Google’s Project Fi is Here to Disrupt Lame Mobile Carriers
Raise your hand if you hate dealing with major carriers like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile? Whoa. That’s a lot of hands. We certainly have a carrier problem, with their approval ratings hovering somewhere between Enron and Halliburton.
Well, good news, jaded mobile consumers. Google announced this week that its new Project Fi virtual carrier service is rolling out to data-only devices including Google’s own Nexus tablets, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, and Apple’s iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4.
Project Fi is a no-contract, pay-as-you-go virtual network that takes aim at the deplorable service of our nation’s mobile network providers and their over-priced networks. In fact, Fi switches between T-Mobile, Sprint, and wifi, allegedly seamlessly. Just like you cut the cable cord in favor of Netflix, Fi is paving the way for a carrier-free future.
What’s this all mean in the long run? First, it’s becoming increasingly easy to imagine a future without phone numbers. Ten clunky digits are difficult to remember. How many phone numbers do you know by heart these days? You can already make voice calls online with Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger and a number of other services without resorting to a carrier.
Meanwhile, the mobile app ecosystem will continue to expand if only because of the sheer volume of users coming online, made even more simple by Google Fi. Google’s obvious goal is to “make everything work together,” with users searching to their heart’s content, so Google can target ads right back at them, all under one seamless Google account.
It’s about time the traditional carrier model was disrupted. We’ve certainly seen a number of other sectors disrupted by innovative tech companies. Why pay for 300 lame Comcast channels when you can have HBO on demand? That’s enough quality TV for anyone. Why wait for a grungy Yellow Cab that smells of Marlboro Lights when you can order an Uber?
Project Fi is yet another way the tech giant is both making our lives easier while taking over a segment of our lives. Not just emails and maps and internet search and news, but grocery shopping and transportation as well — don’t forget Google’s self-driving cars will soon swarm cities with a Uber-like pickup system.
This brings us one step closer to Google/Alphabet owning the digital world, and without a serious competitor, there’s no end in sight. But hey, if we don’t have to wait in line at Costco or deal with an AT&T customer service rep halfway across the world, that’s fine by us. Disrupt away.
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