Scant seconds after the rumor breaks that Google will be announcing their gPhone OS and application suite within two weeks, comes the suggestion that talks with mobile operators in the US are in far more advanced stages than previously believed.  Key, indeed, is the revelation - as usual, by “people familiar with the matter” - that both Verizon and Sprint are close to formulating a deal with Google for gPhone-powered handsets to utilise their networks.

Deals with the number two and three carriers in the US - together with existing cooperation agreements with T-Mobile USA - would put Google in a strong position to make good of their hints at democratising the mobile internet.  It would also give them a broad platter of wireless standards to support: T-Mobile uses GSM, Verizon uses CDMA, while Sprint is pushing ahead with WiMAX, the next-gen data network that Google has already assisted in tailoring devices for.

Nonetheless, any alliance with the traditional telcos could be viewed as a relatively uneasy one - Google suffered industry ire when it voiced its concerns with the state of the cellular market, and demanded concessions to openness from the FCC to be written into the 700MHz contract.  The search giant has always downplayed suggestions that, should they bid in and win the auction, they themselves would manage the network.  Instead, this move to court favour with mainstream carriers might indicate a situation where Google rents out the spectrum to Verizon, Sprint and others, as long as they subscribe to the company’s open-access ethos.

[via Investor Village]