VoIP Now: Google and VoIP: The Story So Far

February 15, 2007

Google and VoIP: The Story So Far

Most fairy tales end with the trite and magical, "…and they lived happily ever after." But the story behind Google and its VoIP service, Google Talk Beta, isn't a fairy tale. It's more like a whodunit, where the plot is shrouded in a "dark and stormy night." So put on your sleuth gear and join me if you dare as I lead you into Google and its VoIP mystery thus far...

How It All Began

Up to recent memory, it was almost impossible to separate Google Talk Beta from Google's free Web mail service, Gmail. When Google Talk first appeared on 23 August 2005, no one could touch that app unless that person used a by-invitation-only Gmail account. It was as though Gmail had spawned a wannabe VoIP that was non-threatening yet slightly snobby.

But Google Talk is a Beta, and limited usage was probably a wise move by Google in the beginning. Since that time, Google decided to expand Google Talk's coverage by opening Gmail to mobile phone users. Additionally, as recently as 7 February 2007, Gmail was made available in an open invitation to users across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Brazil, Australia, Russia and Japan.

Now, with few if any usability issues in sight in the Google Talk Beta version, anyone can sign up for Google Talk. Gmail accounts are no longer a prerequisite, but Google didn't open Google Talk's doors totally to the global surfing public. Chat histories and mail notifications will only work if you sign into Google Talk with a Gmail account.

Don't let appearances deceive you…despite this new "openness," Google Talk Beta has raised eyebrows as well as suspicions recently. According to VoIP News, it appears that Google Talk's creators are up to something much more disruptive than the creation of a mere instant messenger service.

Google Talk Defined

Google Talk Beta seems innocuous enough, as the 1.5 MB instant-messenger download for Windows Vista, XP or 2000 offers clutter-free text, voice messaging, and rudimentary customization options. It resembles AIM's Pro 1.1, because both communication tools are free downloads, they're both integrated with email services, they both contain text-, voice- and video-calling, and neither tool allows you to call out to PSTN phones. So Google Talk definitely isn't Skype in that sense. Finally, although Google Talk ignores Mac users in its downloads, the Beta still can be utilized with Apple's iChat, or Gaim, Psi, or Adium for the Mac, because it's a Jabber-compatible client (Trillian users can also log in).

Google Talk also comes without ads and it's pop-up-free, attributes that allow this app to work silently in the background. Unless, of course, you're tied into Gmail. Then, you don't need the Gmail notifier, because Google Talk will inform you when you have calls or mail. As PC World put it, "Going from the likes of Yahoo Messenger to Google Talk is a bit like going from a noisy consumer electronics superstore to a quiet boutique up a side street." That statement alone might make one wonder where Google Talk's future lurks, let alone the actual download.

Here's VoIP Now's rundown on how Google Talk has changed since its introduction:

23 August 2005 - Tom Keating reported that the new Google IM client would feature a VoIP service and implement Jabber messaging technology. He speculated that this could be a Skype killer if Google could use "P2P SIP to traverse through NAT firewalls."
30 November 2005 - Google begins a process of testing a click-to-call feature for Adwords, another Google app.
4 December 2005 - Google sets up a blog to begin discussion about VoIP applications. The first post on the blog is by Mike Jazaveri. He talked about the formal documentation process for the voice signaling extensions to the XMPP.
25 December 2005 - Google extends its VoIP involvement with Jingle, a recent specification for voice deployment using the XMPP protocol by Jabber.
28 January 2006 - Within a month, Google absorbed Jingle specifications and called it "Libjingle," or a mix of Gaim and Google telephony.
29 August 2006 - Google did a deal with eBay (Skype's parent company) that involved interoperability between Google Talk and Skype as well as "click-to-call" functionality. Commerce sites could display a "call" button that, when clicked by a site visitor, would initiate a call to an eBay merchant or Google advertiser, using either Skype or Google Talk. Further interoperability between Skype and Google Talk this year included the addition of the Festoon Unity video bridge.
9 November 2006 - Google Talk added offline messages, a process that worked across the board with other open clients. If the recipient for your message is offline, when he logs back in he'll receive your message.
17 November 2006 - The Google Map click-to-call service was finalized. But, since Google Talk can't dial a number, you enter your phone number into an available form field on the map result, and a call is initiated. Google's service rings up the business and then rings you.
26 December 2006 - one year after playing with Jingle, whispers began to circulate about a Google Phone, a product that would be produced from a tryst between Google and France Telecom's Orange.

