Site icon TelecomLead

Google enters wireless data space

Internet search engine Google launched its low cost wireless data service to Nexus 6 smartphone users in the U.S.

Google will charge each gigabyte of data at $10 per month. Google does not have a flat rate plan for American wireless users. The price of the service called Project Fi will be $20 per month. A customer can sign up for a plan offering 3GB of data and get $20 back if only 1 GB was used in a month.

Telecom analysts said the entry of Google, after announcing the plan two months ago, can shake up the American wireless phone industry. AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are yet to respond to the data pricing strategy of Google. Consumers can access online and use Google’s services by buying cost effective data packages.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere said it was a no-brainer to work with Google on Project Fi. “Anything that shakes up the industry status quo is a good thing — for both US wireless customers and T-Mobile,” Legere wrote in a blog post.

Most wireless carriers in the U.S. allow their customers to roll over unused data into another month of service without refunding any money.

Google is offering Project Wi-Fi to users of Nexus 6, a smartphone that Motorola Mobility made with Google’s help.

Google can take on established wireless operators in the U.S. due to the pricing strategy. Most mobile operators offer a single line of smartphone service with up to one gigabyte of data for $45-$50 against $30 from Google, said a report in AP.

However, some family plans offered by are better deals than Google’s Project Fi.

 

Google is promising subscribers that their Nexus 6 model will automatically connect with the fastest network available.

Google does not own telecom network. The Internet search engine giant is leasing space on cellular towers built by Sprint and T-Mobile. Google is promising Project Fi will automatically switch over to an available Wi-Fi network if that is running at a higher speed than the cellular alternatives.

“As mobile devices continually improve how you connect to people and information, it’s important that wireless connectivity and communication keep pace and be fast everywhere, easy to use, and accessible to everyone,” Nick Fox, the Google executive overseeing Project Fi, wrote in Wednesday blog post.

Earlier, Google offered Internet at speeds up to 100 times in select towns faster than existing broadband services.

editor@telecomlead.com

Exit mobile version