LONDON: Google has decided to launch its mobile connection under the “Project Nova” at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Google mobile connection will be a support for its Android users in USA.
Google’s virtual mobile network will reportedly piggyback on the Sprint and T-Mobile networks. Subscribers will be able to switch seamlessly between cellular and Wi-Fi connections, and between the masts of competing mobile phone networks, Mr Pichai said.
Dropped calls may also become less of a problem, as phones will automatically pick the best signal for routing calls, texts and data, and try to re-connect if the communication is cut off mid-conversation.
Mr Pichai said that the service will be small-scale at first, and is not intended to compete with the four big US national carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile).
Google network learns to play Space Invaders in breakthrough for artificial intelligence 25 Feb 2015
“We don’t intend to be a network operator at scale. All innovation in computing happens at intersection of hardware and software. That is why we do Nexus devices. We do it at enough scale to achieve impact,” he said.
“We are at a stage now where it is important to think about hardware software and connectivity together.”
Project Nova is part of a wider move by Google increase its investment in networks and connectivity.
Mr Pichai also gave updates on Project Link, which aims to bring fibre-optic broadband to parts of Africa, Project Loon, which involves beaming 4G mobile internet from helium-filled balloons, and Project Titan, which delivers broadband via solar-powered glider planes.
Project Loon, in particular, is almost ready for business, with most of the balloons now able to stay aloft for six months at a time.
“We think we can bring first-world connectivity to many rural areas,” he said. “You can imagine planes and balloons which we can stitch together to create this mesh of floating cell towers. It sounds like science fiction at first but we’ve made tremendous progress.”
Also speaking at Mobile World Congress yesterday, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he would love to work more closely with Google to connect the developing world to the internet.
