Google sticks its finger into wireless telco pie

BARCELONA — Search giant, driverless-car developer, smartphone and tablet maker and, now, wireless mobile-phone service provider.

Google said on Monday that it is working with unnamed network operators to develop a cellular plan and would announce it in the coming months, confirming leaks and media reports in late January that it is planning to enter the telecom market.

“We’re working hard to create a backbone to provide connectivity,” senior vice-president Sundar Pichai said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Google is investing more in mobile software and services as consumers increasingly access the Internet and digital features through wireless devices. Android dominates the smartphone industry, with more than 75 per cent of the market, researcher IDC said.

Selling its own wireless service may enable Google, which is building on the success of its Android operating system, to add mobile-device subscribers and make it easier to serve those user ads via smartphones and tablets.

Google is also working with mobile carriers to push the boundaries of data services in America, Mr Pichai said. The company’s goal is to provide a proof of concept for a phone service that blends Wi-Fi and cellular networks seamlessly. “We are thinking about how Wi-Fi and cell networks work together and how to make that seamless,” Mr Pichai added.

Google is experimenting with a hybrid approach that offers mobile voice and data services primarily through Wi-Fi signals. It will connect to mobile phone towers in areas where Wi-Fi is beyond reach, sources say. Industry insiders call this a “Wi-Fi first” approach.

A person briefed on Google’s plans, who recently spoke on the condition of anonymity because the conversations were private, said the company wants to make use of the fibre network it had installed in various cities to create an enormous network of Wi-Fi connections that phones could use to place calls and use apps over the Internet.

In areas that are out of reach, Google’s network would switch over to cell towers leased by T-Mobile USA and Sprint, the person said.

The tech giant’s broadband Internet network, Google Fiber, has been deployed in three metropolitan areas and is expanding to four more. In addition, its smartphone messaging app, Hangouts, may be a substitute for traditional texting services, while the popular Google Voice service can be used as an Internet-powered application for placing calls. Agencies