Cheaper, Faster Google Mobile Phone Wireless Service Seen With New Venture
Google Inc. is set to sell mobile phone plans directly to consumers after striking separate deals with wireless carriers Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc.
The move is seen to likely push the wireless industry to lower current prices and improve speeds, The Wall Street Journal reported, based on information from people familiar with the matter.
The company is expected to tap into Sprint's and T-Mobile's mobile voice and data networks as a mobile virtual network operator. In other words, the agreements with the two carriers will allow Google to resell service on their networks but under its own brand name.
The deals will also allow Google to offer such service without investing in building and maintaining a network. However, it will now have to contend with billing and customer service by offering for free its services but with support from advertisements.
Google's entry into the mobile phone business is seen as a move to diversify its interests beyond Gmail email service and YouTube.
It is still unclear how much Google's wireless service will cost and when it will be available, but the Wall Street Journal said the California-based firm will start "small by limiting the new service to certain U.S. cities or to users of its Google Fiber broadband Internet service."
The project, codenamed "Nova," may also be launched this year, according to Reuters.
It has yet to be known if there already are mobile device manufacturers that have partnered with Google for its new service.
Executives of Sprint, the third largest wireless carrier, expect that the boost from the arrival of Google's new customers "outweighs the risk that the Internet search giant will learn too much about the ins and outs of the wireless business," the Wall Street Journal said.
It has, however, placed a volume trigger mechanism that will allow the deal to be renegotiated if Google's customer base becomes larger.
