Internet giant Google has joined forces with Irish technology company Cubic Telecom to roll out a Chromebook 3G data SIM card that will work in 55 countries worldwide.
The news follows Google working with Cubic to design an innovative international connectivity solution for the Chromebook 3G.
Cubic also worked with UK operator Everything Everywhere, leveraging its T-Mobile and Orange footprint, to create the Chromebook 3G SIMs.
“With Maxroam for Chromebook, customers are getting the peace of mind of always-on connectivity at prices that help them to manage costs whenever they travel,” explained Cubic Telecom CEO Barry Napier.
With Maxroam for Chromebook, a customer can purchase from a range of data plans, called passes, which can be used in multiple countries without having to worry about currencies, changing SIM cards or bill shock.
For example, a customer can buy a UK day pass for just 99p, a Europe day pass for stg£4.99 (for use in UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Poland) or a Global day pass for stg£12 – all on the same SIM card. Competitively priced weekly and monthly passes are also available.
The deal between Google and Cubic was announced at the Uplinq conference in San Diego today.
Napier said that the Chromebook 3G SIMs will be heavily targeted at business users in Europe and North America.
He said the plan is to work with more mobile carriers around the world in growing the footprint of such services for Google and other hardware manufacturers.
“Our goal is to make it possible for Chromebook users to surf freely for less than the price of a bottle of water per day,” he added.
The Google deal follows recent news that Cubic Telecom is to create 70 new jobs after securing US$5.2m in funding from US telecoms tech giant Qualcomm, ACT Venture Capital, TPS Investments and Enterprise Ireland.
