August 23, 2005 - Blog: Google Voice
Google Voice
After all the talk about Google VoIP, all the theories about what Google's purchase of tons of dark fiber means, all my prognostications on Google VoIP, it finally appears that Google is going to have a VoIP offering called Google Voice to be launched tomorrow. First, hat tip to Om, for covering this story on Monday where he discusses Google using Jabber technology, known as "the Linux of instant messaging" -- an open, secure, ad-free alternative to consumer IM services like AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo.
Google always tried to utilize open standards, so it is no surprise to me that they chose the Jabber technology. There is no word on whether or not Google Voice will simply be an instant messaging client with simple P2P "voice chat" features or if it will incorporate PSTN dialing as well to compete directly with Skype and their SkypeOut service. Also, since Google is renowned for adopting open standards, I would have to assume that if they are doing VoIP that they are utilizing the SIP protocol. I also wonder if they are using an open SIP stack such as the one by SIP Foundry or some other equivalent. Further, the ability for Google Voice to do P2P calling competes directly with Skype - so how does this affect Skype's recent "shopping around" for buyers? I wonder if Skype approached Google with such a high pricetag that Google said "screw it, we'll build it ourselves".
It will also be interesting to see if Google Voice will encorporate P2P SIP to traverse through NAT firewalls. If that is the case, then we finally have a Skype killer on our hands.
Posted by tkeating at August 23, 2005 12:09 PM | TrackBack (0) | Tag with del.icio.us
Tags:google voice, skype
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