Google seeks patent to break mobile subscriber shackles

Imagine asking mobile operators to compete in an auction for the chance to offer you service and then switching from one operator to the next multiple times a day to get the best rate or more bandwidth.

Picture doing this without any of the hassles associated today with switching carriers -- no early-termination fees, phone number transfers, or new-handset purchases.

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Google has sketched a plan for such a system in a patent application. Initially filed in March 2007, the application, which is not available on Google's Patent Search site, was posted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site on Thursday.

The system would require end-users to have mobile devices that can operate on different types of networks, including Wi-Fi and the various incompatible cellular technologies, as well as multiple operator networks.

In one scenario described in the application, a user might have a device that is configured to use the least expensive option for connectivity at all times. When at home, the device would attach to the user's Wi-Fi network. Outside, it would switch to the cellular network.

But once outside, the device could periodically search for other available service providers, asking the service providers to bid for the chance to offer service to the customer. The device could automatically switch to the network that has the best price without interrupting a user's voice call or data connection.

On the back end, a program on the phone could contact each of the available networks individually, or the phone could instead communicate with a central server that handles the negotiations with each service provider.

A user could also set different parameters, not just based on price. "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," the application reads.

Portions of Google's proposal are already available from other providers on the market, but the search giant could have difficulty implementing the broad vision because mobile operators might not see an incentive for joining the program.

T-Mobile currently offers a phone that automatically uses a customer's home Wi-Fi network to carry calls when the user is at home, seamlessly switching calls to the wide area cellular network if the user leaves home while on a call.

But Google argues those kinds of offerings have limitations. "Generally, however, such a system is limited in the services it may provide and the way in which it can provide them. For example, a user may be restricted to a particular plan or particular provider of telecommunication access.... The user may instead be more interested in having access to numerous and superior applications, and may desire the freedom to use a variety of communication modes," the application reads.