Wild guess about a potential partner/licensee:
Google Creating Wireless Network, But For What?
By Amir Efrati and Anton Troianovski
Google is trying to create an experimental wireless network covering its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, a move that some analysts say could portend the creation of dense and superfast Google wireless networks in other locations that would allow people to connect to the Web using their mobile devices.
First, the facts: Google last week submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission, asking for an experimental license to create an “experimental radio service” with a two-mile radius covering its headquarters.
However, Google’s small-scale wireless network would use frequencies that wouldn’t be compatible with nearly any of the consumer mobile devices that exist today, such as Apple’s iPad or iPhone or most devices powered by Google’s Android operating system. The network would only provide coverage for devices built to access certain frequencies, from 2524 to 2625 megahertz.
Those frequencies, which could work well in densely populated areas, could be important in the future because mobile operators in China, Brazil and Japan already are building wireless networks using them, meaning that compatible devices eventually will be manufactured, said Walter Piecyk, a wireless-industry analyst at research firm BTIG.
A Google spokeswoman on Wednesday declined to comment on the purpose of the application, saying the company regularly experiments with new things.
Much of Google’s application is confidential, but it does say that the first “deployment” of the experimental network will occur inside a specific building on Google’s campus. That building houses the Google Fiber team, which is part of the Google Access unit that has introduced high-speed wired Internet and video in Kansas City, Kan., with plans to expand to Kansas City, Mo., and other cities in the future.
Google Access also is rolling out free Wi-Fi service for New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, and Google also maintains a free Wi-Fi service for the city of Mountain View.
According to the application, first spotted by wireless engineer Steven Crowley, Google said it would be using wireless frequencies that are controlled by Clearwire Corp., a wireless broadband provider. That means the frequencies are part of what’s called “licensed spectrum” and can be more reliable than Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is unlicensed, meaning it can be used by anyone.
Google currently doesn’t have control of licensed spectrum.
“The only reason to use these frequencies is if you have business designs on some mobile service,” Crowley said.
It’s unclear whether Google would build such a service for internal use only or as part of a potential offering for consumers, and very few devices on the market today are compatible with the frequencies.
Clearwire on Wednesday declined to say whether it was working with Google on the trial. Companies testing technology on Clearwire’s spectrum typically coordinate with Clearwire when doing so, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Piecyk of BTIG said Google’s experimental network could mean that it plans to introduce a wireless service to customers of its Google Fiber product. In other words, people in Kansas City who sign up for high-speed Internet would be able to receive wireless service anywhere in the city for future tablets or other devices that would be compatible with the network. Google could have its Motorola hardware unit build devices that work on the Clearwire-controlled frequencies, he said.
That would be an extension of a business model currently being developed by cable companies such as Time Warner Cable Inc., which are setting up Wi-Fi hotspots in the cities they serve and offering free wireless access to their customers.
Google’s creation of a small-scale wireless network comes on the heels of discussions it had last year with Dish, the satellite-TV provider, to partner on a broad wireless service.
