Google may launch wireless service; compete with AT&T, Verizon
37 replies, posted
[quote]By AMIR EFRATI, ANUPREETA DAS and SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN
Google Inc. has held talks with satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp. in recent weeks to partner on a new wireless service that would rival the networks of wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The talks between Dish and Google aren't advanced and could amount to nothing, one of the people said.
Google is just one of several companies that Dish has held talks with recently, and the discussions with other potential partners are also at an exploratory stage, said the people familiar with the discussions. It is unclear which other companies are discussing a potential partnership with Dish.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
Dish has said repeatedly over the past year that it wants a partner in building out a wireless network with the wireless spectrum—the airwaves that can be used to provide mobile phone and Internet services—it has acquired since 2008.
In an interview Thursday, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen declined to comment on Google specifically, but said some of the potential partners he has considered include companies "who would like to be in the industry" and currently don't have a wireless business.
He added that it would be easier for Dish to partner with a company that already has wireless towers and related infrastructure for transmitting data, among other expertise in the business.
The discussions are the latest move by Google to expand its ownership of the infrastructure that brings the Web to personal computers and mobile devices, including the pipes that connect people's homes to the Internet.
This week, Google began installing fiber-optic cable to homes in Kansas City, Kan., as part of a high-speed Internet and video service that competes with incumbents such as Time Warner Cable Inc. and Dish.
Google hopes to expand the service around the country, according to people familiar with its plans.
The Mountain View, Calif., company has also begun making its own smartphones and tablets through its Motorola unit, and it owns Android, the most-used mobile operating system for smartphones that helps ensure its search engine and other services will be preinstalled on mobile devices.
Many of Google's moves to directly oversee the way people access the Web are driven by a belief: that faster Internet download speeds at home and on mobile devices mean people can use more Google services such as Internet search, Gmail and YouTube video, translating into more revenue for the company.
"From Google's perspective, it wants people to watch 10 hours of YouTube a day on their devices, and what hurts them is [wireless carriers] restricting capacity," said Walter Piecyk, a wireless-industry analyst at research firm BTIG.
While Google doesn't have expertise in wireless infrastructure and doesn't control spectrum, the company has cash—more than $45 billion at the end of September—which could be used to help build a new network.
Meanwhile, Dish is awaiting regulatory approval to use its spectrum to launch a wireless service to complement its satellite TV offering. In June, Dish's Mr. Ergen named T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel Corp. as possible partners, but both companies have recently unveiled merger plans with other companies.
Analysts have said AT&T Inc., which last year dropped a $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile after regulators blocked it, would be another logical partner for Dish.
Representatives of AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile declined to comment.
Most of the spectrum Dish has is designated for satellite use. Dish has asked the Federal Communications Commission to allow it to use the spectrum for a solely ground-based cellphone network. The FCC denied Dish a needed waiver last March, opting for a yearlong deliberation process that has yet to reach completion.
For Dish, having potential network partners lined up as the FCC deliberates shows its commitment to building a wireless network, rather than flipping the spectrum—worth several billion dollars—to a buyer immediately upon gaining approval, some people familiar with the discussions said.
They add that Dish is discussing partnerships that are similar in nature to Sprint's long-term contract with LiqhtSquared Inc. to share networks and costs.
That deal got killed after the FCC said earlier this year it would block LightSquared from operating its network.
Lawrence Behr, founder of Lawrence Behr Associates Inc., which gives technical support to wireless-network operators, said it could take three to five years before Dish and its partners could roll out a nationwide wireless network.
By gaining some control of wireless spectrum, Google could push to increase Web traffic speeds on mobile devices. Google also could ensure the availability of new services such as Google Wallet, a mobile payments system that currently is blocked by AT&T and Verizon.
In 2008, Google dabbled in wireless spectrum by bidding billions of dollars in an auction of spectrum offered by the FCC. After losing to Verizon and AT&T, Google took a $500 million stake in mobile broadband provider Clearwire Corp. Earlier this year, it sold off the same stake for $66.5 million.
Write to Amir Efrati at [email]amir.efrati@wsj.com[/email], Anupreeta Das at [email]anupreeta.das@wsj.com[/email] and Shalini Ramachandran at [email]shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com[/email]
A version of this article appeared November 16, 2012, on page B1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Google Seeks Cell Network.[/quote]
[url]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324735104578121553147711538.html[/url]
Please fight data caps on wireless internet.
I'm the type of person who needs either unlimited or none at all in that regard.
I'll switch in a heartbeat, because I know that no matter what they do they'll probably be better than AT&T in every way.
[QUOTE=Van-man;38472265]Please fight data caps on wireless internet.
I'm the type of person who needs either unlimited or none at all in that regard.[/QUOTE]
This.
I'll switch if they do, they can't be as bad as time Warner cable
Compete and demolish the opposition
[QUOTE=Van-man;38472265]Please fight data caps on wireless internet.
I'm the type of person who needs either unlimited or none at all in that regard.[/QUOTE]
God I wish they had unlimited plans over here instead of 10 or 15 gb limits
No data caps = every single person with a brain switches over.
