MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) – Google wants the wireless services that connect mobile devices to digital content to be cheaper and more reliable.
The reason has as much to do with the pursuit of profit as with trying to make smartphones more useful. More time spent using Google’s dominant search engine or watching videos on its popular YouTube site translates into more opportunities for the company to show its moneymaking ads.
Enter “Project Fi,” the Internet company’s recently launched attempt to usher in new ways to keep smartphones online while lowering the cost for streaming video, listening to music, getting directions and searching for information.
“Wireless connectivity has become so essential that it’s kind of like our lifeblood,” says Nick Fox, the Google Inc. executive overseeing Project Fi. “This gives us a playground where we can try things out.”
In a break from the status quo, Project Fi will cost just $20 for basic service and then only charge for the amount of data consumed over cellular networks that Google is leasing from T-Mobile and Sprint. Most plans charge a flat rate under metered plans that limit customers to a specific amount of data.