Google will announce in the coming months more details on its own mobile network service. SVP of products Sundar Pichai said at the Mobile World Congress that Google was working with US carriers to launch the service, TechCrunch reports. Earlier reports suggested Google was in talks with Sprint and T-Mobile.
On the subject of a Google branded network in the form of an MVNO, Pichai referred to Android and how it has built that. "The core of Android and everything we do is to take an ecosystem approach and [a network would have] the same attributes. We have always tried to push the boundary with the innovations in hardware and software," he sayd. "We want to experiment along those lines. We don't intend to be a network operator at scale. We are actually working with carrier partners. Will announce something in the coming months." Pichai added that Google is working on how Wi-Fi and cellular networks can "work together and how to make that seamless".
The Google executive also confirmed that the company plans to launch a new mobile payments service, called Android Pay. This will be a NFC-based service, possibly also incorporating biometric security, and offer APIs for other merchants and providers to add their own integration and services. The Google Wallet service will continue to exist, building on the Android Pay software.
