I’ve blogged a few times about Google’s telephony potential and it really looks like it’s going to happen. Google has just acquired a company named GrandCentral Communications which provides a considerable number of remarkable features.

Which makes a lot of sense. There’s a huge improvement Google can bring to both ends of the equation by merging all of your phones and voicemail inbox with your gmail inbox, and there’s the less well known Google Talk client that provides instant messaging chat but also provides voice call and voicemail as well. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Gmail, Google Talk, and GrandCentral blend into a audio/textual communication/messaging mashup to unify personal telecommunication scenarios.

Voice mail, email, phone call, voice chat, sms, text, fax, pix, call forwarding, im presence… What’s the difference?

I’ve also read that Google was quietly buying up lengths of dark fiber during the dotcom breakdown. It’s impossible to say how much capacity they own but it’s substantial. The other asset traditional telcoms and cable have would be the last mile and they have a history of using that to their advantage when they’re promoting their telephony solutions. But in between the cable/dsl battle we’re seeing some really interesting metro wifi initiatives, sponsored in certain areas by Google, which could help offset the packet-shaping “quality-of-service” net-neutrality abuse some carriers have been accused of.

In the end I have to say I don’t appreciate the way companies, like Comcast or AT&T for example, have treated the people who use their service. Ten cents to send a small string? Blocking incoming ssh so I can’t admin my equipment remotely? Don’t even get me started about the terms on cellular service contracts and the cost of terminating them. There was an interesting article I read once about companies which have customers that hate them. I forget what the point of it was. I believe it was along the lines of you can either voluntarily change your practices for which you are hated, or you can profit from the situation until an unforeseen alternative presents itself and you’re struggling with retention and dealing with issues you should have been figuring out at least a year ago. Like Blockbuster, or movie theaters.

edit - found it: Companies and the Customers Who Hate Them

So here’s my prediction for 18 months out: I’m going to be paying $30/month for Minneapolis metro wireless and canceling broadband, digital voice, and cellular services. The cost difference will be enough to have wifi mobile voip phones pay for themselves, so with another nominal figure per month to point a real-world phone number my way we’ll have ‘ring everywhere’ features at home and on mobile devices which have no telco plans attached.

I don’t know if Apple and Google will converge on this one, or if they’ll be battling it out, but if they’re getting along well I’m hoping the wifi mobile in question will be an iPhone hosting the Google Talk/GrandCentral client for voip calls, instant messaging, and voice mail access.

But it’s probably too soon for that. Call that one 36 months out because Apple will need a large cellular network for some time until metro wireless grows and the cities arrange some travel-roaming deals. But AT&T really has the tiger by the tail on this one. Yes they have a billion new customers, but that’s *in spite of* the fact AT&T was the iPhone carrier. That is to say the only customer loyalty there is to the iJobs and I’m certain the entire crowd would turn on a dime if Apple arranged another carrier willing to provide the same service for a better rate. Funny. Sort of like collective bargaining. Well, if there was an industry that’s earned it, this would be the one.

Who can say. Maybe in five years the cellular networks will simply be a commodity your communications provider, like Apple and Google, will negotiate with to arrangements with for connectivity outside of wireless hotspots.