Google, Cablevision Challenge Wireless Industry’s Business Model

Google and Cablevision Systems are preparing new cellphone services that would turn the wireless industry’s business model on its head, increasing pressure on companies already dealing with an intensifying price war.

Google’s service would hunt through cellular connections provided by Sprint and T-Mobile US and Wi-Fi “hot spots,” picking whichever offers the best signal to route calls, texts and data, according to people familiar with the situation. Cablevision, meanwhile, will start offering a Wi-Fi-only mobile-phone service next month, making it the first US cable operator to introduce a service that others have discussed. The service, dubbed Freewheel, will include unlimited data, talk and text for $9.95 a month for the company’s broadband Internet subscribers and $29.95 for noncustomers. Both efforts face substantial challenges -- from stitching individual Wi-Fi hot spots into a reliable network to handling new customer-relations issues. And there is no guarantee the services would catch on with subscribers.