Fact – Google has its hands in EVERY internet-enabled opportunity today and tomorrow, from browsers, laptops, smart phones, Google Glass to self-driving cars.
Fact – Google has been quite successful at cracking the advertising code where they can provide a service and monetize the user base and while making that service free (or in some cases freemium-based)
So when reports come out from The Information and The Wall Street Journal that suggests Google is interested in becoming a carrier in the U.S. through the purchase of wholesale access from Sprint and T-Mobile it does make you think how close that is to being a truth. While that is on the brain, north of the border we can’t also wonder if that is something that could happen in Canada. While Google has done a horrible job at beta testing products in Canada first, all things Google eventually do make their way to Canada.
According to the report, the service will give consumers the ability to no longer rely upon a single carrier, instead the service would have technology that would allow users to hunt through various service providers (in the case of the report, Sprint and T-Mobile) and Wi-Fi hotspots to provide the best signal to route calls, data and text.
Here in Canada the idea of a single carrier means companies such as Bell, Rogers, TELUS and WIND Mobile would be impacted, but would this be good or bad? On one hand, additional revenue is never a bad thing and Rogers 3.0 plan does indicate the company is looking at new revenue streams. Google would not create their own towers, they would turn to one or more of the current carriers to piggyback on their capabilities.
On the flip side, if Google did become a Canadian wireless provider, that is one more competitor and Bell, Rogers, TELUS don’t always play nice with each other.
[adrotate banner=”6″]
