UPDATED 03:11 EDT / MARCH 30 2016

NEWS

Google goes full telco, offers landline phone package to Fiber users

Google, Inc. is now officially a proper telco with the company announcing Tuesday that is was launching a home phone service.

Called Fiber Home, the new service gives anyone with a Basic, Gig, and Gig TV Google Fiber connection access to a landline connection for $10 a month, with the fee including unlimited local and nationwide calling, and the same cheap rates currently offered to Google Voice customers for international calls.

Users are able to keep their existing phone number if they are switching to Fiber, or obtain a new number, and as that number “lives in the cloud” users are able to use it on any phone, tablet or laptop anywhere in the world.

The service supports call waiting, caller ID, and 911 services, and as with Google Voice, Fiber Phone also transcribes voice messages  and can forward them as a text or email message.

“While mobile phones have pushed us toward the future, home phone service is still important to many families,” Google Fiber Product Manager John Shriver-Blake said in a blog post. “Landlines can be familiar, reliable and provide high-quality service, but the technology hasn’t always kept up. That’s why today, we’re introducing Fiber Phone as a new option to help you stay connected wherever you are.”

Logical

Given that Google was already offering internet connections and television packages, the decision to add landline phones to complete a triple play is a logical move.

Although many people don’t bother with landlines in 2016 some people still use them, and given the service is being offered for such a small amount with unlimited nationwide calling, perhaps some people who have sworn off landlines altogether may be tempted by what Google is now offering.

The service itself is not immediately available everywhere Google is offering its Fiber service but is instead being rolled out progressively in various markets.

If you are a Google Fiber customer who is interested in the service, you can receive updates by signing up here.

Image credit: Google.

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