Google's Wireless Service Taps WiFi And Cellular

Google's planned wireless service will use both cellular and WiFi, connecting to whichever offers the stronger signal.

Google has inked deals with Sprint and T-Mobile for its forthcoming wireless service, which may rely more heavily on WiFi than previously thought. The service will make use of both cellular and WiFi, connecting to whichever offers the stronger signal. Google's tactic may turn wireless network operators' business models upside down.







Google's wireless service will automatically hunt down the best connection, whether it be cellular or WiFi, according to the Wall Street Journal. Google, which already operates a significant number of hotspots around the country (think Starbucks), has fiber rolled out to a handful of metro areas across the country will probably ink WiFi roaming deals with aggregators to expand its reach.

Google's service will likely launch during the first half of the year and be available from coast to coast, according to the Journal. The idea isn't to cut prices, but rather to challenge consumers' reliance on the national wireless network operators. That could spell trouble for companies like AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Source:
http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-business/googles-wireless-service-taps-wifi-and-cellular/d/d-id/1318778

Freewheel is Cablevision's WiFi calling service for thrifty New Yorkers

In large metropolitan areas that are covered with WiFi, you might start to wonder why you pay for a cellular service at all. It's this germ of an idea that has inspired Cablevision to announce Freewheel: a WiFi-based phone service that offers unlimited talk, text and data with no annual contract. The catch, if you hadn't already guessed, is that you'll only be able to use those minutes and MBs while you're in range of the nearest Optimum WiFi hotspot.

Sure, that isn't great if you're out in the boonies, but the tri-state area boasts more than a million hotspots, which the company is hoping will tempt thrifty users. If you're not a Cablevision customer, then the service will cost you $29.95, but if you already buy your home internet and cable from it, the price drops to just $9.95. When it launches at some point in the near future, Freewheel will only work with a skinned version of the Moto G, priced at $99.95. In the future, however, the Wall Street Journal believes that an app version of the service will work with a wide variety of devices. The paper also claims that Cablevision will try to roll Freewheel out nationally, so be prepared for loads more people to start begging for your WiFi password.

Source:
http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/26/cablevision-freewheel-wifi-calling/?ncid=rss_truncated