In today’s horrible news, it appears that Comcast is considering adding a wireless mobile phone service. According to The Information:

The country’s largest cable operator, Comcast, is laying the groundwork for Wi-Fi-based wireless services just a few years after it abandoned plans to launch conventional mobile phone services over cellular airwaves. Comcast officials recently told people outside the company that it was considering a mobile phone service, which would rely on a combination of Wi-Fi and leased capacity on cellular networks.¹

There is already a foundation for such a deal, as The Information notes. In 2011, Comcast and Verizon signed a deal that would allow Comcast to buy access to Verizon’s wireless network. This deal allows Comcast space on Verizon’s network to handle traffic outside of Comcast’s own wireless network. Essentially, this is the same sort of deal that Google is considering with network providers: “it would be of the “mobile virtual network operator or MVNO,” variety. Meaning that Google would buy access to a larger network, like Verizon or AT&T, and resell access to customers.”²

This speculation comes right after, “Comcast has edged out controversial agribusiness giant Monsanto in Consumerist’s March Madness-style “Worst Company in America” poll.”³