1. T-Mobile was just offered $39B. I don't think Google wants to spend that kind of money on a wireless carrier. Moreover, Google doesn't have it. If the Motorola Mobility sale goes through, their $42B will dwindle to $30B. Do you want to offer new debt to finance a purchase of the smallest US national carrier?
2. Google hasn't shown itself to create utilities to the consumer. They're testing out the waters with Google Fiber, but that's hit delays. Just because a company is good at one thing doesn't make it good at all things. Google has proven itself to be very good at software and DevOps. However, running a consumer utility like a phone company is a bit of a different beast. One specific example is the ability to pivot. With software (especially web software), Google can change direction pretty quickly and freely. By contrast, a wireless company has to make decisions often years in advance because consumers will have the devices for years. They get locked into supporting certain technologies and frequencies for years before they can migrate and refarm those assets for something new.
It's an interesting idea, but I don't think Google has the desire or the money and we've yet to see Google offering a service that is more like a utility (electric, gas, phone, internet). How Google handles its Google Fiber project, whether they expand it quickly to new cities, whether it's profitable for them, etc. will give us a better indication of whether Google is the kind of company that would do well in this space. It is interesting. It would be awesome to see Google do to wireless what they've done to search, email, etc. However, people have also thought this about Apple. Entering the utility business puts one in the unenviable position of being a company to potentially be hated. Right now, Google plays the "we think bandwidth should be unlimited" person that everyone loves. Judging by wholesale rates from Clearwire and LightSquared, wireless data transmission currently costs (at a wholesale rate) $7-10/GB. That's a bit of a harsh reality that makes you less loved when you try to pass that on to consumers. Maybe Google could do better, but it's far from risk free and the gains might not be worth it.
1. T-Mobile was just offered $39B. I don't think Google wants to spend that kind of money on a wireless carrier. Moreover, Google doesn't have it. If the Motorola Mobility sale goes through, their $42B will dwindle to $30B. Do you want to offer new debt to finance a purchase of the smallest US national carrier?
2. Google hasn't shown itself to create utilities to the consumer. They're testing out the waters with Google Fiber, but that's hit delays. Just because a company is good at one thing doesn't make it good at all things. Google has proven itself to be very good at software and DevOps. However, running a consumer utility like a phone company is a bit of a different beast. One specific example is the ability to pivot. With software (especially web software), Google can change direction pretty quickly and freely. By contrast, a wireless company has to make decisions often years in advance because consumers will have the devices for years. They get locked into supporting certain technologies and frequencies for years before they can migrate and refarm those assets for something new.
It's an interesting idea, but I don't think Google has the desire or the money and we've yet to see Google offering a service that is more like a utility (electric, gas, phone, internet). How Google handles its Google Fiber project, whether they expand it quickly to new cities, whether it's profitable for them, etc. will give us a better indication of whether Google is the kind of company that would do well in this space. It is interesting. It would be awesome to see Google do to wireless what they've done to search, email, etc. However, people have also thought this about Apple. Entering the utility business puts one in the unenviable position of being a company to potentially be hated. Right now, Google plays the "we think bandwidth should be unlimited" person that everyone loves. Judging by wholesale rates from Clearwire and LightSquared, wireless data transmission currently costs (at a wholesale rate) $7-10/GB. That's a bit of a harsh reality that makes you less loved when you try to pass that on to consumers. Maybe Google could do better, but it's far from risk free and the gains might not be worth it.