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The differences are:

1. If Google tracks me, they have maybe 50-70% coverage of my whereabouts. My ISP gets 100%.

2. I mistrust Telcos more than Google, based on historical example.

Google hasn't quite remained true to "Don't Be Evil" (dollars are corrosive, billions of dollars doubly so), but at least they sorta try.

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Is there a rational reason to distrust telcos more than Google? Verizon did supercookies once. Google evolved from a simple "show an ad for delivering a search result" to tracking you all over the Internet, embedding tracking in other websites, tracking you through the dominant browser and mobile platform, etc. One company in this story has the history of pushing the boundaries on pervasive invasion of privacy, and it's not Verizon.

Verizon Wireless literally has a tracking program (they call it "Precision Marketing Insights") that runs on their cell network for all devices unless you go to a hidden page and explicitly opt-out. And it tracks separate profiles per-phone-line.

They do more than supercookies.

> Is there a rational reason to distrust telcos more than Google?

I grew up under Telecom, later called Telstra.

On the positive side, the corrosive powers of the dollar from your example appear to be only logarithmic.

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