They say bad news comes in threes, and if that’s true then wireless carriers have reached their quota of bad news from Google this week. First, the search engine giant launched its Nexus 4 smartphone, selling out of the GSM/HSPA+ device in one day in a sharp reminder that consumers are increasingly comfortable without wireless service contracts. Then, Google launched its superfast fiber network in Kansas City, claiming speeds of 1 Gigabit/second. And now, reports have surfaced that say Google is trying to launch a cellular network.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Google has held talks with Dish Network about using the satellite tv company’s spectrum to launch a cellular network. Dish holds spectrum in the 2 GHz band and the 700 MHz band, and has said that it hopes to launch a wireless broadband business by finding a partner. Today’s report notes that Dish’s talks with Google are not “advanced,” and that the company knows it would be easier to partner with a carrier that has towers and infrastructure. However, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said he has considered partners who “would like to be in the industry.”
Google and Dish are already partners; they have been working together for several years to integrate the Dish Network with Google TV. Like many other companies, Dish is experiencing a potential threat to its business model from Google. Pay TV services have been losing subscribers to Google’s YouTube and other online video services.
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