Google is launching its own mobile network in the US, threatening to become a powerful competitor for telecoms groups unless they move quickly to support its ambitious efforts to improve internet access globally.
The mobile launch comes with the internet juggernaut increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of innovation at incumbent telecoms companies, which it feels is preventing it from providing new services in established markets while leaving unconnected users around the world out of reach.
The US ranks below many European countries for broadband speed and affordability, a situation some analysts say could constrain Google’s business model, which relies on getting as many people as possible online in the hope that they will then use its services.