Google has announced a “super network” upgrade for its Fi cellular service. For the past few years, Google Fi has operated exclusively on the T-Mobile network, but it is now adding support for a second 5G network. Oddly, Google refuses to say which one.
Google’s MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) launched in 2015 as Project Fi with support for T-Mobile and Sprint services. The service initially only worked on Google’s Nexus phones, which switched between networks based on signal strength. After T-Mobile absorbed Sprint, Fi became a single-network service in the United States while continuing to switch between networks for international travel.
With the super network, Google Fi is once again a dual carrier service in the United States. Fi-connected phones will be able to switch between T-Mobile 5G and another 5G network to provide the best possible connectivity. Google’s blog post announcing the change conspicuously doesn’t mention either network, saying only that it supports “two of the best 5G cellular networks in America.”
We know one of them is T-Mobile and the other must be AT&T or Verizon. When reached for comment, a Google spokesperson declined to name the second network, which is odd. Looking at the Fi coverage map, my best guess for a great network partner is Verizon. The shape of the unserved areas better matches AT&T’s, but carriers tend to fudge the smallest details of these maps.
Gn tech
