Google Phone

A freshly published Google patent filing suggests that, while the company may be on good terms with cellular carriers now, in the future the telcos might be a little more resentful.  Titled “Flexible Communication Systems and Methods”, the document describes a system whereby a mobile device - such as an Android cellphone - could monitor and judge available wireless networks and route voice and data traffic over whichever was the cheapest. Google’s filing describes cellular, WiFi and WiMAX networks as all being potential routes, with the technicalities invisible to the user; their example is a mobile handset that works on home WiFi then seamlessly transitions to a WiFi hotspot or cellular network when outside.

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Although the carriers might not want you to play with it, many cellphones on the market today have at least fledgling compatibility with VoIP protocols.  Significantly absent from the Android OS, however, are the SIP and IMS stacks that facilitate IP-based call initiation and quality-of-service management.  It’s an omission that has led some to question Google’s intent toward non-traditional communication on Android-powered handsets, and others to suggest that the future of VoIP standards is not so tied-up as some of the companies already using SIP/IMS might claim.

“Maybe Google wants to replace SIP and IMS — or subsume them within Android. By leaving these standards out, Google can position Android as the default platform for mobile devices and once it gets its fingers around the carriers from the device side, it can then take over the ecosystems for SIP and IMS and move the service providers onto these systems — or whatever technology Google positions in their place” Stephen Wellman, InformationWeek

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