AT&T- Verizon -T Mobile Put Aside $100M for Google Fight

It appears that AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have decided to put their pennies (or $100 million worth of pennies) away in a joint piggy bank to launch a new business venture, known as Isis, that is set to rival a mobile-payment service from Google that will allow consumers to use their phones to pay for goods.

“Over the long haul, operators have to create new businesses that derive value from more than access,” Chetan Sharma, an independent wireless analyst in Issaquah, Washington, said in an interview. “It’s a given that people are going to be transacting more over cell phones. It could open a potential new revenue stream for them.”

Worldwide mobile payments will generate $240 billion this year, growing two to three times that amount within the next five years, according to consulting firm Juniper Research.

Formed last year, Isis also would let consumers receive and redeem coupons via their mobile devices — in addition to making payments. The service, which will debut in several cities next year, will make money by charging marketers a fee for sending offers to consumers’ phones.

“Isis remains on track to launch in key markets, including Salt Lake City and Austin, in early- to mid-2012,” Jaymee Johnson, head of marketing for Isis, said in a statement. He declined to comment on funding.

Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, also declined to comment, as did T-Mobile’s Hernan Daguerre. The two companies are poised to merge early next year, assuming AT&T’s $39 billion bid passes regulatory scrutiny. Albert Aydin, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, didn’t return a request for comment on Isis’s funding.

Isis also has built ties with the financial industry. It has partnerships with Visa Inc. (V), MasterCard Inc. (MA), Discover Financial Services (DFS) and American Express Co. (AXP)

 

Google just can’t catch a break, can they? I find it interesting that the very companies that sell one of Google’s most popular products, Android, will now be in competition with them at the same time. We’ll be sure to keep you all up to date on any more developments in this story!

Source: Bloomberg