There has been plenty of talk about Google buying dark fiber and/or building a WiFi network - much of the rumbles provided by Om Malik. A sign of Google's strategic direction is revealed with information about Google Secure Access, which provides for a secure WiFi connection using Google's VPN and its servers. The free beta is only available in San Francisco. Google says GSA is aimed at making WiFi traffic secure by encrypting it and sending traffic through its servers to the Interent. Data coming back to the user is encrypted and also sent through Google's servers. Sounds like a nice way of building goodwill but clearly Google is trying to establish a tighter relationship with its users and their surfing habits. A must read for anyone interesting in what Google may or may not be doing in terms of builidng a nationwide network in the U.S. is a story on IPMedia Monitor that ran on Sept. 19. It provides as good a take on what Google has quietly been doing behind the scenes, including RFPs it has been sending out.