Google this year also acquired Android, a stealth start-up that was rumoured to be working on an operating system for mobile devices. Android's co-founders have expertise in developing wireless hardware.

Space-bound search giant?
Google was clear in the prospectus filed prior to its initial public offering that it plans to take the long view when it comes to business development. But it may be taking an unexpectedly extended view into space with the hiring of Cerf, who was deep into the "serious engineering" of communications standards for spacecraft in his role as a visiting scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. He'll keep up that work when he moves to Google.

The NASA work would dovetail with the far-reaching interests of Google's co-founders. Larry Page, for example, recently joined the board of trustees of the X Prize Foundation, which sponsors competitions to create breakthroughs in space and related technologies. And according to one source, Google has already hired several scientists who worked the NASA Ames Research Centre, which is near Google's headquarters.

But as ambitious as Google's execs may be, most think they're a long way from hitting the outer-space market, which was Cerf's focus at NASA.

"In the interplanetary exploration of the solar system, most of the communication systems have been tailored very carefully to the sensor platforms on the spacecraft," Cerf said. "What that means is that two different spacecraft may not be able to communicate with each other."

In time, Cerf hopes researchers can develop a protocol and network that will allow various spacecraft to easy communicate.

"So the vision here as time goes on is that we will accrete a kind of interplanetary backbone that will be made up of the resources of all these various spacecraft," he said, "some of them on surface of planets, some on satellites, some in orbit, some simply flying free."

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

craigsc

You guys have no idea what is going on at Autonomy. Autonomy could have been a much more profitable organization. The sales operations at Autonomy...

12 minutes ago by craigsc on HP cuts 27,000 staff as Autonomy chief Lynch leaves
Moley

How does this impact on dual or multi booting? Seems to me to more or less prohibit this, from Windows 8 anyway. Will Grub 2 recognise Windows 8,...

17 minutes ago by Moley on Windows 8 start-up speed forces USB boot workaround
apexwm

I don't understand why there cannot be a slight pause during the boot process so the user can press a key. Many operating systems do this, even if...

1 hour ago by apexwm on Windows 8 start-up speed forces USB boot workaround
Gavin Goodman

You can now buy the Xi3 modular computer in the UK at http://www.ocdistribution.com . This can be bought with the Tand3m software, pricing and...

2 hours ago by Gavin Goodman on CES 2012: Xi3 microSERV3R
Phil at Cloud4

I agree: Mike Lynch can clearly build a business and manage strategy. I suspect the exit of Mike is more likely the end of a planned handover...

5 hours ago by Phil at Cloud4 on HP cuts 27,000 staff as Autonomy chief Lynch leaves
Phil at Cloud4

This is unbeleivable government wastage with only one winner... Microsoft 1 - Tax payer Nil!

5 hours ago by Phil at Cloud4 on 6 million wasted licences and £1,200 PCs: welcome to government IT
Mispam

So what do you do when you can't boot into windows? Why can't I just hold Shift while I power up instead of having to boot into windows and click a...

6 hours ago by Mispam on Windows 8 start-up speed forces USB boot workaround
apexwm

I've also seen that Mac OS X for Intel machines is supposed to run in VirtualBox, which would also be a nice solution. I've never tried it though.

8 hours ago by apexwm on xTreme Triple Booting: Linux, Mac & Windows
dave heasman

What I wonder is why when companies are caught bang to rights in not providing contracted services, people bend over to smear the customers? Surely...

8 hours ago by dave heasman on Virgin throttles broadband for high-speed customers
pjc158

Strange statement from HP regarding Mike Lynch and not capable of scaling a company. Autonomy was a $7bn purchase which started as a small company...

9 hours ago by pjc158 on HP cuts 27,000 staff as Autonomy chief Lynch leaves
lojolondon

Or - possibly, they will destroy business by ensuring people do not invest where there is no return. Another socialist idea, well beyond it's...

12 hours ago by lojolondon on Open Data Institute will act as biz incubator
J.A. Watson

Good stuff Jake, very interesting. Thanks. jw

12 hours ago by J.A. Watson on xTreme Triple Booting: Linux, Mac & Windows
openhgs

"the cost of a second LCD screen is about the same as one day of an office worker's time, so this should soon be recouped in extra productivity."...

14 hours ago by openhgs on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
Thomas Gellhaus

I also installed the KDE version; I also will probably try out razorqt since I really haven't had a chance to before. I'm looking forward to the...

24 hours ago by Thomas Gellhaus via Facebook on Mageia 2 Released
francisabigail

Acquiring when reinvention/cannibalization is too challenging for a large organization can be an excellent strategy- still, so many mergers stumble...

1 day ago by francisabigail on Ariba buy parks SAP on Oracle's cloud turf
apexwm

All of the feedback regarding using a touch monitor for a desktop PC is right on. Several months ago, we installed a "demo" multitouch all-in-one...

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
191706

anyone wanting to triple boot *their* own Mac

1 day ago by 191706 on xTreme Triple Booting: Linux, Mac & Windows
SoapyTablet

Cont.. Biggest Bugbear: Win7's stop-animate-go approach to work, you develop a staggered (not in the above alchohol sense of the word) approach to...

1 day ago by SoapyTablet on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
SoapyTablet

Ah the joys of Windows 8 Consumer Preview... If Windows 7 was 'Vista with Lipstick', whats Windows 8? Vista with Lipstick, the morning after?...

1 day ago by SoapyTablet on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake
daveveej

Though the metro look is quite cool on the windows mobile platform I think that think that microsoft ARE MESSING THINGS UP because what has they...

1 day ago by daveveej on Windows 8 could speed multi-monitor uptake