Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Google Fiber Now Has a Landline Phone Service in Its Fight Against Telcos

A Google Voice for fly-over country.

d13 / Shutterstock

Many of us on the coasts (and many of us snake people) have largely ditched landlines. But plenty of people in middle America have not.

And middle America is where Google Fiber — the broadband, cable and now phone business — is and would like to grow. On Tuesday, the Alphabet unit introduced its first landline service, called Fiber Phone, a $10-a-month unlimited calling option that Fiber’s gigabit Internet subscribers can tack onto their bill. It’s akin to Google Voice, the more or less dormant voicemail service within the search giant; Fiber Phone transcribes voicemails and can be set to ring your mobile phone when you’re out.

The move is further evidence that Fiber is gunning to steal market share from big telecom players like AT&T, which tend to package landline services with cable and broadband. While Fiber hasn’t shared its subscriber numbers, its broadband business is likely outpacing its pay TV rate. And the unit has plans to break ground in at least nine new markets this year.

The Washington Post first reported that Fiber was planning to bundle phone services in January.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel