Virtual threat
Ever since Google launched the Nexus One handset there has been talk about whether the search giant is friend or foe for mobile operators. Google tried to create a direct channel for its own-branded phone, effectively cutting operators out of the loop, but it soon flopped.
More recently it has been handset makers that have had reason to feel threatened by Google's mobile ambitions, with its acquisition of Motorola. As HTC showed with the Nexus One there is a massive advantage to getting early access to new versions of Android, and the assumption is that Moto will be the sole recipient of such largesse from now on.
Now a Spanish source, brought to our attention by SlashGear, reveals that Google is getting in the MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) game. We were lucky enough to get a translation of this blog entry (thanks Dad), and it looks like Google is handing these SIMs out to engineers and partners in order to help them with testing. A Spanish forum that commented on this post reckons a number of networks are being used by Google for this purpose.
As ever with MVNOs, the main operators don't have to go along with the deal if it doesn't suit their purposes, but this is the first indication we've seen that Google might be thinking of getting in the telco game.
Google already owns a platform and many mobile services, and is in the process of acquiring a handset-maker. Becoming an MNVO could make Google the first owner of the complete value stack, and that would be an interesting precedent.
