WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS COULD BE NEXT FOR GOOGLE

Online search leader

is preparing to launch a wireless Internet service, Google WiFi, according to several pages found on the company’s Web site yesterday. A WiFi service, which offers a highspeed connection to the Internet, would take Google even further from its Internet search roots and move it into the fiercely competitive world of Internet access providers and telecommunications companies. The Google Web site has several references to Google WiFi but provides few details. One page (http://wifi.google.com/faq.ht ml) refers to a product called “Google Secure Access,” which is designed to “establish a more secure connection while using Google WiFi.” A separate page (http:// wifi.google.com/ download. offers a free download of Google Secure Access, carrying the headline: “ Your wireless connection is almost ready to use.” Google declined to comment. The company has already launched a sponsored WiFi “hotspot” in San Francisco’s Union Square district in April with a start-up called Feeva. Speculation about a forthcoming Google WiFi service has been rife since August following an article in

magazine, but the company has refused to discus its plans. Analysts have voiced concerns that Google could extend itself too far beyond its core business, while acknowledging its vast financial and engineering resources could produce results.