Google is hoping to cut out the telecom middleman by offering their own wireless service data plans, according to a report from The Information. The search giant already owns the software running the percentage majority of smartphones on the market, and now they appear to be planning a run at also handling your mobile contracts.
Currently titled “Nova,” the project is led by Google executive Nick Fox, who is also also the Project Manager for Google’s money-making AdWords platform. Google is currently in the process of buying wholesale access to mobile services and data networks from T-Mobile and Sprint, where they reportedly hope to run this new direct-to-consumer MVNO (mobile virtual network operator).
Should the project be brought to completion, it would finally give Google the leverage they’ve always lacked over mobile carriers. While fragmentation has certainly improved over the years for Google’s Android mobile OS, being able to apply updates to customers directly and not have to wait on other carrier approvals would also help cut down on implementation time and time to delivery.
Google already has the store interface in place for such a move, with their Google Play Store, which currently sells phones such as their own Nexus line and some select “Google Edition” phones off-contract. This is also similar in a way to their Google Fiber initiative, which serves up Internet access without the need of a third-party carrier.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
