White Spaces + Google/Yahoo Break Up = Great News

There has been a tremendous amount of news worth analyzing as of late and perhaps two of the most important items of note are the FCC's approval of vacant TV white spaces for the use of broadband data devices. I cannot emphasize how important this news could be to consumers as it is yet another broadband choice. Sure there are lots of details to work out but I am optimistic that consumers will see more inexpensive wireless broadband as a result. This will be fantastic for the tech industry as evidenced by positive comments from Google, Dell and Microsoft. The losers here are the mobile operators.

Additionally and thankfully, Google decided to pull out of the Yahoo! advertising deal. The reason is because our government actually looked out for consumers and the DOJ threatened to sue. All too often mergers get rubber stamped with little regard for the consumer. I hope this action signals a new era, where government agencies start to take the needs of consumers more seriously.

Yahoo is the most popular internet portal in the world and sure they do an amazing job of having superior services in virtually every niche - from financial to fantasy sports. They are the kings of portals and content. The bad news is the company does not seem to have the ability to grow revenue or even understand the fundamentals of competition in business.

It is mind-boggling really and I blame top management as well as a corporate culture which does not allow the company to compete rapidly or effectively. Thankfully for shareholders, rumors abound that Jerry Yang will step down and other rumors point to a Microsoft deal in the future. There is even talk of Yahoo doing a deal with AOL. Would a merger with Microsoft help anyone? I say yes. I Believe Microsoft will do a better job of monetizing Yahoo's traffic but the combined entities will still not be a credible threat to Google.

A while back I really felt Yahoo should be a standalone company as I was concerned about reduced competition if they merged with Microsoft. Now, I am beginning to believe Yahoo has absolutely no direction and unless someone comes in and turns the rudder they will eventually hit the iceberg they seem to be intentionally aiming for.

Yesterday was certainly one of the better days for consumers and the tech industry. I think the benefits of these news items will be felt for many years to come and I hope the use of white spaces eclipses WiFi as a benefit to consumers and businesses.