Google’s new VoIP service has launched with a bang, with a million free calls within the first 24 hours of servicve.
Google plans to keep the voice service free for the time being, at least until the end of the year–in keeping with the true dotcom sensibility of “give it to me free!”. Mind you, I’m not disparaging “free”–if they’re offering, I’m taking. I have recently discovered Skype as a means of talking for free to overseas clients, and I love it. But like the guy in the droopy pants that hangs out on the streetcorner a few blocks from my house, they only offer it for free until you’re hooked. It’s a solid business model, whether it’s carried out on the streetcorner or in the boardroom.
But the big question is what will Google VoIP do to compete with Skype, especially if the rumors are true and Skype will be bought out by Cisco? Google is the 800-pound gorilla of the Internet, but Cisco can hold its own–and a Cisco-Skype consortium would be a formidable competitor even to Google. The result can only be some very serious competition on both services and price–and when that happens, we all win.