Google Leases 270,000 Square Feet in New York

From the New York Post:

Google's move to lease a huge space in Chelsea is part of the technology giant's plan to build its own fiber optic network and become a bigger player in the booming Internet telephone and wireless businesses.

The company is reportedly in talks to lease a whopping 270,000 square feet in the former Port Authority Commerce Building at 111 Eighth Ave. at W. 15th Street...

The massive building is one of New York's most important so-called telecom carrier hotels — home to thousands of Web servers and other critical technology infrastructure...

In a tantalizing hint at its plans for the future, the company has posted a job opening for a "Strategic Negotiator, Global Infrastructure," who will be charged with "identification, selection, and negotiation of dark fiber contracts both in metropolitan areas and over long distances as part of development of a global backbone network..."

Allen Weiner, research director with tech consulting firm Gartner, said a fiber optic network would allow Google to create Wi-Fi networks that would allow users to make calls using Google Talk from their laptops and other mobile devices.

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