Google Fiber is gunning for traditional ISPs, and now it's going after landline phone providers, too. Today the company announced its Fiber Phone service, which will offer select Google Fiber subscribers unlimited nationwide calling for $10 a month.
The price is cheaper than comparable VoIP offerings from competitors like Vonage (which charges $25.99 per month) and traditional service providers like AT&T, Verizon, and local telephone companies. In addition to unlimited calling, you also get call waiting, caller ID, access to 911 services, and a voicemail system that can transcribe your messages and send them to you as a text or email.
As for number portability, Google says subscribers will be able to keep their old one or choose a new number, making Fiber Phone an economical way to add a second phone line to a home office.
In addition, you'll be able to configure calls placed to the cloud-based Fiber number to ring on any number of devices. That means your smartphone, tablet, or laptop can pick up calls whenever they are connected to the Internet, even if you're traveling in another country. Rates for international calls will be the same as Google Voice charges.
Google says it will roll out Fiber Phone "in a few areas" to start. More will be added in the coming months, with the goal to eventually offer Fiber phone in all cities where Fiber is available. If you're currently in a Fiber city, you find out when you'll get phone service by signing up to receive updates.
Introducing phone service for its Fiber customers is a logical next step for Google, which has long offered many of the same features in its Google Voice service. The company has also been testing a phone service for Fiber customers via its "Fiber Trusted Tester" program for a few months. Most of the features announced today were part of that beta program.