Google in bid to speed up news downloads on mobile devices

Google has launched another offensive in its battle to keep news sites on the open web, rather than locked in mobile apps controlled by rivals Facebook and Apple.

The company announced it was working with more than 30 news publishers, including the Guardian, the BBC and the Financial Times, as well as several technology groups such as Twitter and LinkedIn, on an initiative called Accelerated Mobile Pages. Google plans to implement the technology next year.

The aim is to make news web pages load instantly on smartphones and tablets. Slow loading times have been a key factor driving readers and publishers towards news and mobile apps, which are cleaner, quicker to load and have fewer ads.

Web pages cluttered with ads have spurred the growth of adblocking apps, which threaten online publishers’ revenues.