After losing out on a bid against Verizon in the recent FCC spectrum auctions, Google is making more noise in the mobile space, in its initiative to secure positioning in the Wifi 2.0 arena. Today, Google announced a investment in the new Clearwire-Sprint Wimax business. The company will be the first to create a national mobile network using Intel's Wimax technology, delivering faster internet broadband connections than current 3G technologies.
Google proves once again its goal to secure dominant positioning in the mobile broadband arena. The terms of their $500 million investment also create a Sprint-Google partnership where Google will supply Google Maps to sprint devices. A couple implications result from such a deal.
1) This puts Google in good position to support internet search across devices that will utilize this new high speed broadband mobile network.
2) The Clearwire service will reach between 120 and 140 million subscribers by 2010. This is awesome for Google's mobile internet search market share. The more devices Google can implement its search on, the tighter its grip on the mobile search market.
3) Google is desperate to secure a piece of the high speed mobile broadband action for the benefit of its Android driven mobile handset devices, which will hit the market later in 2008.
Here is some more commentary regarding the news from the official Google blog:
In addition to our $500 million contribution as part of the investment group, we will provide search and applications to the network’s users, and will work with Clearwire to offer additional services and applications. This will include jointly creating an open Internet protocol to work with mobile broadband devices (including Android-powered devices) and implementing other open network practices and policies.
We believe that the new network will provide wireless consumers with real choices for the software applications, content and handsets that they desire. Such freedom will mirror the openness principles underlying the Internet and enable users to get the most out of their wireless broadband experience. As we’ve supported open standards for spectrum and wireless handsets, we’re especially excited that Clearwire intends to build and maintain a network that will embrace important openness features. In particular, the network will: (1) expand advanced high speed wireless Internet access in the U.S., (2) allow consumers to utilize any lawful applications, content and devices without blocking, degrading or impairing Internet traffic and (3) engage in reasonable and competitively-neutral network management.
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