Google gets into the landline business with Fibre Phone

March 30, 2016 | 12:43

Tags: #google-fiber #google-fibre #landline #pots

Companies: #alphabet #google

Having semi-launched fibre-optic broadband and mobile phone services, advertising giant Google is dipping its toes further into the telecommunications waters with the limited launch of a landline telephone service.

Google Fibre, announced way back in 2010 and still not available in the UK with only limited US regions receiving coverage, is Google's answer to throwing more eyeballs at its adverts: offering high-speed, low-cost unmetered internet connectivity on which it can monitor every last drop of data that passes through. Its panopticonic plans were expanded in April last year when it launched a mobile network to match, and now it's taking the logical next step: landline connectivity.

Dubbed Fibre Phone, the new service is available exclusively on Google Fibre connectivity and relies on converting in-home plain-old telephone service (POTS) devices to connect via IP over the broadband line. To this end, a conversion box is supplied to users which allows for existing handsets to be used on Fibre Phone while the assigned number can also be used on smartphones, tablets, and laptops while you're out-and-about.

According to the announcement by Google's John Shriver-Blake, adding Fibre Phone to an existing Google Fibre account will cost an additional $10 per month, which includes unlimited local and national calls.
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