JANUARY 22, 2015 10:10AM EST
The Web giant is reportedly in talks with Sprint and T-Mobile to provide mobile phone plans to consumers.
Google's next step toward world domination: selling wireless service.
The Web giant is reportedly in talks with Sprint and T-Mobile to provide mobile phone plans to consumers.
First reported by The Information, the project, codenamed "Nova," has been internally tested and is expected to launch later this year under the direction of Google exec Nick Fox.
By becoming a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Google does not have to build and maintain a network, The Wall Street Journal said. Instead, it would resell service on the Sprint and T-Mobile networks, which get new users without any marketing costs.
Google has dropped hints about "Nova," according to the Journal. In a recent letter to the Federal Communication Commission, the company suggested that higher-frequency spectrum might be used for "the next generation of unlicensed broadband services."
Nova would reportedly rely largely on Wi-Fi networks, but switch to cellular networks when Wi-Fi is not available, the paper said.
Google is no stranger to the mobile business: Its Android operating system powers more than 80 percent of smartphones around the world. And as more people gain access to the Web—through services like Google's own Project Loon—the Internet behemoth cashes in via searches, video streaming, emails, and texts.
Spokespeople from Sprint and Google declined to comment on the rumors, while T-Mobile did not immediately respond to PCMag's request.
Sprint and T-Mobile, meanwhile, last year eyed a possible merger, allowing the nation's third and fourth largest carriers to compete against the top two: AT&T and Verizon. Mixed reactions and financial disagreements meant the proposed unioneventually failed; longtime Sprint CEO Dan Hesse also got the boot, and was replaced by Marcelo Claure.
For more, see PCMag's roundup of the Fastest Mobile Networks 2014, as well asHow Google Wireless Could Change America.
Google's next step toward world domination: selling wireless service.
The Web giant is reportedly in talks with Sprint and T-Mobile to provide mobile phone plans to consumers.
First reported by The Information, the project, codenamed "Nova," has been internally tested and is expected to launch later this year under the direction of Google exec Nick Fox.
By becoming a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Google does not have to build and maintain a network, The Wall Street Journal said. Instead, it would resell service on the Sprint and T-Mobile networks, which get new users without any marketing costs.
Google has dropped hints about "Nova," according to the Journal. In a recent letter to the Federal Communication Commission, the company suggested that higher-frequency spectrum might be used for "the next generation of unlicensed broadband services."
Nova would reportedly rely largely on Wi-Fi networks, but switch to cellular networks when Wi-Fi is not available, the paper said.
Google is no stranger to the mobile business: Its Android operating system powers more than 80 percent of smartphones around the world. And as more people gain access to the Web—through services like Google's own Project Loon—the Internet behemoth cashes in via searches, video streaming, emails, and texts.
Spokespeople from Sprint and Google declined to comment on the rumors, while T-Mobile did not immediately respond to PCMag's request.
Sprint and T-Mobile, meanwhile, last year eyed a possible merger, allowing the nation's third and fourth largest carriers to compete against the top two: AT&T and Verizon. Mixed reactions and financial disagreements meant the proposed unioneventually failed; longtime Sprint CEO Dan Hesse also got the boot, and was replaced by Marcelo Claure.
For more, see PCMag's roundup of the Fastest Mobile Networks 2014, as well asHow Google Wireless Could Change America.
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