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Is Google Voice a Threat to AT&T?

Is Google Voice a Threat to AT&T?

By DAVID POGUE August 6, 2009

Our story so far:

Chapter 1: Apple creates the iPhone.

Chapter 2: Apple opens the App Store, an online catalog of cheap or free programs that you can download straight to the phone. Programmers all over the world write 70,000 apps for it that perform every amazing feat you can name.

Chapter 3: One of them is Google Voice, a front end for Google's amazing free phone-management system

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Among its many features: it lets you send free text messages and make 2-cent international calls, right from the iPhone.

Chapter 4: Apple mysteriously rejects this eminently useful app, refusing to list it in the App Store.

Then it goes even farther: it actually deletes from the App Store two similar programs called GV Mobile and Voice Central, which have been there for months. That is, Apple changes its mind retroactively - and won't give the developers any logical explanation

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Chapter 5: The blogosphere goes nuts. There's only one possible reason that Apple might delete these apps: because AT&T demanded it.

Why would AT&T care? Because of those free text messages and cheap international calls, of course. If these apps became popular, AT&T's revenue could take a serious hit.

This business has blown up in Apple/AT&T's face. The Federal Communications Commission, in fact, is now sniffing around, sending letters

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to Apple, AT&T and Google, clearly wondering if there's some illegal collusion going on. A few days later, Google's chief executive stepped down from Apple's board; tension is rising.

...

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Reply to
Monty Solomon
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I read the post by Monty in Telecom Digest Volume 28 : Issue 204 RE: Google Voice - Pogue's Posts - The Latest in Technology From David Pogue "Updates to Google Voice"

Being Deaf I was looking forward to using the 'transcription' feature of Google Voice.

It seems that even though I got an invivation to use Google Voice. When I try to use the invitation I get an error

"Google Voice is not available in your country. Thanks for visiting Google Voice. We're not yet open for users outside the US, but are planning to expand our service to additional countries in the future."

Canada is in the same cost zone for VOIP and LD. Google has lots of resources available in Canada including news.google.ca

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etc.

GrandCentral, the company that Google Voice bought, used to work from Canada.

Anyone on the list know what is going on with Google Voice?

Jim

Reply to
jwillis

GV is NOT a VOIP application; a reporter {and several have..} saying so suffers from lack of clue. GV routes calls over PSTN and [depending on the call] may reroute same.

They have chosen to not sign up new Canadian customers. AFAIK, they are allowing existing GC customers to migrate over.

Reply to
David Lesher

The feature is limited to voice mail, not live telephone conversation.

Reply to
Adam H. Kerman

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