WSJ: Google in talks with Dish over wireless network partnership

Google's presence in the mobile market is strong, this much we know. What with the small matter of a hugely popular mobile OS, some pretty popular hardware, and fingers already in the network-provider pie. But what if there was just one more itch it needed to scratch, one big, wireless operator-shaped itch? Well, The Wall Street Journal asserts (via its anonymous sources) that talks between the big G and the recently spectrum-approved operator Dish are already taking place. The same report is also quick to play down the advancement of these meetings, adding that Dish is currently talking with a number of companies at an "exploratory stage." Dish's Chairman, Charlie Ergen, was confirming nothing either, simply teasing that some of the potential partners are companies "who would like to be in the industry." Of course, Dish might just be playing it cool, and Google sniffing around prospective mobile compadres isn't surprising at all. We'd imagine "would like to be in the industry" has been a mantra for some time.