Google Unveils Wireless Service Called ‘Project Fi’

Google launched a wireless service, entering an industry locked in a price war between leaders AT&T and Verizon and chasers T-Mobile and Sprint. Google said its new service, called Project Fi, would cost $20 a month for talk, texts and other features such as Wi-Fi hookups and international coverage in more than 120 countries. It also will charge $10 per gigabyte of data used each month. If customers don’t use all their data, Google said it would credit people’s accounts each month. The service initially will work only on Google’s latest Nexus 6 phones.

It will run on the cellular networks of Sprint and T-Mobile and will switch between the two depending on which has the strongest signal. It also will automatically switch to more than one million free Wi-Fi hot spots if those signals are better, Google said. The service is available in most of the US, but is by invitation only for now. Google will handle customer-service questions. There are no long-term contracts, something the US wireless industry is also moving away from. However, if people buy and finance a Nexus 6 phone when they sign up for Project Fi and then leave, the amount owed on the phone will be due immediately, Google said.