Google decided that they needed to add voice to offer a triple-play. So for $10 you can have a landline equivalent. I have a bunch of questions.
One, if you only have 120,000 subscribers*, do you think that not having triple-play was the problem?
Was it harder to rollout fiber to the home than you thought? This article suggests that government regulations, electric companies, ILECs, cable guys and franchise rules with fees, has a lot to do with cities getting FTTH or not.
"Laying down high-speed fiber is expensive. Digging trenches in the ground and stringing cables along utility poles is expensive. Getting permission to do all that is expensive. But it turns out that all of that is a fraction of the cost of offering TV programming, according to the head of Google Fiber, Milo Medin. And it's a cost Google can't avoid paying. Video "is the single biggest impediment" to Google Fiber's deployment, Medin told an audience at the COMPTEL telecom conference in Dallas in 2014." [source]
Also, Google Fiber had to raise rates for TV in Kansas City AND got rid of its free service there.
Lots of real world troubles for triple-play. (It's why Telco TV will end up being a huge money suck.)
Back to the voice addition, Why choose landline and not Google Fi, the cellular service that Alphabet just opened up to anyone (invites no longer needed)? I often wonder why VZW didn't offer quad play by adding cellular plans with its FiOS bundles, but it may have to do with sticker shock on the bill.
"As for Google Fiber's new phone service, it is like a standard landline, with 911 support, caller ID, and voicemail--which is transcribed and emailed like Google Voice. The service also allows people to have calls automatically forwarded to a cell phone." [time]
Another way to do it is to just do Cloud Phone - Google Voice basically - or to do simul ring or sequential ring. Add SMS to that number as well. The voicemail to text is nice.
Are they shipping an ATA? How will they connect to the cat3 wiring in the house so that the RJ11 phone jacks work? They could have re-invented the landline.
They are getting a boost from the FCC with the new order about to come down on set-top boxes. The smaller providers would be happy to not have to buy, install, RMA set-top boxes. However, it is big revenue for the big guys - $231 per year to rent a box.
Re-invention of this stuff should already be happening.
BTW, Google Fiber, which started in 2012, has 27,000 video subscribers in Greater Kansas City according to this article. This article says "Google ended 2014 with 29,867 video subs " combined. Wikipedia says about 120K broadband subscribers, whichis the same number that The Verge reported.
