Google has made its biggest move yet on the U.S. mobile Web market by signing a deal with Sprint that positions the Internet company to
build services to run on Sprint's planned WiMAX high-speed wireless
network.
Mobile broadband pioneer Sprint is working with Google to bring WiMAX
mobile Internet customers search, interactive communications and
social networking tools though a new mobile portal. The collaboration
between Sprint and Google is expected to help spur new mobility and
location-assisted services.
Sprint is developing a nationwide advanced wireless broadband network
that is designed to mobilize the Internet. The pact with Google is a
milestone in Sprint?s mobile Internet strategy, and it builds upon
current WiMAX ecosystem infrastructure and device agreements to
establish an Internet destination for user-generated content and
multimedia offerings.
"Google and Sprint will optimize the Internet experience for the
digital lifestyle," said Barry West, president, 4G Mobile Broadband
for Sprint. "This collaboration brings what will be the best mobile
Internet network together with the leading Internet search company.
It allows us to capitalize on the powerful mobility and Internet
trends, and create wireless services and applications that take
advantage of each company?s history of product development
innovation."
Sprint network bandwidth, location detection and presence
capabilities will be matched with Google?s popular communications
suite ? Google Apps ? that combines the Gmail, Google Calendar and
Google Talk services. Customers will be able to experience a new form
of interactive communications, high speed Internet browsing, local
and location-centric services, and multimedia services including
music, video, TV and on-demand products.
Sprint will provide open standard APIs (application programming
interfaces) to Sprint?s go-to-market partners and the Internet
developer community to create customized products for browsable
devices, facilitating the delivery of personalized and interactive
services to consumer, business, public safety and government
customers. These services will be available in a variety of WiMAX
embedded devices, including connection cards, stand-alone modems,
laptop computers and consumer electronic devices such as personal
media players, mobile Internet devices, gaming devices and phones.
Eventually, the WiMAX service will be available in vehicles for
navigation information, news and entertainment.
Sprint is working with WiMAX ecosystem partners and others to
incorporate WiMAX technology in a range of computing, portable
multi-media, interactive and other consumer electronic devices. The
company plans WiMAX test service in the Chicago, Baltimore and
Washington DC areas by year-end 2007. Commercial service is expected
to be available in a number of markets starting April 2008 and cover
100 million people by year-end 2008 in conjunction with a planned
partnership with Clearwire.
The Sprint WiMAX mobile broadband network will use the company?s
extensive 2.5GHz spectrum holdings.
Besides the deal with Sprint, Google is also lobbying the U.S.
government to open up the wireless market and has expressed interest
in bidding for airwaves at an upcoming government auction. It said it
will spend a minimum of $4.6 billion if regulators push operators to
open their networks.