Google's keyword auctions redefined web advertising. Now, a patent filing reveals, the search company wants to do the same thing for wireless services.

Google's patent filing describes "devices, systems and methods" that would automatically poll nearby wireless services to find the best price for a voice or a data connection for a "portable communications device." That connection might come via a cellphone carrier, a WiMax provider, or even a Wi-Fi hotspot. According to the patent, users can either manually select the bid they like best or they can allow the device to connect automatically with the lowest-cost provider.

The upshot? Just as advertisers know they're always getting the market price for keywords on Google's AdWords system, wireless users would always get the market price for wireless data service – or phone calls. The system could potentially free users from cellphone contracts and locked phones that tie them to one service provider and allow them to switch from one carrier to another, seamlessly, based on which carrier had the lowest price at that moment.

"It is an interesting notion," says Neil Strother, mobile analyst for Jupiter Research. "The idea would be that the device or system is smart enough that the switching could be invisible and in the background and, if they could patent it, it could be very disruptive."

Granted, a lot of obstacles stand in the way of this vision, not least of which would be the unwillingness of entrenched cellular carriers to play ball. Also, the system would require compatible software not only on handsets, but also on any potential wireless connection points – a major infrastructure hurdle. But the patent is striking for its scope – and for the glimpse it gives of Google's lofty wireless ambitions.

The patent covers both voice calls and data transmission sessions and also covers a device that will wirelessly connect to a number of carriers, pull pricing information and then select a carrier based on the information.

The patent, filed in March 2007 but published today, is an indicator of how the company sees mobile as its next playground.

Already the launch of the T-Mobile G1 phone (carrying the Google brand and Google's Android operating system) has established the company as a serious contender in the mobile business.

Mobile, after all, is the among the few technology sectors that have the potential to be a bigger business for Google than search.

And the patent goes along with Google's mantra of opening up the wireless industry.

In its patent, Google has said it wants to bring together all the different modes of connectivity and offer consumers a device that potentially make them agnostic to the carrier they use.

With the proliferation of wired and wireless access technologies including DSL, cable, Wi-Fi or 3G networks, consumers are struggling to unify their communications, says Google's patent. Most users have a land line at home or work, a cell phone for mobility and sometimes a

PDA for data access.

"And they may have a different provider for each of these services, even though, to the user, they are just communications applications and not much more," says the patent.

Though some attempts have been made to simplify communications, they are limited and restrictive, claims the patent.

And that's where Google could step in. If successful, the company could offer a system that could help a single device operate on multiple networks.

The patent cites an example of a mobile phone that could run on a home broadband network and transition to a Wi-Fi network or a cellular network outside.

"The connections may, in appropriate circumstances, be provided by different telecommunications providers, and may involve hand-offs of a particular communication session from one provider to another," says the patent.

The advantages to the system are clear. It would help users have access to the lowest cost network at all times.

"In addition to cost as a factor in selecting appropriate telecommunications providers, users may opt for alternative auction models based on maximal bandwidth offered, best coverage/reliability, or some combination of options," says the patent.

To be sure, the patent may not amount to much. Even Google with its might may not be able to break the stranglehold of telecom carriers in North America, and it is unlikely most wireless carriers or telecom service providers would play ball.

"There is a lot of heavy lifting that would be required in the background to pull this off," says Strother. "The software has to be really smart and the device has to be well tuned to detect and switch quickly across different technologies."

"It's not impossible," says Strother, "but it would have to be a very nifty trick that they would have to pull off."

But even if telecom carriers don't sign on, Google can potentially pull this off – albeit slowly. Last year, the company participated in the federal government’s auction of wireless spectrum in the 700 Megahertz band. Though Google failed to win any licenses, it bagged a commitment from the Federal Communications Commission that spectrum owners,

Verizon and AT&T, among others, can't block out internet or telecom rivals.

Meanwhile, the company has invested about $500 million in the Sprint-Clearwire WiMax wireless broadband network

"It is not clear how big WiMax will be, but if it takes off, then it could be an alternative to current carriers," says Strother.

The biggest challenge then would be in convincing the FCC, says Strother. "The question is would the FCC go along with this?"

So far Google has been pushing the FCC to open up the airwaves, and just maybe it can convince it to take this step.

Eventually if Google can realize a part of its vision and convince customers to sign on, carriers will have little choice but to work with the company, say industry experts.

"You can't stop innovation," says Frank Meehan, director and general manager of 3G Handsets and Products for the Hutchison Whampoa Group.

"As carriers we can instead choose to become platforms that drive innovation and look at building value around advertising and applications."

(Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com)

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