Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
About a month ago I used this space to question Google’s motives in launching a commercial mobile service. Those questions basically revolved around why in the world Google would want to besmirch its good name by becoming something that nearly all consumers hate: a wireless carrier.
Luckily, Google heeded my warning and decided to not really launch a commercial mobile service.
Oh sure, there was an announcement this week from Google about something called “Project Fi” that on the face of it looked like Google was planning to offer a commercial wireless service that could rival already established mobile carriers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint and T-Mobile US. But, digging under that façade we find that Google is not really interested in providing a compelling alternative to consumers, but instead just wanted to say it offered a commercial wireless service.
For those who have managed to avoid the details on the Project Fi announcement, basically Google has come up with a “super” SIM card that allows a device to switch between Sprint and T-Mobile US cellular networks and open Wi-Fi connections. This allows Google to tap into hundreds of millions of square miles of cellular service provided by Sprint and T-Mobile US, as well as the millions of hundreds-of-feet-in-diameter coverage locations of Wi-Fi hot spots.
Stopping at this point would almost make it seem like Google was indeed serious about getting into this carrier business, but reading on showed that this was indeed the highpoint of the announcement, with gravity soon taking over.
The initial sign of Google’s lack of seriousness came from the pricing model. The company is offering unlimited voice calling and text messaging for $20 per month, which is accessible from either a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. On top of that, customers can purchase 1 gigabyte buckets of data for $10, with the clever hook being that any unused data is then refunded to that users account. The mainstream media has taken this angle to mean that Google is doing something vastly different from the stodgy established carriers that force customers to pay for data that they do not use.
However, a quick Google of wireless rate plans already offered in the market shows a number of companies already offer voice and messaging services tapping into cellular and Wi-Fi connections at vastly cheaper rates than what Google is offering. Also, the “only paying for the data used” ploy is no different than recent rollover announcements from T-Mobile US and to a lesser extent AT&T Mobility.
Google’s service also touts some international roaming aspirations in allowing customers to use their purchased data in more than 120 foreign countries at data speeds up to 256 kilobits per second, which it graciously touts as 3G speeds. This offer looks to mimic T-Mobile US’ international roaming offer that has been on the market for nearly two years, though T-Mobile US offers free access to data services at a still-pokey 128 kbps.
(Also, full props for full-time tweeter and part-time T-Mobile US CEO John Legere for taking subtle digs at Google’s announcement in a blog post.)
Google’s lack of seriousness also was on display as they are going initially with the Nexus 6 smartphone, which lacks the brand cache that has become required to compete in the smartphone space, and more importantly is not an iPhone.
I know from reading the Internet that there is a faction of people out there who would give up their first-born for a plain, Android-powered device. However, that faction of people are more likely to build their own Android-powered device than pay the minimum $650 Google is asking for a basic Nexus 6.
As for the lack of iPhone support, well that is just a dead giveaway that Google is really not serious about this venture. Look, I am no iPhone fanboy, and in fact have resisted all impulses to join the iPhone community even though that iPhone 6 does look pretty awesome. But, we all know that for any mobile service to really be taken seriously in terms of attracting consumers, you gotta have an i-something in your lineup.
With such a lack of any real innovation here, why is Google even bothering to announce this offering?
My guess is that the multibillionaires running Google were tired of having to use a service that was not branded as Google, and thus this move allows those executives to further encapsulate themselves in their Google world by not having to see a real mobile operator’s name on their device.
I back up this statement by noting this is the same company that participated in the Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz auction just so it’s executive could bring that up while attending dinner parties inside of volcanoes; bought Motorola so it could say it owned a mobile-devicemaker … and snap up a bunch of intellectual property rights, which I can assume sounds pretty impressive when golfing with buddies on a private island; and this whole Google Loon thing that involves balloons, Wi-Fi and, I believe, domesticated wild birds, which sounds crazy enough to impress even the craziest billionaires.
I get it Google. It’s tough to keep wowing people when you are on top. And, this mobile service announcement at least provided a morale-boosting shot-in-the-arm to go along with all that blood from orphans you are also injecting that will allow Google execs to live forever.
But, next time you want to really bring some innovation to the market try going with something that is truly innovative. Something that will make people realize Google is really something different. The unwashed masses are ready for something other than the status quo, which is what Project Fi in this current iteration is nothing but.
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