To piggyback on Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Google may be on the verge of launching its own cell phone and data plans in an effort to shake up the cellular market in the U.S.
The new service is expected to piggyback on Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks, making the internet search giant a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, The Information.com reported Wednesday.
Details about Google’s new venture are scarce, other than the fact that the project is codenamed “Nova” and will likely see a full-scale launch later this year. Nick Fox, a longtime Google executive, will be heading up the enterprise and will be charged with dynamically transforming the mobile industry.
While the term may not be a familiar one to the average consumer, the MVNO market is already a crowded one. Google would be challenging dozens of other MVNOs that resell wireless services from major telecommunications operators AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
Should Google move forward with Nova, the main difference would be that the Mountainview-based company, as it did with Android, may not prioritize direct profit while the project finds its legs. Thanks to Google’s far-reaching umbrella of products and services, as long as it provides customers with wireless access the company will support its primary business of selling advertisements.
Google is simultaneously working on several wireless and broadband projects around the world to improve internet access, including Google Fiber and Project Loon, the latter of which aims to use a global network of high-altitude balloons to provide internet access to people in rural and remote areas. The company is also pushing for access to the unused 3.5GHz spectrum, which could provide cell networks in large cities outside the more expensive brands licensed to “the big four.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google will implement two separate contracts with Sprint and T-Mobile. Notably, the deal with Sprint contains a “volume trigger” that would force the two companies to renegotiate if Google’s customer base surpasses an undisclosed level.