That same December 2006, Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager of Google's enterprise division, told InternetNews.com that Google Talk will be "beefed up" in 2007 to "integrate with traditional phone systems as well as VoIP offerings from other vendors." Perhaps the rumor about Orange was true...

Google has more up its sleeve than Girouard admits, as it has already has formed known alliances over the past two years outside the Google realm. Integrations with Talqer, Skype, eBay, and Gaim represent just a glimpse into Google Talk's current buddy list. Since some of those partnerings seemed impossible a mere two years ago, the sky's the limit on which "traditional phone systems" might rub noses with Google Talk.

But the mysterious part to this story isn't the fact that Google Talk has made - and will continue to make - allies among seeming competitors. When the question, "What new features are you working on?" is put to Google about its VoIP progress on its Google Talk FAQ page, it's met with with a less-than-transparent answer: "We could tell you, but then you'd have to promise to not talk about it..." Although Google quickly states that this answer is a joke, that response shuts the door on any light that might be shed with corporate transparency.

Beyond Integration

From the beginning, Google has sought to compete against Microsoft, and its app development over the last few years has shown that Google has, indeed, placed itself in a competitive role. One glance at the "more options" link in a Google page search leaves the viewer boggled over the reach that Google has developed. Although users have flocked to Google with nary a peep about usability problems with any specific app, Google has stirred controversy nonetheless with its reach. Google Talk is no exception.

The Open Source fiasco with Google and Gaim in November 2005, for instance, led Internet pundits to wonder how far Google would go to pave a path for Google Talk. A mere month later, Google was charged with infringement when Rates Technology Inc.alleged that Google has been using its technology illegally for billing users of its IP telephony services. And while Google seemed to focus on other app expansions during 2006, Google Talk wasn't idling on the sidelines.

In that same InternetNews.com article that featured Dave Girouard, Forrester analyst Charlene Li "predicted" that Google will make digitized voice files searchable, "thus increasing the sources of information that enterprise users can search, store and capture." If you remove the quotes from the word, "predicted," and replace that word with "stated," the future becomes more apparent.

Li's statement, not Girouard's declaration, is the real clue to this story. Google Talk might represent a front to an entirely different application, one that could interest international governments as well as the small businessman on the street.

Outside the political ramifications, how does the ability to store digital voice files and make them searchable affect consumers and businesses?

Plus for consumers: The capability to tap in to previous conversations could prove a major boon to consumers who would want to verify their purchases.
Minus for consumers: Consumer information would be exposed to the business and open to theft from hackers.
Plus for businesses: Businesses would have access to an incredible tool that could capture consumer information.
Minus for businesses: The business could be exposed to problems with state or federal wiretap laws, with additional trouble from prosececutors who obtain warrants for Google's voice recordings.

Google is powerful enough now to convince the FCC that VoIP is ready for regulation. But can they convince a Democratic Congress, especially if that Conrgress may change face in two years with the next Presidential election? That's one question among many where the answers could change telecomm history.

What's Next?

Google Talk could make the cell-service provider’s role and rate-setting power shrink dramatically in a world of interoperable IM clients with further partnerships and capabilities, especially if it partners with a strong PTSN and even moreso if digital files are made available and searchable. Never mind Google's participation in the Net-neutrality debate. That battle about big phone and cable companies’ efforts to give preferential treatment to certain data streams while potentially limiting others may just be a ruse for further control over both the PTSN and VoIP realms.

If the stories are true, Google has leased enough quantities of "dark" fiber (fiber-optic cable that's already been laid, but is not yet in use) over the past two years to play telephony tag to the moon and back. That story began in January 2005 with CNet News, it was picked up two years later by I, Cringely, and it was picked up again by Slashdot this past January. Either this 'news' is an annual ruse or Google wants to hedge future fiber use costs. When a lack of transparency shrouds the issue, there's no telling what Google has planned for its VoIP future.

But, rest assured, Google make a splash no matter where it lands. And, it will try to appear 'cute' rather than overtly powerful in the process. That logo that graphically changes to help its viewers celebrate holidays and special events on the Google search page provides just one example of Google's ability for disguise.

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February 15, 2007 in Google | Permalink