Google has decided to target a market that many people thought had disappeared: landline phones. Google Fiber has proven to be a success in a limited release for certain cities for its internet service. Google Fiber has proven to be a miracle for people who were held hostage by local cable monopolies in the past. Now, Google Fiber is expanding to offer phone service to homes. Google Fiber product manager, John Shriver-Blake, had this to say in the announcement:
“Whether it’s calling mom or ordering take-out, we rely on our phones to help reach the people and things that matter. And while mobile phones have pushed us toward the future, home phone service is still important to many families. Landlines can be familiar, reliable and provide high-quality service, but the technology hasn’t always kept up. That’s why today, we’re introducing Fiber Phone as a new option to help you stay connected wherever you are.”
Google Fiber has also taken the final step in releasing a standard three-pronged cable package: TV, phone, and internet. As a technician at The Tech Info Group mentioned, "this is an unbeatable price for all the features included." Google Fiber will be offering their unlimited local and nationwide calling for $10 a month, and will include the option of having your landline ring your cell phone if you're out and about. Google Fiber will not be rolling out their service all at one time, but they plan on eventually offering it to everybody. Details about where the initial roll-out will occur are scarce, given that Google just confirmed the announcement in early April (the information had previously been leaked in mid-January). According to a report from the Washington Post, citing a Google company spokesman, "The service comes with a little black box that sits beside your home phone. It has both Ethernet and phone jacks, and will work with most handsets except for old rotary phones."
Google Fiber will also be offering standard phone services that consumers have come to expect, including 911, call-waiting, and caller ID functions. However, there are newer features too, including a do not disturb mode that blocks telemarketers from calling during dinner time, and spam filtering. Google Fiber also utilizes progress in computer linguistics to transcribe voicemail's and send them to your cell phone as a text message.
Many people have begun to question Google's move to landline service, as 40% of Americans recently stated that they use their cell phones exclusively for voice communication. However, Google is innovating their land line service in part by making it more "cloud" based, allowing your landline phone to do things that consumers likely associate with their smartphones, laptops, or tablets. Google Fiber's offer is seen by many as an attempt to monopolize the cable services that they had just broken the monopolies of, rendering previous providers obsolete.