Is it time for Gphone UK?
Updated on 21 September 2007
The UK government has unveiled plans to open the mobile phone business up to new operators - and Google has been tipped as a possible entrant.
In July Google pledged to invest a minimum $4.6bn in to enter the wireless business in the US.
And on Thursday the UK communications regulator Ofcom announced a proposal to take some of the airwaves currently used by O2 and Vodafone and make it available to new bidders.
Few companies could match Google's financial muscle in an auction, and a mobile search facility would make a logical extension of Google's core business.
Rumours about new Google services perennially circulate on blogs and news services. In particular, speculation has centred on a possible Google-designed wireless device, the mythical 'Gphone'.
This remains a remote possibility at this stage, but the idea of a Google-branded mobile service is now a distinct possibility.
Few companies could match Google's financial muscle in an auction, and a mobile search facility would make a logical extension of Google's core business.
A Google spokesman declined to comment on reports that it was considering a bid for wireless space in the UK.
