AUTHOR: CADE METZ.CADE
METZ BUSINESS
FROM wired.com DATE OF PUBLICATION: 07.12.16.07.12.16
TIME OF PUBLICATION: 9:00 AM.9:00 AM
GOOGLE’S PROJECT FI IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO UNIFYING THE WORLD’S WIRELESS
NETWORKS
GOOGLE IS A few steps closer to unifying the
world’s wireless networks—and, in the process, providing your smartphone with a
faster, more reliable, and less expensive signal.
Today, Google announced a deal with Three, one of the
largest cellular carriers in Europe, that will allow Americans to use its
experimental Project Fi wireless service when traveling in an additional 15
countries, bringing the total number of foreign countries where the service is
available to more than 135. And at the same time, the company is removing the
speed cap that previously limited the service overseas.
Unveiled last year on Google’s flagship Nexus
phones, Project Fi not only offers a way of making calls over Wi-Fi
networks inside homes, offices, and local coffee shops. As you leave Wi-Fi
coverage, it can seamlessly and automatically move those calls onto a cellular
network. Plus—and perhaps more importantly—it can move phones between disparate cellular networks, depending on which
offers the best signal. And it does all this for a small, flat fee.
Initially, the service allowed phones to jump between Sprint
and T-Mobile. Then Google added US Cellular. And now, through its deal with
Three, the Internet giant has extended the service’s reach even farther. “We
can now reach about 97 percent of markets where Americans travel abroad,” says
John Maletis, Project Fi’s head of operations. And, he adds, the service is
significantly faster in these markets.
Project Fi already provided service in more than 120
countries worldwide via relationships T-Mobile had already established with
foreign networks. But in an effort to keep its costs down, Google throttled all
overseas traffic to a relatively slow 256 megabits per second. Now, the
company says it’s lifting this throttle to provide 10 to 20 times
faster network speeds for those traveling abroad.
Yes, other wireless services have long provided ways of
roaming on other networks, but this often comes at a steep price—a price
controlled by a single gatekeeper. Project Fi costs the same no matter what
network you’re on and no matter where you are: Google charges a standard fee of
$10 for every one gigabyte downloaded. That’s why it was throttling overseas
traffic. Maletis says Google is intent on running Project Fi as a sustainable
business, but the company now believes it can do so while offering faster
speeds.
Room to Roam
A faster, more expansive Project Fi is good news not only
for anyone using this groundbreaking service, but for, well, anyone. The model
proposed by Project Fi is how wireless should work. Your phone will connect to
the network with the best signal, not whatever signal a lone carrier happens to
offer at a given location. Your phone roams based on what’s best for you, not
your carrier’s bottom line. It’s an idea that’s long overdue, and it’s a sign
of a larger shift across the world of mobile phones.
On its iPads, Apple now lets you test various
wireless services before settling on one. Down the road, the company
will surely do the same on iPhones. And Microsoft appears to be moving
in a similar direction. Most phones still come tied to a single
carrier, but as Project Fi and these others show, it doesn’t have to be that
way. The technology has arrived to give everyone options.
Not everyone has the option of using
Project Fi. Google classifies the project as an experiment, saying it does not
intend to become a large-scale wireless carrier. But in presenting a better
alternative, Project Fi is meant to push other providers in the same direction.
It’s similar to Google’s approach with its Android mobile operating system and
its landline Internet service, Google Fiber. In all cases, the aim is to show
the world that a better way forward is possible, raising expectations for
everyone. That said, Google now appears serious about turning Google
Fiber into a true Internet service provider, as it expands to major cities
across the US. We can’t help but wonder whether if it will expand Project Fi in
similar ways.
At the moment, Project Fi is only available to Nexus buyers
based in the US. And Maletis says the company has no plays to expand the
service to other phones. But it’s telling that Google is building Project Fi as
a viable business—and not just throwing money at the problem.
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