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Internet giant adds third carrier to WiFi-centric MVNO service.
Google this week signed up a third mobile operator to its Project Fi MVNO service in the shape of U.S. Cellular.
U.S. Cellular offers service in 23 states and more than 99% of its subscribers, both urban and rural, are covered by its LTE network, Google said.
The operator joins nationwide players Sprint and T-Mobile US in providing cellular connectivity to Fi users when they are out of WiFi coverage.
"Part of Project Fi’s promise is to ensure you have a connection when you need it, even in areas with poor speeds or limited coverage," said Evan Jacobs, project manager of Project Fi at Google, in a blog post on Wednesday.
"By accessing multiple cellular networks, Fi users have a connection nearly 99% of the time, and spend about 95% of cellular time on LTE – which will improve even further with the addition of U.S. Cellular," he said.
Google said it will automatically roll out U.S. Cellular coverage to all users over the coming weeks.
Google launched Project Fi in April 2015, making it available on an invitation-only basis at first.
In March this year, it extended the service to all-comers, tempting prospective customers with discounted, LG-made Nexus 5 smartphone.
