Is Google lusting after voice?

There's some loose talk going around about how Google is getting ready to compete with telcos, but I'm not sure I'm buying it. Yes, the Google Talk beta is being widely pushed out to Gmail users. Yes, the software is standards-based, though it's the XMPP standard and not SIP. Yes, it works with Asterisk. Yes, Google owns a ton of dark fiber. And it's true that Google execs say they plan to make GTalk more compatible with phone systems and other VoIP offerings. But Google's Master Plan is primarily to organize information; services like Gmail exist to peek at your mail, suss out keywords and sell ads based on those keywords. That's not all that hard to do with IMs, but it's gut-busting tough to parse an audio stream in real time--let alone deliver an ad with it. I just don't know what Google has to gain from getting into VoIP, except as a sideline. And people rely on voice communications too much to want their carrier to be a sideline.

For more information about Google and VoIP:
- read this speculation from VoIP-News

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