According to a FCC filing submitted on Monday and uncovered by Reuters, Google might be working on some kind of wireless network, offering sweet, sweet internet without giving all of your monies to your telco.
What we know at the moment is that Google has applied to conduct tests in California across different wireless frequencies, including a little-used millimetre-wavelength frequency. That frequency is perfect for transmitting large amounts of data relatively short distances. According to Stephen Crowley, a wireless engineer, it would be perfect as a “wireless extension” of Google Fibre, either complementing the existing cables, or providing an alternative to running an internet connection all the way to people’s homes.
Obviously, a Google cell network would almost certainly be a Seriously Good Thing. Google’s fledgling Fiber network offers unlimited, speedy internet connection for a fraction of the price of the incumbents — and with any luck, the same would be true of a Google wireless network.
After all, Google’s endgame with pretty much any kind of internet service isn’t to make money through the service itself — rather, it’s to get people doing more stuff online, specifically through Google services. That’s the reason it’s playing around with parachutes into a Google conference with it.
Even if it is planning its own network, don’t count on it to come to Australia in a hurry. [Reuters]