Google Wants To Build A Private Cell Network
According to a filing with the FCC, Google wants to deploy up to 50 mobile base stations on the western end of the Mountain View campus. Apparently, Google wants to be able to handle up to 200 mobile devices within the small area that will be covered, with indoor base stations reaching only up to 200 meters, and any outdoors ones reaching no farther than one kilometer. The WSJ reports that the frequencies used belong to ClearWire, and aren’t compatible with any U.S. mobile device, however, are in use in China, Brazil, and India.
This could be a way to test new handsets for other countries around the world, or as Technology Review notes, it could be Google venturing into something a bit more bold such as building a better mobile network — one that doesn’t rely so much on individual carriers and locked smartphones.
(Via Technology Review.)