The underpinnings of this morning's announcement that Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share (about $12.5 billion) seem pretty clear. Motorola Mobility has embraced Google's Android mobile phone OS in a big way. It also has a significant patent portfolio, and Google had entered the stalking horse bid that set the Nortel patent auction in motion. But one element that hasn't been discussed much, if at all, is the fact that Motorola Mobility is also where Motorola's fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable MSO equipment ended up when the company split in two.

So what plans, if any does Google have for those in connection with its FTTH efforts? While the company has been quiet about what kind of technology it plans to use in its Kansas City (or, should I say, Kansas Cities) deployment, it had to have investigated GPON technology (as well as DOCSIS) as it performed its FTTH due diligence. Did the presence of these technologies in Motorola Mobility's portfolio make the deal seem sweeter to Google?

My guess is that Google won't be using GPON in its initial deployments. But it now has the technology close at hand if it ever decides to see what PON technology can do in an open access network setting.