Google Keeps Up Battle for Open-Access Cells

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.
(More Google stories.)