Google launched a platform it claimed would simplify the sale of Wi-Fi capactiy by public venues to mobile operators.

The company pitched Orion Wi-Fi as a win-win, offering revenue opportunity to businesses while helping operators to improve indoor coverage.

Raj Gajwani, director of Google’s experimental projects unit Area 120, explained in a blog the set-up “helps the local network tell the carrier about its price and quality” and can automatically establish a connection.

But the platform cannot access a user’s internet traffic.

Google is working with equipment manufacturers including Cisco Systems, CommScope and Juniper Networks to ensure compatibility. Google Fi and Republic Wireless will be among the first operators to use the system, with Wi-Fi provider Boingo Wireless and a number of commercial estate agents also on-board.

Gajwani said the platform will allow operators to tap into “high-quality” Wi-Fi systems to improve indoor connectivity, while enabling revenue stream for offices, retail, transport hubs and hospitals.

Orion Wi-Fi launched in the US yesterday (8 September).