This is a concept I came up with in Jan 2014. Rumors of Google doing something similar to this concept started popping up recently, so it seemed like a good time to publish it. Basic concept is to build a secondary cell network that compliments the user's existing (primary) cell network, offering reduced cellular data rates when a user is within the secondary cell network's range. This secondary network would be significantly cheaper to construct as two major costs (backhaul & spectrum) are done more or less for free, by using Google Fiber as the backhaul and TV White Spaces & all unlicensed spectrum( 900MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5GHz) combined with best Cognitive radio practices for the network's spectrum. Select Google Fiber customers would receive reduced Google Fiber rates for hosting the network's Picocells. Additionally, each Google Fiber home would receive proprietary hardware in the form of a Wifi-router to implement the system's Cognitive Radio. This proprietary hardware can be used to do other cool stuff. But without further ado ... here are the slides ... the concept is a pretty cool one, pretty relevant, probably doable, and I expect some derivation of it to happen in real life pretty soon cuz Google has the rep for pushing things forward. Blog post: http://jaksprats.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/segundonet-a-secondary-cell-network-built-cheaply/

1. Segundo Net
Secondary Cell Network

2. Secondary & Primary Cell Networks
• A user’s primary cell network (e.g.
AT&T, Verizon) can be complimented by a
discount secondary network (SegundoNet)
• A SegundoNet device app would periodically
scan for the secondary network, and (when
reachable) utilize it for voice & data at a much
lower price than the primary network
• SegundoNet would be built on an existing
backhaul via Small Cells (Picocells)

3. Repurpose Backhaul & Frequencies
• SegundoNet would use Google Fiber as its
backhaul, meaning Google Fiber customer
density would have to be high in any
neighborhood offering SegundoNet
• Picocells can be placed on houses w/ a Google
Fiber connection to create a low cost cellular
network w/ enough range to blanket urban areas
• Unlicensed Frequencies when properly
coordinated can provide cellular coverage (in
some areas)

4. Any Neighborhood in 2017

5. Houses with Google Fiber & Wifi

6. Device has Google Fiber reception

7. Out of Wifi reach
Switch to 3rd Party LTE 

8. Select Customers host Picocells
Google Fiber used as backhaul

9. Picocells have >200m reach

10. Device within Picocell reach
Device now has Google Fiber reception

11. Zoom out to larger neighborhood

12. Add 40 picocells

13. Extend Coverage to multiple
neighborhoods

14. Zoom out again

15. Cover ENTIRE Urban areas

16. Picocell on what spectrum?

17. Unlicensed Spectrum can be plentiful
• In Austin TV WhiteSpacehas 96MHz free
• There is also 2.4 GHz & 5GHz & 900 MHz
• Device side software-defined-radios are
commonplace, devices can use these
spectrums for cellular connections
• Google would give Google Fiber customers
customized wireless hardware that would
communicate with a central service and work
as a single coordinated network

18. Customized Google Wireless boxes
• Google Fiber would provide all customers with Wifi routers
that would allow other customers (running the app) to use
this customer’s Wifi at a reduced QoS
• Wifi signals would be controlled by a Google run central
service, following best Cognitive Radio practices, greatly
reducing Wifi interference while increasing Wifi range
• Houses selected to host Picocells would get reduced Google
Fiber rates
• All Picocells would communicate to a Google run central
service, which would follow best Cognitive radio practices to
coordinate the Picocells to avoid interference

19. Primary Hardware Cost: Picocells
• Spectrum is unlicensed
• Backhaul already exists with Google Fiber
• Picocells can be placed on the tops of houses
• Software development for the system would
also be a cost

20. Software development costs
• SegundoNet Android App development would
cost some money
• Development of Central Service providing
Cognitive Radio software would be a
significant cost
• In software, getting the app, the customized
wireless hardware and the Central Service to
all play nicely together would be a big expense

21. App & Bandwidth Prices
• Android App would scan for Segundo Net and connect
to it if the signal strength is strong enough and also if
the device is not in a vehicle (Picocell handoffs work
poorly w/ high velocity devices)
• Prices would be 5-10x cheaper than competition, still
enough to cover the costs of picocells and running the
central service
• No SIM card, just install the App & it runs as a service
• SegundoNet compliments the primary network, it does
not replace it (e.g. you are in a car or outside of it’s
reach [e.g. on a bridge, not near a house])

22. Conclusions
• A Secondary Cellular Network can be
implemented at low cost to the provider (Google)
that compliments a user’s primary network
• Unlicensed spectrum usage and using an existing
backhaul greatly reduce the setup cost for the
Secondary Network
• Reduced setup cost meanscell data can be
offered via SegundoNet at a reduced price
• Controlling communication from the device, to
the cellular network, to the backhaul would give
Google end to end presence

23. EXTRA

24. Google Hardware in houses
• Providing customers with wifi routers
and picocells opens up interesting
opportunities
• Optimizing network traffic would be the
primary goal, but using the resources of
the wifi routers &picocells as services
would be an added value

25. Neighborhood w/ Wifi &Picocells

26. Each Wifi Router can house a
Private Database

27. Each Picocell can house a
Shared Database

28. Network Device Databases
• Databases can be put into both wifi routers
and picocells (Network Device DBs – NDDB)
• Android API calls for lazy uploads or
downloads of data/files can be made that will
utilize NDDBs when present
• Caching data in NDDBs (think Netflix) -> WIN
• Offloading downloads to Network devices can
be used to lower device battery usage

29. Trusted Device for Trusted Apps
• Trusted Apps can authenticate themselves to a
central Google Server, afterwards they will be
authorized to cache data on the NDDB
• Cached data will be sandboxed per application
and stored in an encrypted form
• Devices using trusted apps can use NDDB as a
reverse proxy cache and will need to decrypt data
device-side
• Can be generalized to work for any Hotspot 2.0
(802.11u) device

30. Home Automation
• A google-box in the home that is guaranteed
to be connected to the internet is a great
place to house a Home Automation Gateway
service
• Technologies like Energy Signal Disaggregation
can be used in this google-box to profile the
energy usage of the appliances in the home