Google Becomes The WiFi Santa -- Sort Of

By Meg Biallas

"Nothing in life is free," my mom says often. And she grew up during the era of "free love."

But Google would disagree. The search technology company announced today the roll out of yet another "free" service: WiFi access at 45 47 airports. Courtesy of the search giant and their partner, wireless internet provider Boingo, travelers can enjoy their "holiday gift" now through January 15, 2010.

Is anything really free? (iStockphoto.com)

Dave Hagan, CEO for Boingo, said he gives this year's "WiFi Santa award" to Google, for its generosity in sponsoring this service. The press release goes on to acknowledge that Google recognizes "difficult economic times." To boot, Google's even offering a philanthropic opportunity. When users log on, they can make a donation to suggested non-profits. Google will match that donation up to $250,000 (see editor's note below). Donors can give online using Google Checkout, the online payment service.

That's one generous Santa.

Yet Google has an unprecedented history of providing free services, including e-mail (Gmail), an office suite (Google Docs) and even their latest Android operating system. Andrew Pederson, a Google PR flak, said Google doesn't "have an overall number on the cost of the [free wireless] project."

The Frequently Asked Questions page explains -- in more ways than one -- that there are no hidden fees for Internet users traveling over the holidays. But is this service really free?

We ask, because for years, Google has slapped targeted ads above the emails we receive using their "free" service. They draw out key words from messages, which the company says are not shared with third-party advertisers, and present products that reach specific demographics or individuals more effectively.

For now, there doesn't appear to be any strings attached on the holiday WiFi -- at least not for the Internet surfers, as Google will take a percentage of some donations as a processing fee (see editor's note). According to Pederson, under the Google Grants program, Google has waived fees for two out of the three non-profits, until the end of the year.

After that, Google hasn't decided how it'll proceed, said Pederson.

"We certainly don't want to take money from non-profits, so we're considering several courses of action," he wrote in an e-mail.

So, even if Google pockets a bit of cash, I think Mom might be wrong on this one, because I guarantee she'll appreciate when I email her my updated flight info right from the airport using "free" wireless -- courtesy of Google.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Andrew Pederson, a Google spokesperson, pointed out a few things about this post in the comments section, so we'd like to address them. First, to clarify, Google will match individual donations up to a campaign total of $250,000. Google will stop matching donations if the campaign collects more than $250,000. Second, while Google's online FAQ put the number of participating airports at 45, the number, per Pederson, is really 47. Third, Pederson says that Google will not take "any" money from the non-profits. This is not what he said in two e-mails to NPR before this post was first published. In a follow up e-mail after the post was published, Pederson said they will not charge Google Checkout processing fees for donations to any of the three participating organizations through the end of year. "I honestly don't know what will happen after January 1 when the policy changes," he wrote in the e-mail, "but we're not interested in taking any money from nonprofits."