Off Topic - But Certainly of Interest [Google, Intl Roamin]

snidely

From: Cellular-news.com

Google in Talks with Hutchison Whampoa

Published on: 6th Apr 2015

Web giant Google is reportedly in talks to secure free international roaming services for USA mobile phone users.

Google is said to be in talks with Hutchison Whampoa to secure wholesale access to its network as a prelude to possibly setting up its own MVNO style offering in the USA.

The aim of the deal would be to let Google offer the same rate for voice and data services regardless of whether the customer is in their home market of the USA, or roaming overseas.

Sources told The Telegraph that Hutchison was a natural partner for Google in the plan because it has also sought to eliminate roaming charges for its own customers on its Three branded mobile network.

Sources said Google was has no plans to to offer a mobile network to British consumers and is unlikely to for the foreseeable future. The European telecoms market is relatively competitive and roaming charges are already on their way to being abolished by regulators.

rfranzq · 08-04-2015, 04:33

Seems to be relevant to this forum's purpose and goal.

bylo · 08-04-2015, 13:39

Now if only Google would expand their vision north of the border. We need Google badly up here to disrupt the tidy telecom oligopoly that's operating in "Canuckistan."

But yeah, I'm only dreaming...

snidely · 09-04-2015, 02:02

Yeah - You Northerners don't even have Google Voice. We can use it to call both U.S. AND Canadian numbers for free.
At least w. TMobile we can roam w. free data and SMS and make 20¢/min. calling.

bylo · 09-04-2015, 13:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by snidely

Yeah - You Northerners don't even have Google Voice. We can use it to call both U.S. AND Canadian numbers for free.

But FWIW we do have Fongo which does what Google apparently can't do, i.e. free CA phone number with free calls in NA, etc. Very useful for travelling Canadians as well as others who need to make lots of calls to Canada.

	(#1)
snidely (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 451 Join Date: 09 May 2005 Location: Berkeley, California and Miami Country:	Off Topic - But Certainly of Interest [Google, Intl Roamin] - 08-04-2015, 02:50 From: Cellular-news.com Google in Talks with Hutchison Whampoa Published on: 6th Apr 2015 Web giant Google is reportedly in talks to secure free international roaming services for USA mobile phone users. Google is said to be in talks with Hutchison Whampoa to secure wholesale access to its network as a prelude to possibly setting up its own MVNO style offering in the USA. The aim of the deal would be to let Google offer the same rate for voice and data services regardless of whether the customer is in their home market of the USA, or roaming overseas. Sources told The Telegraph that Hutchison was a natural partner for Google in the plan because it has also sought to eliminate roaming charges for its own customers on its Three branded mobile network. Sources said Google was has no plans to to offer a mobile network to British consumers and is unlikely to for the foreseeable future. The European telecoms market is relatively competitive and roaming charges are already on their way to being abolished by regulators. Make use of T-M's UMA/wifi free calling from any place in the world with access to wifi. I use an LG G6, wife an S7) A/o Oct 20, 2013 no need for intl prepaid as T-Mobile U.S. includes voice roaming at 20¢/min (in and out)., unlimited text (in and out), and unlimited data in 140+ countries. My Plan -[6 lines] U.S. T-Mobile unlimited minutes (incoming and outgoing), unlimited text, fast data on each line. that $145/mo. total! . (In U.S. no surcharge for calling a cell.) If a line exceeds 2G of data in a month, pay $10 more for that line. [That only happens a couple times/year.

	(#2)
rfranzq (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 774 Join Date: 21 Apr 2009 Country:	08-04-2015, 04:33 Seems to be relevant to this forum's purpose and goal.

	(#3)
bylo (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 204 Join Date: 03 Oct 2007 Country:	08-04-2015, 13:39 Now if only Google would expand their vision north of the border. We need Google badly up here to disrupt the tidy telecom oligopoly that's operating in "Canuckistan." But yeah, I'm only dreaming... Phones: OnePlus 5 • Nexus 5 SIMs: CA Fido/Fongo • AT A1-B.free • Google Fi R.I.P.: UM • UM+

	(#4)
snidely (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 451 Join Date: 09 May 2005 Location: Berkeley, California and Miami Country:	09-04-2015, 02:02 Yeah - You Northerners don't even have Google Voice. We can use it to call both U.S. AND Canadian numbers for free. At least w. TMobile we can roam w. free data and SMS and make 20¢/min. calling. Make use of T-M's UMA/wifi free calling from any place in the world with access to wifi. I use an LG G6, wife an S7) A/o Oct 20, 2013 no need for intl prepaid as T-Mobile U.S. includes voice roaming at 20¢/min (in and out)., unlimited text (in and out), and unlimited data in 140+ countries. My Plan -[6 lines] U.S. T-Mobile unlimited minutes (incoming and outgoing), unlimited text, fast data on each line. that $145/mo. total! . (In U.S. no surcharge for calling a cell.) If a line exceeds 2G of data in a month, pay $10 more for that line. [That only happens a couple times/year.