The normally staid London Times is, rather assertively, picking up on a rumor that Google is getting into the broadband and VOIP game. How assertive? The story in tomorrow's edition leads:
Google revolutionised the internet. Now it is hoping to do the same with our phones.
The company behind the US-based internet search engine looks set to launch a free telephone service that links users via a broadband internet connection using a headset and home computer.
Forms of the chatter has been floating around since Light Reading ran this piece on January 6 that picked up on a job posting supposedly from Google that says:
Google is looking for a Strategic Negotiator for Global Infrastructure. The duties such an individual would take on include: "Identification, selection, and negotiation of dark fiber contracts both in metropolitan areas and over long distances as part of development of a global backbone network; contracts and negotiation for managed metropolitan services and long haul wavelength services to fulfill capacity and redundancy requirements in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe."
John Battelle probably follows Google as close as anyone from his Searchblog, said last week that he thinks that Google just is looking to buy a lot of bandwidth and better manage the company's relationships with service providers.
We'll see. Maybe this will all be clarified this week when many of Google's leaders will be at the annual Davos World Economic Forum conference.
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