Google tries to be a lot of different things to a lot of different people, and if history is any indication, they won’t simply stop when they’ve reached the borders of their current service descriptions. They’ve done their best to move from being “a search engine” to just about every other net-service — so, what’s to stop them from becoming a competitive cellphone service provider?
According to CNN Money, nothing at all. In fact, this report claims that Google already has all the pieces assembled to create a full-fledged cellular service company, starting today.
What exact acquisitions and existing services are we talking about? Well, the obvious place to start is Android. Since Google licenses out this operating system, and so many users are already accustomed to its features and interface, they have a strong advantage there from the get-go. However, the company has also dabbled in creating phones, having collaborated with Samsung extensively on the Nexus One and Nexus S handsets.
It doesn’t stop there, however. Google actually has a ready-to-use service for phone calls through Google Voice. This service saw an explosion in growth right from its release, and currently sees about a million active users each day (with far more registered). Additionally, Google’s other technology experiments — including their gigabit internet connection and skybound WiFi accessibility — put it in a unique position as a data provider.
Of course, setting up a full network for cellular devices isn’t simple, and it would require a lot of investment on Google’s part. That certainly doesn’t mean they aren’t contemplating it, though, and they may even be moving that direction. Analysts, including Ari Zoldan of Quantum Networks, believe that Google is poised and ready. Zoldan stated that the search engine giant would likely make the move if they “could find an easy way to transition into the cell space.”