[QUOTE]Dish Networks[/QUOTE]
oh well
[editline]16th November 2012[/editline]
I wish they did this in Germany. Would be nice to have an ISP with a business model that actually depends on the customer using the service, rather than the customer using it as little as possible.
Good grief, do you not have unlimited stuff over in the states?
Here in holland you pay 50 euro for 2 GB of network.
A few months ago it was 30 euro for unlimited internet with 300/300 Call minutes/SMS
(If you seriously don't believe, visit the KPN or TMobile site from Holland :v:)
[QUOTE=QwertySecond;38472768]Good grief, do you not have unlimited stuff over in the states?[/QUOTE]
Unlimited mobile data is becoming a rarity everywhere. Not because ISPs want to make money from overage traffic, but because they want to discourage people from using their internet connection. If every smartphone owner actually used their mobile data a lot, the networks would kinda collapse.
[QUOTE=QwertySecond;38472768]Good grief, do you not have unlimited stuff over in the states?[/QUOTE]
Wired Internet and wifi is unlimited for the most part, mobile is limited
[QUOTE=QwertySecond;38472768]Good grief, do you not have unlimited stuff over in the states?[/QUOTE]
Nope, and if you need AT&T to come to your house to fix something, here, it's $80 fee
My brand new DSL with 6MB down, 512kbps Up is so much better than Mediacom's Cable. I'm going to get UVerse now that I'm wired for it, ditch Mediacom altogether, and grab a new cell phone. Hopefully they won't anal rape me because you know how carriers are with cell phones
[QUOTE=TheTalon;38474056]Nope, and if you need AT&T to come to your house to fix something, here, it's $80 fee
My brand new DSL with 6MB down, 512kbps Up is so much better than Mediacom's Cable. I'm going to get UVerse now that I'm wired for it, ditch Mediacom altogether, and grab a new cell phone. Hopefully they won't anal rape me because you know how carriers are with cell phones[/QUOTE]
UVerse is great. They say they have a cap, but I easily download 2Tb of crap a month, never had any complaints or anything from them.
I just hope this doesn't crash and burn like a lot of other google products that are well made but never seem to get off the ground
[QUOTE=Woovie;38474085]UVerse is great. They say they have a cap, but I easily download 2Tb of crap a month, never had any complaints or anything from them.[/QUOTE]
2TB? So you're always sitting on at least 750KB/sec down basically :v:
My body is read!
please come to canada
we need this
[QUOTE=Profanwolf;38474183]2TB? So you're always sitting on at least 750KB/sec down basically :v:[/QUOTE]
He needs his HD porn flick streams [I]BADLY[/I].
Google would probably crush every other company and force them to put up amazing deals... If I lived in America I would most likely attempt to switch to Google simply due to the fact that their service would probably be the most reliable.
I live in Canada and pay just a little over $30 for unlimited data and incoming and outgoing Canada-wide calls and texts.
[QUOTE=Bumbanut;38477872]I live in Canada and pay just a little over $30 for unlimited data and incoming and outgoing Canada-wide calls and texts.[/QUOTE]
fuck you :(
[QUOTE=koeniginator;38474094]I just hope this doesn't crash and burn like a lot of other google products that are well made but never seem to get off the ground[/QUOTE]
well seeing how the only other telephony related google service seems to be working fantastically
we should be fine
If Google started up in my area it would be so worth the early termination fee to get on them.
[QUOTE=QwertySecond;38472768]Good grief, do you not have unlimited stuff over in the states?[/QUOTE]
There's only one major carrier in the US that still offers an unlimited data plan without throttling, Sprint, and they're CDMA which means the phone hardware is specifically built to only work on that network, so you can only use their phones. T-Mobile offers relatively cheap plans with 5GB of 4G, but you get throttled after that to 2G speeds. Most other carriers will start charging huge overage fees. There are a couple smaller providers that still offer unlimited 3G on unlocked devices though, like Straight Talk.
[QUOTE=Van-man;38472265]Please fight data caps on wireless internet.
I'm the type of person who needs either unlimited or none at all in that regard.[/QUOTE]
I hope so, data caps suck.
I wouldn't mind if google had a monopoly in every industry
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;38483262]I wouldn't mind if google had a monopoly in every industry[/QUOTE]
The government would and that would probably end in a lawsuit.
[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;38483118]I hope so, data caps are fucking gay.[/QUOTE]
yes, data caps just sex up so many members of the same gender
[QUOTE=DrTaxi;38472797]Unlimited mobile data is becoming a rarity everywhere. Not because ISPs want to make money from overage traffic, but because they want to discourage people from using their internet connection. If every smartphone owner actually used their mobile data a lot, the networks would kinda collapse.[/QUOTE]
This. I'm fairly sure part of the reason that Verizon dropped it was that their ancient 3G infrastructure was becoming way too bogged down by all the unlimited smartphone users (for the longest time, it was unlimited or nothing). I think they are throttling my 3G download to like 300 Kb/s with 700 Kb/s upload. Good thing they aren't legally allowed to throttle 4G.
I was so happy when T-Mobile finally went back to having unlimited data on their 4g network, I wonder what Google is gonna bring up to the table besides unlimited caps to compete with other networks that already have unlimited data plans.
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