14 DAY TRIAL // Google announced last month plans to launch its one mobile network, but the company said that it would try and close enough wholesale deals with other carriers rather than relying on its own GSM relays.
The first step in taking on the competition in the United States is about to be officially unveiled. According to a new report, Google is already in talks with giant Hutchinson Whampoa, owner of carrier Three, to try and remove roaming charges for Americans while abroad.
Three is one of the few mobile network operators that is a vocal supporter of the removal of roaming charges for its customers, which is the main reason it was approached by Google for this deal.
This deal will only work one way, as Google is said to be uninterested in offering mobile network services to European customers.
European Commission (EU) is already looking to remove roaming charges from the continent and the European market is pretty competitive for another carrier to make its debut at the moment.
Three might be the first carrier to close a deal with Google regarding roaming charges
Although Google's mobile network has been described by the company as a “small scale” project, it is ultimately meant to compete with major carrier in the United States, including AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
If Hutchinson and Google ink the deal, the search giant will have access to mobile services in the UK, Ireland and Italy, where the former owns carriers.
It's a bit of a paradox that Google is trying to shake up the mobile network market in the United States by offering great services to Americans who travel aboard.
However, in order to abolish roaming services for Americans who use their phones aboard will take more than a deal with mobile giant Hutchinson, but if Google succeeds it might pave the way for another European carriers that might want more customers from the United States.