Friday, July 27, 2007
Google Inc. has shown a huge move on the U.S. wireless market by signing a deal with Sprint Nextel Corp.,which means Google will build services to run on Sprint's planned WiMAX high-speed wireless network.
The two companies said Thursday (July 26) that Google will provide its Internet search service for a Web portal that Sprint is developing for the new WiMAX network. The gateway to various Web services will be ready in April 2008.
The deal is Google's closest alliance with a major U.S. mobile service provider.
While Google is the world's leading provider of Web search and has agreements with large mobile providers in Asia and Europe, analysts say it has lagged Yahoo Inc. in the U.S. wireless market.
"This seems to be a bigger deal than what (Google's) done in the past, more comprehensive," said Pacific Crest analyst Steve Weinstein, who expects wireless services to be a "very material driver" for Google by late 2008 and early 2009.
Google has said wireless is key to growth and its strategy of selling Internet advertising.
Besides the deal with Sprint, Google is also lobbying the U.S. government to open up the wireless market and has expressed interest in bidding for airwaves at an upcoming government auction. It said it will spend a minimum of $4.6 billion if regulators push operators to open their networks.
By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved
|
