Google is planning to connect over 1 billion people in the emerging markets by funding and developing Wireless Networks, so says the Wall Street Journal.
It goes on to say that “These wireless networks would serve areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia to dwellers outside of major cities where wired Internet connections aren’t available.”
Instead of going against the local telcos, Google plans to team up with them and equipment providers to develop the networks, as well as create business models to support them. However, it is unclear whether Google already has lined up such deals or alliances.
The company has begun talking to regulators in countries such as South Africa and Kenya about changing current rules to allow such networks to be built en masse. Some wireless executives say they expect such changes to happen in the coming years.
Google is said to have worked on making a system of ”high-altitude platforms” – special balloons or blimps — to provide wireless Internet access for areas reaching “hundreds of square miles,” according to the Journal report. The search giant is also considering satellite broadcasts and using TV broadcast frequencies.
The activities underscore how the Web search giant is increasingly aiming to have control over every aspect of a person’s connection to the Web across the globe.
As another part of the effort to connect potential users in these emerging areas, Google is said to be focusing on engineering new, cost-efficient smartphone hardware to run its Android mobile operating system. The incentive for Google to provide free or low-cost Internet service to new markets, reported the Journal, was that many would use Google services and software, thereby increasing overall online traffic and ad revenue for the company. The company currently derives 87% of its annual $50 billion in revenue from selling online ads.
