Google to sell mobile phone plans directly to customers

Google Inc intends to sell mobile phone tariff plans directly to customers and manage their calls and mobile data over a cellular network, Reuters reported citing The Information.

According to some media reports, Google was expected to strike deals to acquire wholesale access to Sprint and T-Mobile mobile voice and data networks, making it a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), according to the technology news website.     

The launch of the project, codenamed "Nova", was expected to happen later this year, The Information said.

The report added Google was considering launching mobile phone plans for markets where it sold Google Fiber Internet service.

It was not clear how widely Google planned to offer the wireless service, the cost or which mobile device manufacturers, if any, had already agreed to work with Google for its new service.

According to Scott Cleland, president of Virginia-based consulting firm Precursor LLC, the move was not surprising as Google had limitless ambitions. Cleland has also authored a book,Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google Inc, that raised concerns about the growing influence of Google.

He added, it would play Sprint and T-Mobile against each other to get a really low price, so that it could offer a really low price.

There is a difference of opinion among telecommunications experts about the extent of disruption this would cause to the industry and big players such as AT&T and Verizon, and how much the move would lower prices and increase network speeds.

Google hopes to emerge as a mobile virtual network operator, which would allow it to sell wireless service using its own brand name even though it did not manage the network.

According to John Bergmayer, a senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge, which advocates for a more open internet, "MVNOs were cool, and were a good way for Google to get its brand out there and offer interesting pricing plans," said John Bergmayer.

He added however, the MVNOs, did not really change the competitive dynamics of the wireless industry.