Google's fiber friction, Apple's social agenda … 5 things to know today

1. Google parent Alphabet is reportedly losing patience with Google Fiber, or Access as the business unit is known inside the company. A report in The Information claims that Alphabet CEO Larry Page has ordered a 50% reduction in Google Fiber’s headcount, which currently stands at about 1,000. Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat is said to be defending the fiber unit. No layoffs have been announced, and at least one report this morning has discounted the premise that job cuts are imminent.
Some Google Fiber employees may have already been assigned to other projects within the company. Last month San Jose media reported that workers were pulled from that city’s planned Google Fiber deployment and sent to work elsewhere for Google.
Google Fiber is now accepting sign-ups in parts of Salt Lake City, the seventh U.S. city to get the service. Google Fiber has been steadily adding cities and customers, but the costs are thought to be higher than expected.
Google recently acquired a California internet service provider that has been trialling a wireless technology called pCell which could offer a less expensive way to connect customers to high speed broadband. This has led to speculation that Google is rethinking its fiber strategy.
2. Some of Google Fiber’s challenges were in the news this week as the company squared off against AT&T in Nashville, Tennessee. Google is trying to get the city to pass an ordinance that Google calls One Touch Make Ready, which would allow one trusted contractor to move all the lines on a utility pole. AT&T wants to maintain more control over its fiber and cable, and says that it should be regulated in this matter by the Federal Communications Commission rather than by individual municipalities. Tennessee media is reporting that AT&T is likely to take Google to court if Nashville passes a One Touch Make Ready ordinance.
3. Remember when you used regular text messaging instead of iMessage? For a lot of iPhone users, the answer to that question is “barely,” and so it comes as no surprise that Apple is reportedly trying to move more deeply into messaging. The company is reportedly working on a video messaging app that would compete with Snapchat. Bringing more people onto a social media platform that is only available on iOS devices would increase iPhone users’ brand loyalty.
4. When iPhone user Ahmed Mansoor got a text inviting him to click on an unknown link, he forwarded the message to researchers at the University of Toronto. Mansoor is a human rights activist who has challenged the government of the United Arab Emirates, and the text turned out to be an attempt to take control of his phone. The incident exposed a previously unknown iOS vulnerability. Apple said it has released a patch that will be an automatic security update for iPhone 6 users.
5. Private equity group Apollo Global Management is buying Rackspace for $4.3 billion. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. Rackspace first started talking to potential buyers in 2014 and even hired an investment banking firm to explore alternatives. That process ended with a decision to stay independent, but now Rackspace chairman Graham Weston says the company needs to focus on long-term objectives, and will have more flexibility to do this as a private company.
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