OOGLE'S NEW WIRELESS phone service, Project Fi,
offers a long list of modern day perks. It automatically
moves phones between traditional cellular networks and
the WiFi wireless networks
inside homes and businesses. Once on WiFi, you can
still make calls and send texts. And you can pay for all
this in small, flat, monthly fees—avoiding the sort of
inflated, strings-attached pricing that so often
accompanies our cell services.
But the most interesting perk is that the service uses
two different wireless carriers—T-Mobile and Sprint—and
you don't have to pick between them. As you move from
place to place, Project Fi will not only move you from
cellular to WiFi and back again. It will move you
between T-Mobile and Sprint , depending on whose
signal is the strongest in your particular location.
"The unique thing is that you're no longer tied to a
network. You can go from a Sprint tower to a T-Mobile
tower and back to a Sprint tower. That's groundbreaking.
It gives customers so much more freedom," says Robert
Schouwenburg, the chief operating officer of mobile
hotspot startup Karma, which has negotiated a deal with
Sprint similar to Google's.
At the moment, Google's service is only available on the
Nexus 6, the company's flagship Android phone. But it
points to a new world where the big wireless carriers—
Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and the rest—are
pushed even further into the background of our daily
lives. It's a world where we won't really pay attention to
what network we're on, what brand name it might carry.
We'll just rely on our phone to move us onto the
network that can best serve us at any given moment.
And isn't that a world we all want?
It Started with Apple
Even before Project Fi, the world of cell service was
moving in this direction. Apple's new iPad Air 2 tablet
includes what's called a virtual SIM card, a piece of
software that mimics the hardware cards needed to
interact with a wide range of cellular networks.
Basically, a virtual SIM means you can test out multiple
wireless carriers and choose which you like best. And as
time goes on, you can readily drop one carrier for
another. More so than any device before it, the iPad Air 2
is independent of any particular carrier.
Now, Google is taking this agnosticism a step further. It
automatically drops one carrier for another at any given
moment, whenever it can get you a better signal. The
Nexus 6 includes what's called a "multi-profile SIM"—a
hardware card that can handle multiple carriers. But
Google could readily extend its setup with a virtual SIM
that accommodates even more networks. What's more,
with its virtual SIM already in place, Apple could mimic
Google, offering devices that automatically switch
between carrier networks, instead of asking you to
choose.
This kind of setup will only become more prevalent now
that carriers have agreed—under the oversight of the FCC
—to "unlock" any phone that consumers have paid for in
full. As people embrace their freedom to choose, handset
makers will make virtual SIMs the norm.
Yes, automatic network switching won't happen unless
the carriers agree to it. But two—T-Mobile and Sprint—
have already embraced Google's new mobile world. And
as companies like Apple and Google keep expanding the
options on their devices, others handset makers will
follow and, eventually, so will other carriers.
Google's Long Game
With Project Fi, this is exactly what Google is trying to
accomplish. Judging from the cost of Google's data
service, Schouwenburg says, the company's margins are
incredibly thin (he should know: he offers a similar data
service on a tiny "hotspot" device that lets you connect
laptops and other devices to the internet via Sprint).
Google isn't trying to make money on Project Fi. It's
trying to show others how this kind of thing can be
done.
And others will indeed follow. In fact, Schouwenburg
says, Karma is interested in adopting a model similar to
Google's Project Fi. Today, Karma's wireless hotspot
only works on the Sprint network, but ideally, he says,
the company wants the device to automatically move
between carrier networks, depending on who's offering
the best signal.
Which really is just stating the obvious. Of course Karma
wants this kind of thing, as does everyone who uses a
mobile device. More network options mean better
service at any given location. That makes every phone
and tablet easier to use. Some carriers may stand in the
way of this new world—-"that's the pain point,"
Schouwenburg says—but not for long.
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