Last year in April, Google Inc. introduced Project Fi – a program to explore new ideas in wireless connectivity. Similar to our Nexus hardware program, Project Fi works in partnership with leading carriers and hardware makers to push the boundaries of what’s possible. By designing across hardware, software, and connectivity, the company was able to explore new ways for people to connect and communicate.
With Project Fi, they deliver fast wireless service with the flexibility to use it where you want (even internationally) and a monthly bill that’s simple and easy to understand. Over the past 10 months, the company has learned a lot about how people are using Project Fi and wanted to share a few of these insights.
Project Fi customers love to travel
With Project Fi, being away from home doesn’t mean that you have to be away from your cellular data. Since launch, more than 15% of the customers have used Project Fi abroad. From Mexico to Montenegro, customers have visited 110 of our 120+ supported countries all while paying the same rate for data that they would in the U.S.
There’s lots of high quality public Wi-Fi
Using Wi-Fi should be seamless which is why the company created Wi-Fi Assistant, a tool that automatically connects to high-quality hotspots and helps secure your connection. Over 50% of Project Fi customers are connecting to public hotspots using Wi-Fi Assistant on a weekly basis.
People like data on their data
When it comes to data, people like to be in the know, especially when they get a refund for what they don’t use. So, Google built tools into their app to help customers understand and track their usage throughout the month. Roughly 90% of people who visit the Project Fi app are coming to check out how much data they’ve used. How much data are they using? An average of 1.6 GB data per month.
Connectivity isn’t just for phones
Google also launched data-only SIMs in December to help Project Fi subscribers connect to data from devices other than their phones with no additional fees or restrictions. Since then, we’ve seen SIMs used everywhere from tablets to cars. While we’re just starting to experiment here, one thing is already clear: people want access to data on more devices.
Project Fi customers like getting support from a real person
When something wrong happens, it should be easy to get in touch to fix the problem quickly. While Project Fi has 24/7 customer support through phone, chat, and email, “we’ve found that phone calls are still the most popular way that customers like to get in touch with us.” When Project Fi customers call in, they are speaking to a real live person in 20 seconds or less 95% of the time.
Project Fi customers are creative
To spread some holiday cheer last December, the company sent out building blocks to Project Fi customers to help them organize their phones and cables.
