Reports indicate Google in talks with Hutchison on roaming deal
Google’s plans to enter the domestic wireless telecom space through a mobile virtual network operator model could use international roaming as a hook to attract customers.
Published reports over the weekend indicated that Google was in talks with Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa about a wholesale agreement that would allow U.S. customers across international markets for free. The Telegraph reported that the two companies were in talks about such an arrangement that would include Hutchison’s Three operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and other markets.
A partnership with just one operator in Europe could open up roaming capabilities across the continent following a recent move by the European Union that capped mobile roaming charges across member countries
Google’s Sundar Pichai, who is a SVP of the company’s Chrome and Apps business, said during the recent Mobile World Congress event that the company is looking to launch a small-scale MVNO business in the coming months. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Google was in talks with Sprint and T-Mobile US about tapping into one or both operators’ networks to host domestic services.
“Our goal is to drive a set of innovations we think should arrive, but do it on a smaller scale, like Nexus devices, so people will see what we’re doing,” Pichai said.
Analysts have noted that they expect the Google MVNO plans to rely heavily on Wi-Fi services and could also tap into the company’s current Google Voice platform. Those platforms could also help the international roaming move, although so far Google has not laid out its full plans.
Bill Ho, principal analyst at 556 Ventures, noted that the international roaming angle could be a differentiator for Google should it enter the domestic wireless market, adding that a more interesting angle could be whether Google is able to also tap into international LTE services. There are a handful of international LTE roaming agreements, but current price points make these offerings difficult for most travelers not backed by an expense account to justify.
T-Mobile US and Sprint have both introduced international roaming plans that allow customers free access to text messaging and basic data services as part of their rate plans. Those moves have been made to eliminate the long-time pain point of bill shock many consumers experience when attempting to take their mobile device across borders.
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