Google's Latest Telephony Play

Talk is cheap, they used to say. No more. Now, it's virtually free.

Telephony service, for both voice and video, is increasingly becoming yet another service the Internet offers for free, the way it now does search and e-mail. The latest evidence for this trend is Google's ( GOOG - news - people ) $68.2 million purchase on Tuesday of Global IP Solutions, which is based in Norway and which makes technology that allows for Web-based teleconferencing and other services.

This is just the latest in a number of purchases Google has made that will enable it to add telephone-style services as part of its suite of products, both for homes and businesses. It already has Google Voice, which makes it easy to manage where your phone calls are being routed. The company doesn't yet provide actual telephone service, like a mobile carrier such as Verizon Wireless ( VZ - news - people ) or an old-fashioned phone company like AT&T ( T - news - people ), but that is expected some time soon.

Of course, when Google does something, other companies, notably Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ) and Apple ( AAPL - news - people ), tend to follow. Both companies are busy building big Google-style data centers, stuffed with row after row of PCs. This competition, in turn, puts pressure on smaller companies like Skype, which are trying to build a business around Internet-based telephony. And, of course, it's deadly for the phone companies with a legacy business providing traditional landlines.

People complain a lot about the new style of making phone calls, especially the spotty quality of many mobile and Internet calls. You don't hear many complaints about price, though, and thanks to moves like Google's today, you'll hear even fewer in the future.

To read more of Lee Gomes' stories, click here. Contact the writer at lgomes@forbes.com.

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