Google could launch its first mobile service in the U.S. as early as Wednesday with usage-based price plans designed to draw in customers, it emerged this week.
The search giant last month confirmed that it is working on the rollout of a small scale mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and said it would bring the service to market in the coming months.
Unnamed sources cited by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said the launch could be imminent. The sources explained that Google will offer a prepaid service that allows users to pay for exactly the amount of data they consume, rather than making them acquire a bundle of data that expires at the end of the month.
The paper repeated its earlier assertion that the Google service will run on the networks of Sprint and T-Mobile US and will only be available to users of its Nexus 6 smartphone, which will be able to switch automatically between the host networks to gain the best signal. The service will also be capable of routing calls and data via WiFi.
Google is not looking to enter the mobile market as a major disruptive force, but rather is keen to get an end-to-end view of the mobile ecosystem. However, the new service could prove to be a game-changer, in much the same way as Google Fiber has been.
Google has rolled out fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) in a number of markets, including K ansas City, a move that has encouraged telcos like AT&T to follow suit.
Whether the Google MVNO service triggers any change of strategy from the big mobile network operators in the U.S. remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely that the launch will go unnoticed.
