Global roaming rates are the bane of anyone who travels overseas, but what if you could sign up to a cell provider that didn’t charge you a penny more to use your phone on the road.

That’s exactly what Google Inc. is planning on with a report over the weekend that it’s in negotiations to provide that exact service for its upcoming mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service.

The Telegraphs says that Google is in talks with Hong Kong based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. for access to their network; the company owns the Three mobile network in Europe and Asia, along with Hutch, Vietnamobile, and a 50% stake in Vodafone Australia.

A deal with Hutchison Whampoa would potentially provide no extra cost roaming in countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Of note, it is claimed that Google was seeking “wholesale” access to Hutchison Whampoa’s network versus say a reciprocal roaming deal; the report claims that Google has no intention currently to offer services in the United Kingdom, but with wholesale access available it could potentially do so.

Hitchison Whampoa already has form on global roaming rates, offering no extra cost roaming across its Three network in the U.K., France, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, and Israel.

Google officially announced its intention to launched a MVNO March 3rd, when Google’s Sundar Pichai told the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that they would enter the market in “the coming months” and that the company is working with “existing partners” to create its own MVNO.

“We are thinking about how WiFi and cell networks work together and how to make that seamless” Pichai added at the time, suggesting some sort of hybrid, possibly VOIP type service was in the works.

For Google, offering a service with no added cost global roaming will not only make its product highly appealing, it may force its competitors, such as AT&T, into following its lead, something that is already occurring in markets serviced by Google’s ISP offering Google Fiber.

photo credit: Nexus 5 via photopin (license)