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Confirmed: VoIP capabilities coming to Google Voice

Benjamin Rubenstein
30 December 2009 - 22:36
42 Comments
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After Google's acquisition of Gizmo5 back in November, people could not help but wonder if and when it would be fully integrated with Google Voice. Ever since the announcement, speculation has flooded the Internet. Rumors about Google's upcoming phone being VoIP only began circulating, and excitement has continued to build.

Today, those rumors are all beginning to come together. In a post on eWeek, Google executive, Bradley Horowitz, has openly admitted that Google plans to implement VoIP into their Google Voice service sometime in 2010. This will allow users to make phone calls via any data connection, regardless of a voice plan.

"What we're trying to do with telephony is give people a seamless experience that frees up their telephony communication from the silos where it's lived for the last decade. Voicemail, my contacts, all of those things have been segregated from the rest of my Web experience. We have big plans to do a better job.

Voicemail transcription, inbox integration and threaded SMS are fantastic features, but we're really just scratching the surface. Gizmo5 gives us talent and talent technology. They have specific tech and skills in further integrating telephony with devices and desktop and Web-based computing. We want to make sure you're communication is available to you irrespective of where you are at, what device you have in your pocket, etc."

This could change the entire telephony landscape. Soon, a user will be able to take any phone with Wi-Fi capabilities (and Google Voice support) and use it on their home's wireless network as a free, unlimited calling, house phone. Not only that, but this confirmation by Horowitz may actually justify the $530 price tag that the unlocked Nexus One is rumored to carry. If Google Voice will do VoIP straight from an Android phone, users would need nothing more than a pre-paid, data-only, SIM card to have a truly unlimited cell phone. Perhaps Google's January 5th announcement will discuss the future of full Android/Google Voice integration. This would completely cut out wireless carriers from being able to charge for voice services. The world of cell phones as we know it, will cease to exist. There's no mention of a specific date in 2010, but rest assured, Google VoIP will arrive soon, and when it does, it's sure to shake things up.

Comments (42)

  1. bdsams - 31 December 2009 - 02:55

    With WiMax and LTE coming out very soon this seems even more plausable

  2. Max1978 - 31 December 2009 - 04:46

    bdsams said,
    With WiMax and LTE coming out very soon this seems even more plausable

    I got a question - since all 4G technologies are already VOIP (they are simply IP networks, with voice on top), does that make Google Voice even relevant?

  3. vaximily - 31 December 2009 - 06:48

    Max1978 said,
    I got a question - since all 4G technologies are already VOIP (they are simply IP networks, with voice on top), does that make Google Voice even relevant?

    Of course! Just because the cell companies are using "VOIP" doesn't change anything. They are still charging per-minute for phone calls, plus the cost of data. As the article mentions, all you'd need is an unlimited data plan to effectively have unlimited phone calls.

  4. DomZ - 31 December 2009 - 07:55

    But rest assured, the cell networks will adapt their data pricing or limit certain data packages from accessing VOIP networks, so they'll still make their money. What it might mean is that they'll spend more money/resources on improving their data networks if people start becoming solely relient on it for calls.

  5. still1 - 31 December 2009 - 15:30

    awesome.

  6. fr33z3 - 31 December 2009 - 03:27

    Free calling in homes with wifi makes landlines almost useless. Not that they werent dieing of to begin with but this will certainly quicken the pace.

  7. +M2Ys4U - 31 December 2009 - 06:19

    ADSL requires a landline to work and I don't see ADSL going anywhere any time soon

  8. Foxfyre - 31 December 2009 - 06:28

    M2Ys4U said,
    ADSL requires a landline to work and I don't see ADSL going anywhere any time soon

    ADSL is also getting "no landline required" packages now. I know AT&T is doing it in my area. So you can now have DSL without having a landline phone.

  9. vaximily - 31 December 2009 - 06:51

    Foxfyre said,
    ADSL is also getting "no landline required" packages now. I know AT&T is doing it in my area. So you can now have DSL without having a landline phone.

    I'm pretty sure it's actually a federal law that they provide DSL services without requiring home phone service now... and yes, ADSL is dieing as well with the vast expansion of Fiber networks like Comcast and Verizon FIOS are using.

  10. DomZ - 31 December 2009 - 07:56

    I think the OP was referring to the UK, where you need a BT line for ADSL regardless, which forces you into paying for the line rental - although its to be expected as you are actually using their line!

  11. belto - 31 December 2009 - 18:57

    M2Ys4U said,
    ADSL requires a landline to work and I don't see ADSL going anywhere any time soon

    Here in Hungary they offer ADSL WITHOUT a Land-line (just a prior existing phone line that was working in the past).

  12. dagamer34 - 31 December 2009 - 03:29

    Yeah, and you wonder why data-only plans cost so much. It's to dissuade people from doing just this!

  13. Chugworth - 31 December 2009 - 04:04

    Nice. I would love to see the phone and cable companies reduced to mere bandwidth providers.

  14. +Frazell Thomas - 31 December 2009 - 05:16

    I remember this kind of future being propsed by Google when they were locked in that spectrum auction with Verizon a few years ago. Seems they are getting their wish thanks to the love these carriers have for Android. I can't do anything now, but laugh my head off.

  15. neoxphuse - 31 December 2009 - 05:59

    google being evil? hm... one step at a time.

  16. LiquidSolstice - 31 December 2009 - 07:42

    Uhhh. What?

  17. tuxplorer - 31 December 2009 - 06:03

    The feature I am looking forward is the ability to do a FREE VoIP call from a PC to a non-VoIP phone. None of the current solutions do that for free although they're dirt cheap.

  18. +Frazell Thomas - 31 December 2009 - 06:35

    That is because there is a cost, a huge one, for the POTS network. VoIP is so cheap because it gets the call as close as it can to the final leg of the POTS switching system so that the costs are as low as possible...

    You'll get free calling when all lines are VoIP and there is no major cost to contact a line.

  19. LiquidSolstice - 31 December 2009 - 07:41

    Doubt that's going to happen any time soon.

  20. geoken - 02 January 2010 - 16:04

    Why would you guys doubt that? Currently when you're using Google voice you're dialing into their server, inputting the number then their system completes the call. The only difference with VoIP is that you're calling into to their server via VoIP and not a regular phone. Everything happening after your call hits their servers is already happening now with Google voice. If the cost of connecting a call from their servers to was too high to do it for free then why would they be doing it right now with google voice?

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