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Google Keeps Up Battle for Open-Access Cells

Phone operators balk at plans to loosen mobile networks

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 27, 2008 8:12 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Google renewed its battle for open cell phone networks this week by filing for a new patent, CNET reports. The search giant filed to free smartphones from network-carrier agreements so users can tap into whatever connection is strongest and most affordable. But carriers mostly resist the notion, saying tight networks are needed to ensure quality and security.

Google faces other hurdles, like design challenges, increased costs, and a need for real-time wireless auctions. But the company isn’t giving up and carriers may be forced to eventually give in. "As wireless networks handle more data and become more Internet-enabled, it's only a matter of time before openness is forced onto carriers whether they like it or not," Marguerite Reardon writes on CNET.

Google founders filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office describing its vision of an open wireless network where smartphones aren't tied to any single cell phone network.
Google founders filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office describing its vision of an open wireless network where smartphones aren't tied to any single cell phone network.   (AP Photo/Ben Margot, file)
Google has been lobbying the Federal Communications Commission and Congress for well over a year to adopt policies that reflect its vision of an open network.
Google has been lobbying the Federal Communications Commission and Congress for well over a year to adopt policies that reflect its vision of an open network.   (Index Stock)
The T-Mobile G1 Android-powered phone is the first cell phone with the operating system designed by Google.
The T-Mobile G1 Android-powered phone is the first cell phone with the operating system designed by Google.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Google founders filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office describing its vision of an open wireless network where smartphones aren't tied to any single cell phone network.
Google founders filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office describing its vision of an open wireless network where smartphones aren't tied to any single cell phone network.   (AP Photo/HTC, Stuart Ramson)
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