For a successful startup, finding out that Google is the newest competitor in the space could be a little bit like learning that the “Jurassic World” Indominus rex is out of its cage. Escape may seem like the only option, but not for North Carolina’s Republic Wireless. The Wi-Fi-first mobile operator has already surpassed the big-four carriers in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a PC Magazine survey, and is continuing to charge ahead, even in the face of competition from Google.
This spring, Google launched Project Fi, which offers Wi-Fi-first mobile voice and data service backed up by the Sprint and T-Mobile US cellular networks. Republic has a similar business model, but uses only Sprint’s network for cellular. Both companies have been very aggressive on pricing, and both are working hard to offer seamless connectivity between Wi-Fi and cellular. Republic Wireless and Google Fi can both transition calls from Wi-Fi to cellular, and Republic is preparing to launch handoff from cellular to Wi-Fi.
“In about a month we are going to open up our trial of handoff from cellular circuit-switched back to Wi-Fi,” said Jon Schniepp, SVP of product management at Republic Wireless.
“Within the 3GPP mobile standards world, bidirectional handovers (Wi-Fi to cellular and cellular to Wi-Fi) are possible,” said Frederick Reynolds, VP of marketing at Taqua. Taqua is the provider of the network software that enables voice-over-Wi-Fi for both Sprint and T-Mobile US. “T-Mobile US, with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, is an example of an operator supporting handover in both directions,” said Reynolds.
T-Mobile US may be the furthest along in terms of handover, but so far even the un-carrier has not reached the $5/month starting point that Republic is offering for wireless service. “Our mission is not just to innovate and make the technology possible, but also deliver some value for customers along the way,” said Schniepp.
Republic’s Schniepp was part of Strategies for effective Wi-Fi offload, a recent RCR Wireless News webinar, available on demand.
