Business Data Communication
Q: How would the wireless telecom industry be impacted by Google's entry in the same, armed by
Android?
Ans: With the massive increase in mobile customers, Google joined the telecom sector in 2007 and
completely overhauled the industry's fundamental structure. By the end of 2009, it intended to make
Android OS the largest smartphone-supporting platform in existence.
Impact on Telecom Industry:
1. Growth opportunity in Mobile Telecommunications
Google sought to cash in on the emerging Telecom industry which is wireless and at the same time
has various manufacturers and application developers constantly working on it.
Google examined this ecosystem and realized the necessity for orchestrating a common, diverse and
robust platform for all these stakeholders
It realized it could obtain a new source of avenue to aid its existing advertisement revenue by
combining it on hand-held devices.
WAP-enabled phones were first introduced by Google in 2001, allowing customers to access the
internet using their phone. Later, it joined forces with T-Mobile to establish the Open Handset
Alliance (OHA), which protected the platform's integrity, interoperability, and lack of fragmentation.
This became a norm for building such platform.
2. Android Platforms for mobile development
It gave third-party manufacturers and developers a standard and set of protocols that made it simple
for them to contribute to the platform and incorporate it into their handsets.
They provided developers with a Software Development Kit (SDK) that contained all the APIs and
modules they would be required to build apps.
Android's use of a self-sustaining ecosystem, where the majority of licences are open source, made it
easier for app developers to explore the SDK without worrying about violating a licence or having to
pay exorbitant fees to buy one.
By concentrating on both the hardware and software aspects of the smartphone business, Google
expanded its overall market share and boosted innovation on both the platform and device levels.
3. Google's strategic intent overcoming the challenges faced by Android
Google had made strategic alliances, with established players in the telecom industry as soon as it
entered, emphasizing its commitment to the industry in the market. It also declared its plans of
building an open-source operating system.
This removed any kind of doubt that other manufacturers or developers had in terms of certainty.
Also, the open source gave developers the confidence to commit their code into the ever-growing
Android platform with support from Google's teams.
All these factors combined helped google in bringing together a large number of collaborators and
build the critical mass required to succeed quickly. This is usually hard as evident from the downfall of
platforms (e.g.: BREW by Qualcomm). Google strategically combined its telecom and wireless
resources and eventually emerged as a global telecom giant. Going forward google had options to
launch its own experience phones (Google Pixel), OHA based or simple open-source smartphones.
Submitted By: Eshaan Kulshreshtha PGP ID:PGP37234 Section:B Subject:BDC
