Google officially announces Project Fi

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Published 22 Apr 2015

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Google's Project Fi

Late last night, it was reported that Google would finally unveil the long-rumored MVNO today, and sure enough the search giant has done just that.

Google is calling it Project Fi, and it is indeed a large-scale MVNO that Google is positioning against the other wireless networks out there in the world. It’s not just an MVNO in that it connects to a cellular network, but it also connects to an open Wi-Fi network as well, as Google aims to try and provide the best possible service anywhere the user might travel:

We developed new technology that gives you better coverage by intelligently connecting you to the fastest available network at your location whether it’s Wi-Fi or one of our two partner LTE networks. As you go about your day, Project Fi automatically connects you to more than a million free, open Wi-Fi hotspots we’ve verified as fast and reliable. Once you’re connected, we help secure your data through encryption. When you’re not on Wi-Fi, we move you between whichever of our partner networks is delivering the fastest speed, so you get 4G LTE in more places.

As previously rumored, Project Fi will only work with the Nexus 6 to start, as Google says it has the necessary hardware and software to work with the network arrangements.

As far as the plan and its pricing goes, Google is looking quite aggressive and competitive. The plan will start at $20 per month for all of the standards at this point, including talk, text, Wi-Fi tethering and international coverage in over 120 countries. And then, for data, it is $10 per gigabyte. Meaning, for 1GB per month it’s $10 (or $30 per month total), $20 ($30 in total) for 2GB, and $30 ($40 in total) for 3GB. Google also says that customers will only pay for what they use:

Since it’s hard to predict your data usage, you’ll get credit for the full value of your unused data. Let’s say you go with 3GB for $30 and only use 1.4GB one month. You’ll get $16 back, so you only pay for what you use.

Project Fi is rolling out through an invite system right now, and you can head through the source link below to find out if you live in an area that gets coverage, after which you can apply to get into the rollout.

[via Google]