Google To Introduce Wireless Services That Switches Between Carriers

Google Inc GOOG GOOGL will introduce a new wireless service that will allow subscribers to pick from multiple cellular sources, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The service will search for wireless connections available from T-Mobile US Inc TMUS Sprint Corp S and Wi-Fi hotspots and then route data and calls through the best available signal.

“It’s a very aggressive move,” said Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape, a company that is stitching together a network of millions of Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide. “You can imagine Google driving down the price to be disruptive and paying for it with revenue from other services that the company already provides, like search and advertising.”

Google’s goal is to have offer the best available wireless service without the need for customers to have a long-term commitment. The report indicated, however, that customer service issues could be a major hurdle for Google and that there is no assurance that the service will be popular with users.

Even if the service proves to be popular, Sprint has a clause in its contract with Google to renegotiate its terms if the traffic volume exceeds a certain level, according to the report.

The new service could be launched in the first half of 2015, but no date has been officially confirmed.

T-Mobile US closed Friday at 30.16, down 1.11 percent.

Sprint closed at $ 4.26, down 0.7 percent.