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"Google Voice" to be free through 2013



 
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SteveHC
Dan isn't smart enough to hire me


Joined: 26 Dec 2011
Posts: 498
Location: Southwest Florida

PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:09 pm    Post subject: "Google Voice" to be free through 2013 Reply with quote

Google has announced that domestic phone calls placed via its "web-based email client" will continue to be free through 2013. *I* assume that this means that Google Voice will continue to be free for calls between US and/or Canadian numbers regardless of how the service is *actually* accessed by consumers.
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cell14
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Joined: 23 May 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This move has been widely expected. One interesting thing though, Google voice itself has never been mentioned. Wonder what is Google up to.
For the time being, there is another year of free calling for us. Considered, that through my Obihai device I achieve a call quality which equals or even beats a number of paid VOIP providers, this is good news. However, GV is not without certain other flaws which they would have to fix it before ever turning into a paid product.
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SteveHC
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Google is very careful *not* to "market" its VOIP service as a "telephone" service - for regulatory and related financial reasons. This situation helps enable the company to keep it free of charge to consumers, but it is *also* the reason why it cannot and does not offer true North American Numbering Plan phone numbers.
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cell14
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Question
My GV DID's resemble very closely the phone numbers I would have received from PSTN on the same address- including the exchange. More so than from any other VOIP carrier.
Google does not have to pay anything for those phone numbers, apparently they get them for free from CLECs as a part of some complex deal as I was informed.
A year ago, Google promoted Google Voice big time- this year, the name was barely mentioned, no features came by and now they even avoided the name at all. that's what surprises me.
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SteveHC
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Joined: 26 Dec 2011
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am, of course, deliberately over-simplifying the situation regarding "Google Voice" numbers. And the situation's even more complex regarding the "sharing" (so-to-speak) of numbers between Sprint and Google.

I'd say my most important point, though, was regarding Google's deliberatey not promoting - or even referring to - the service as a "phone" service... even to the point of not publicly referring to the service as "Google Voice" and only making mention of its accessibility through Google's "email client." It may sound like merely semantics to consumers, but it is NOT merely semantics to Google, the feds, and state utility regulators. This is, in part, how the service is able to continue to be seen by regulators as a "data service" rather than a "telephone service."

How long the government will allow this type of situation to exist, and how long Google will not charge for access to its "Google Voice" service regardless of how that service is actually accessed by a consumer, is anyone's guess. In the meantime VOIP service providers naturally feel free to exploit regulatory "loopholes" as they see fit and their business models require, and many - including Google - continue to appear willing to accept the need to adhere to service limitations in order to cut costs and avoid "telephone service"- related regulatory entanglements.
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Bill Smith
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is great news. Here is the link to the announcement:

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/free-calling-within-us-and-canada.html
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cell14
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
How long the government will allow this type of situation to exist, and how long Google will not charge for access to its "Google Voice" service regardless of how that service is actually accessed by a consumer, is anyone's guess. In the meantime VOIP service providers naturally feel free to exploit regulatory "loopholes" as they see fit and their business models require, and many - including Google - continue to appear willing to accept the need to adhere to service limitations in order to cut costs and avoid "telephone service"- related regulatory entanglements.

Even full service VOIP companies like Callcentric do not have to collect taxes and apparently they are not even subjected to some of the regulatory requirements.
The character of VOIP makes taxation difficult. The things get worse when you have a nonsensical system like in the U.S., with it's slew of flat fees and taxes imposed by all kinds of authorities in an over decentralized country where every strip of suburbia has it's own expensive city hall.
EU member countries do tax VOIP like any other telecom service by simply charging VAT for residents of EU countries.My mother pays 20% more for hel Localphone account than I do because her CC has a billing address in an EU country.
Off course, how do you tax a free service like Google Voice? I believe that the government has to re think the whole concept of taxation of telecom services and get the revenues elsewhere.
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SteveHC
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cell14 wrote:
The character of VOIP makes taxation difficult... Off course, how do you tax a free service like Google Voice? I believe that the government has to re think the whole concept of taxation of telecom services and get the revenues elsewhere.


- The government (feds/states/municipals) have had absolutely no problem charging and collecting taxes and fees from OOMA, and that's otherwise a "free" service as well... When it comes to VOIP, it seems to have more to do with service delivery design and organizational structures than most anything else.
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LessImpressed
magicJack Apprentice


Joined: 08 Oct 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 7:44 pm    Post subject: "Google Voice" to be free through 2013 Reply with quote

