Google wants to offer network carrier services for your mobile devices, according to new reports.
The rumour mill has churned out the possibility of Google facing off against carriers over in the US to provide data services for wireless-friendly handsets.
Latest chatter comes from The Information, which has revealed that Google wants to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).
This means that Google wouldn’t own the network infrastructure itself, but merely borrow it to provide service to customers.
According to the report, Google is setting up to do just that, and is in talks with both Verizon and Sprint – two of America’s biggest carriers – regarding just that.
Google would be licensing out the infrastructure of Verizon and Sprint, and effectively re-selling it own for profit.
Mountain View HQ’s plans go deeper still however, as the search engine giant only wants to use carrier networks as a back-up.
Most of its service is hoped to be provided by Google’s Fiber Wi-Fi hotspots, with the carrier networks stepping in should signal turn shoddy.
The problem with this is that Google has only rolled out its Fiber connections to a select few US locations, namely in Missouri and Utah.
It’s all very hush-hush for now, but it come mean that Google will one day offer a data-only network on US soil.
It also opens up the interesting possibility of smartphone manufacturers running their own networks for their own phones – think iPhone on Apple service, eh?
Whether any of this will come to fruition remains to be seen, and it’s a different matter altogether as to whether the UK will see any handset OEM-provided carrier services.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
