Google’s wireless service will automatically choose the best signal between Sprint, T-Mobile, and WiFi
According to a Sunday report by the Wall Street Journal, Google’s upcoming wireless services – which we told you about last week – would attempt to end consumers’ long term relationships with single carriers. Instead of relying on a single provider to give you service, Google would instead allow its wireless customers to pick the best signal from a variety of sources, including the networks of T-Mobile or Sprint.
The service will feature a new technology that hunts through cellular connections and WiFi hotspots, automatically choosing whichever offers the best signal to carry calls, texts, and data.
I speculated last week that this might be what Google was aiming for, and when this is finally released to the public, it might just be enough to make me jump from T-Mobile. According to the WSJ, Google aims to roll this out in the first half of this year, and it will most likely be available nationwide. Sprint has also reportedly put a clause in its contract, allowing it to renegotiate the terms in case the service really takes off.
I could also see Google really pricing this to disrupt the industry, and perhaps even be willing to take losses on it and subsidize it with revenue from its ads and others sources.
Does this news make you want to switch to a Google-run wireless provider even more?
[Wall Street Journal]