I had the same curiousity as I see above. The announcement is in the GMAIL blog and gas not been cross-linked to the GV blog. May be a little funny business going on there. But it still works free for me and it's 2013.
In re the taxes and fees on VOIP - Magic Jack and NetTalk both charge them. But the fees are percentages and the annual cost is $29.95 for both. One percent of that is about 30 cents. But they do charge all the fees and taxes, even state-imposed ones. Probably, if you live in NYC, Bloomberg gets his, too.
But Biden says that paying taxes is patriotic. Jes' puffs my ol' chest right out to pay that Universal Service Charge that finances all those Obamaphones.
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cell14
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Magic Jack and NetTalk both charge them

Magic jack charges only the FL sales tax to FL residents . Those 4.8% 'regulatory fee' is nothing more than a junk fee charged by MJ.
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conniemadagain
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

obi202 pays for itself again !!!
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mocnarf
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Joined: 18 Dec 2012
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SteveHC wrote:
Google is very careful *not* to "market" its VOIP service as a "telephone" service - for regulatory and related financial reasons. This situation helps enable the company to keep it free of charge to consumers, but it is *also* the reason why it cannot and does not offer true North American Numbering Plan phone numbers.


I don't know what you are talking about... My google phone number has my local area code and can be called by any landline in my county as a local phone number. And they only have to dial the 7 digits. If they are outside of my area code then they have to dial the full 10 digits. Google voice is great in my opinion. I have my google voice number set up to ring all my phones. this works very well for me.
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SteveHC
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Joined: 26 Dec 2011
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mocnarf wrote:
I don't know what you are talking about... My google phone number has my local area code and can be called by any landline in my county as a local phone number. And they only have to dial the 7 digits. If they are outside of my area code then they have to dial the full 10 digits. Google voice is great in my opinion. I have my google voice number set up to ring all my phones. this works very well for me.


- What you describe pertains only to incoming calls; outgoing calls are a totally different story... unless you've set up your account to "share" it with a Sprint wireless number (in which case it's yet again a totally different story). And if you use an Obi device with GV, the story regarding outgoing calls is different yet AGAIN. Trust me, there are some very good reasons why Google *explicitly* states that theirs is NOT a "telephone service."
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dissturbbed
magicJack Apprentice


Joined: 20 Jul 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 2:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SteveHC wrote:
mocnarf wrote:
I don't know what you are talking about... My google phone number has my local area code and can be called by any landline in my county as a local phone number. And they only have to dial the 7 digits. If they are outside of my area code then they have to dial the full 10 digits. Google voice is great in my opinion. I have my google voice number set up to ring all my phones. this works very well for me.


- What you describe pertains only to incoming calls; outgoing calls are a totally different story... unless you've set up your account to "share" it with a Sprint wireless number (in which case it's yet again a totally different story). And if you use an Obi device with GV, the story regarding outgoing calls is different yet AGAIN. Trust me, there are some very good reasons why Google *explicitly* states that theirs is NOT a "telephone service."


Im not sure what you are talking about but my google voice with obi is freaking outstanding. I don't even need a clear internet connection for it to work. I have been using it for a year now and use it daily. I never had a dropped call, the call quality is crystal every time, dont have to dial the ten digit number for locals, very simple to set up, obi device updates itself in the background, and its FREE.
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SteveHC
Dan isn't smart enough to hire me


Joined: 26 Dec 2011
Posts: 498
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

dissturbbed wrote:
SteveHC wrote:
mocnarf wrote:
I don't know what you are talking about... My google phone number has my local area code and can be called by any landline in my county as a local phone number. And they only have to dial the 7 digits. If they are outside of my area code then they have to dial the full 10 digits. Google voice is great in my opinion. I have my google voice number set up to ring all my phones. this works very well for me.


- What you describe pertains only to incoming calls; outgoing calls are a totally different story... unless you've set up your account to "share" it with a Sprint wireless number (in which case it's yet again a totally different story). And if you use an Obi device with GV, the story regarding outgoing calls is different yet AGAIN. Trust me, there are some very good reasons why Google *explicitly* states that theirs is NOT a "telephone service."


Im not sure what you are talking about but my google voice with obi is freaking outstanding. I don't even need a clear internet connection for it to work. I have been using it for a year now and use it daily. I never had a dropped call, the call quality is crystal every time, dont have to dial the ten digit number for locals, very simple to set up, obi device updates itself in the background, and its FREE.


Your post didn't seem to having anything to do with what you quoted me on, but at any rate I'm glad GV via Obihai has beeen working well for you and seems to meet your needs; the same is not true for everyone else who's tried it.
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synchron
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Joined: 15 May 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been using the Obi100 since it became available back in May 2011 and it has worked flawless for me with GV. I still use sipsorcery on the same line to receive Email on all incoming phone calls via SIP. I purchased redpeppers GVJack SW to make use of my old dusty MJ as a backup in case the Obi goes down which I doubt. I have no doubt that GV or my number will ever go away but I agree and hope that GV never becomes a "phone company". Let the big time corporations pay for my Voip service via their ads (which are blocked anyway in Chrome).

Synchron Cool
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