Google may launch its own wireless carrier service at any moment

It's been rumored for more than a year that Google has been working on a wireless service for smartphones, but now, the company is expected to launch the service in the U.S. as early as Wednesday, according to a new report.

Google will offer talk and data plans to customers as a part of a move that will put it in competition with local wireless providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The effort would be a departure from Google's core business, and signals an even greater emphasis on mobile.

The report said users will be able to pay for how much data they actually use (i.e. phone calls, app usage, etc.). In contrast, wireless service providers typically offer a monthly bulk rate for data. However, only Nexus 6 smartphone users will immediately have access to the wireless service, which would give Google a very small sample size of customers for testing purposes, according to the report. Read more...