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from the informations-sans-frontières dept.
Wired had a story Sunday where they make the case that, between it's own wireless service and current negotiations with phone companies that would let customers move its service and international cellular networks at no extra cost, Google is doing its best to keep users locked into its network:
...you'd be able to travel across the US, the UK, Italy, Hong Hong, and Sri Lanka while paying the same fees for calls, text, and data—an attractive option for anyone who's ever carried a phone overseas. Carriers tend to charge inflated rates for this kind of "roaming," forcing you to think twice about using your phone at all while traveling. "Roaming fees in Europe and Asia can kill you," says Richard Doherty, an analyst with New York-based research firm Envisioneering.
...Google said it doesn’t comment on "rumor or speculation." But the report fits nicely with what we already know about Google's plans for its unconventional wireless service. Google appears to be envisioning a wireless world where we can move effortlessly from one wireless network to another, making it easier for us to stay online.
Of course that just means more ad revenue for Google:
The more you're online, the more you'll use Google's search engine and other apps—and the more the company can serve you ads. "Google needs reach," Doherty says. And what better way to extend that reach than by offering what so many of us want: ready access to the internet at all times?
Having just opened my wireless bill that included a recent week spent in Cancun, Mexico I can personally attest that roaming charges hurt not just in Europe and Asia.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by rigrig on Wednesday April 08 2015, @05:27PM
And how many ads are clicked if people turn off their data connection to prevent roaming charges? Google won't even be able to properly track you in real-time.
Google cares about improving (internet) technology in general:
Before Chrome, most people would not have a good enough browser to properly load all the tracking/advertising scripts Google would like you to put on your site, let alone run all the fancy web-applications Google offers.
By having to compete with Chrome, other browser-makers were forced to improve their product, and people can now 'happily' be tracked across all those ad-laden pages out there, and look at Gmail ads instead of using a dedicated e-mail client.
Now Google would like everybody to be online all the time, so you can look at fresh ads.
Because Google offers a service that allows people to be online all the time, existing carriers will be forced to make similar offers for a decent price, or all their customers will switch to Google.
If your carrier starts offering online-all-the-time for a decent price, so you decide not to switch, that's fine with Google. It just wants you to have access to fresh ads all the time.
The happy thought is that Google want these things to happen, so it will offer them at (slightly above) cost:
that way existing companies will be forced (but able) to match their offer, and everybody gets better internet (and autonomous cars*) for a decent price.
* Once everybody gets theirs to work, Google doesn't care if you drive a Google-car or an iCar, as long as you're watching ads instead of the road.
No one remembers the singer.