Google Wireless Service Aims to Switch Between Carriers, Sources Say

Google Wireless Service Aims to Switch Between Carriers, Sources Say

 Google Inc. ’s upcoming wireless service would aim to end subscribers’ reliance on a single carrier, instead giving them the ability to pick the best signal from a variety of sources, people familiar with the plan said.

The service would feature new technology that would hunt through cellular connections provided by Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. and Wi-Fi hotspots, picking whichever offers the best signal to route calls, texts and data, the people said.

The offering could be rolled out in the first half of this year and would likely be available nationwide, although previously scheduled launches—including one in October 2014—have been delayed, so the timing could slip again, some of these people said.

The move challenges the wireless industry’s prevailing model in which service is supplied via exclusive agreements with individual carriers like Verizon Communications Inc.,AT&T Inc., Sprint and T-Mobile. While the approach has helped carriers amass the steady income needed to support massive investments in their networks, critics say it leads to higher prices and sometimes worse service.

Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said on a call with analysts Thursday that Google will have to overcome many challenges for its service to succeed, including dealing directly with consumers. “Resellers, or people leasing the network from carriers, has been around for 15 years,” Mr. Shammo said. “It’s a complex issue.”

Sprint, mindful of the risks, put volume triggers into its contract that would allow it to renegotiate if Google’s service takes off, one person familiar with the matter said.

Apple Inc. got a lot of attention in October when its new iPads included a so-called SIM card that could work with three of the four big U.S. carriers. SIM cards let subscribers use a network, and carriers in the U.S. have typically supplied their own, tying subscribers to their service until they are replaced. The iPads’ so-called soft SIM sparked speculation that customers could one day buy short-term data connections a la carte. Verizon