New Wireless Service Provider? Introducing Google Fi

Back in 2015, Google came out with “Project Fi” which provided phone service, call/text, and internet. The only problem was that it was only capable with android phones. Now with the new Google Fi, any phone can be used with this new provider making it a direct competition with sprint, t-mobile, and other US carriers. All you have to do is download the app!

What makes this new addition to the cellphone provider market is that the prices are relatively in expensive – all with no contract. This includes unlimited call/text for $20 and $10 per gigabyte of data which makes bills not much more than $80 per month at most. The other nice thing about Google Fi is that you can switch between your wireless networks if they seem better at the moment of usage.

The only problem with Google’s new technology is that the coverage might not be anywhere as good as AT&T and Verizon. Therefore if you’re ever in a situation of emergency, you may not be able to reach anyone which would be very unfortunate.

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a25332826/google-fi-coming-ios/

6 thoughts on “New Wireless Service Provider? Introducing Google Fi

  1. I actually just recently heard about this project and was really interested in what Google had to offer. It looks like they have the most straightforward approach to billing compared to the other bigger providers but the thing that would concern me is that because the coverage is not as good. The thing that will make this a lot more popular now is that Google offers it to a lot more phones now than just the couple of android phones it used to offer the service too. I believe that if Google was able to increase their coverage so that they could compete with companies like Verizon and AT&T then this would be a very good deal and something that I might consider switching to but for the time being, I think that I am going to stay with my current provider.

  2. Google Fi is actually pretty interesting to me. I did look into it a little bit to see why someone would want to use it as a service over Verizon, for example. The billing is efficiently straightforward and unused data each month does get credited. According to https://www.tomsguide.com/us/project-fi-faq,review-4530.html, “Bill Protection makes Google’s service even more appealing for heavy-data users.” If the user is traveling internationally, especially often, this service is the smartest carrier for having access to their normal data plan. I can definitely get on board and understand why someone would want to use this data service, and I am sure in the coming months/years more users will be trying and reviewing Google Fi because it can reach phones beyond the ones “Google-approved.” I am not particularly interested in changing plans personally, but maybe I will change my mind in the future.

  3. Recently, I have been doing research on this new Google service provider as I saw it advertised on the home page of the website. Intrigued by it I looked into the numbers and saw the affordability of the service but had some red flags pop up immediately. Those being that there is not an option for unlimited data and the coverage. I then went on my current providers page and saw that I have unlimited data for about a fraction of what Google Fi would offer for its maximum plan, therefore I feel as if it would be the safest option to stick with Verizon for me, personally.

  4. I had not heard about this carrier until today. I think there is potential for it in regards to people who may not use their phone as much because a lot of plans out there already offer unlimited data rather than the pay per gigabyte model. It definitely is a plus that there is a feature that helps you use your data less by switching to wifi etc. I think it will definitely be a tough, up-hill battle to compete with major companies like Verizon and AT&T considering they’ve been around so long and dominate the market for the most part. The fact that their targeted consumer is possibly people who don’t use data as much and mostly call and text gives them an area to focus in more and take hold of that niche in the mobile phone arena.

  5. My worry about Google being a service provider has less to do with the coverage itself and more about who’s providing it. If Google is able to exert much more control over what you view and how you view it, (for example, making certain apps not use data or load faster on their network) there is a lot of potential for manipulation on their part. They can directly influence how you interface with the internet, at least from your smartphone. For context, Facebook did a study a coupe years ago where they showed people slightly more positive newsfeeds and slightly more negative newsfeeds. They found that the positive newsfeeds caused users to post more positive statuses overtime and the negative newsfeeds caused users to post more negative statuses overtime. If Facebook can control that much of our thinking with a few changes to an online feed, the implications of what Google can do while controlling your entire cellular network sounds pretty scary.

    Source: https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/be-warned-how-apple-amazon-facebook-and-google-could-use-technology-to-control-t.html

  6. I have never used “Project Fi” before. After researching the relative background, I find that one outstanding advantage is that there is no additional charge for customers who use their phone as wireless hotspot. Besides, this service provides a secure Internet environment for company inner connection. However, compared to other carriers, this is more expensive. Take AT&T as an example, I spend $40 a month for unlimited data but this amount of money can only get 2GB at Project Fi. Thus, this service is more suitable for commercial companies and people who always travel around different countries.
    Resource: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/project-fi-faq,review-4530.html

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