Google's Vision for a Wireless World

In a recently published patent, Google (GOOG) describes a vision for an open wireless world, one in which mobile devices (and smartphones in particular) are no longer married to particular cellular service providers.

When you buy a phone in the United States today, you typical have to sign a contract that prevents you from using that phone with more than one provider for a predetermined amount of time. You’ll encounter no such requirement when purchasing a laptop, which can be used to connect to the internet through any service provider at any time.

The Google patent for “Flexible Communication Systems and Methods” contends that cellphone users should also have the freedom to connect through various networks and methods, and that the communication service they choose at any particular time and location should be determined by competitive market forces.

The idea is that you could, for example, make phone calls and browse the internet on your smartphone via WiFi when at home, Verizon (VZ) when downtown, and perhaps AT&T (T) when out in the countryside. You’d base your decision on both pricing and quality of service, with the quality of coverage in your current location playing a major role.

In a way, the iPhone has already given us a taste of what this would be like. When near a WiFi hotspot, you can decide on the fly whether to surf the internet using 3G/EDGE or WiFi. Most people choose WiFi because it’s faster (and probably free, unless you’re at an airport or cafe). But you may go with 3G/EDGE instead because it’s more secure (no worrying about the traffic sniffing that occurs on open WiFi networks). With VoIP applications now available for the iPhone, you can make this decision for your phone calls as well.

Now imagine that this choice was available when on-the-go, and that you had five service providers to choose from instead of just two. It’s not hard to imagine that the competition would lead to lower costs and better service. Not to mention, you wouldn’t get stuck with a crummy carrier after moving or traveling to a place that has poor coverage.

As Unwired View emphasizes, and the patent outlines explicitly, such a system would require “a transparent auction marketplace with wireless providers bidding in real time to provide the communication services to users.” Google may be well-suited to establish such a marketplace because of its experience with AdWords and AdSense. The carriers themselves would resist such a scenario with tooth and nail because they’d become dumb pipe providers that couldn’t lock users into contracts any longer.

The patent is part of Google’s broader agenda to get as many people online as possible with as many devices as possible. Hence the gPhone, its pressure on the FCC, and Larry Page’s bristling in support of open white spaces. The opening of white spaces in particular could lead to more connection points for mobile devices, ones that form an attractive alternative to those provided by wireless carriers. And Android-powered phones could be among the first to take advantage of a flexible connections system.

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Comments

[rologen:]

Google and Yahoo should partner with Nokia, Samsung, Intel, Sprint on handsets. The Nokia N95-8GB and E90 Communicator have been tested (by me) to be able to do all the above. Only widespread usage can drive down the present $500- $700 price range, with or without ISP acquisition cost subsidy. The coming adoption of HDTV will free up current analog bandwidth by which content could be delivered to above-mentioned mobile wireless hand-held devices to.

2008 Sep 26 06:39 AM

[ty-v:]

This is certainly the framework for wireless communications in the future...hopefully even the near future. While many realize that ad-hoc network selection should be the wave of the future, what does Google get from the patent? Do they receive royalties if this is the infrastructure implemented? Do they reduce the importance and market share of service providers? Do they erode brand loyalty of carriers and create a larger entry point for their devices?

I guess it sums up as: sure this is the way things should work and it's no surprise that Google is on the edge in patenting it, but what advantage does this patent give them. I want to know the business impact and benefit, not just read a report on what they've filed.

2008 Sep 26 08:18 AM

[Nick Gogerty:]

Watch this space: 802.22 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

2008 Sep 26 10:52 AM

[JaiNepal:]

Most probably, this idea could be extension of MESH network. However, general consumer of such services will end up with big MESH as well.

Technology can present which service provider has excellent coverage at any given time and location, and perhaps can also present the cost per use, however it may slow down the use of services for "on-move" consumer who may be in different locations in any given day because of how the billing and customer service will be provided to consumer. Most important, how "handover" between these competing service providers will happen in order to maintain seemless connectivity?

As we see, all future communication will be IP-based (you may wish to read about LTE, the 3GPP2 standard), in my opinion, this Google idea of "Open Wireless World" is already in market within MESH network concept and the use of 3GPP2 LTE.

2008 Sep 26 10:56 AM

[Urbane Gori...:]

Cellular service should be implemented more on the lines of the Internet. Kill off the cellular companies.

jegan

2008 Sep 26 02:15 PM