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Google and Time Warner Telecom - VoIP Partners? 52

An anonymous reader wrote to mention a ZDNet blog entry by Garett Rogers, wondering aloud about the relationship between Google and Time Warner Telecom. From the entry: "It is rumored that Google has started testing 'Click-to-Call' which links potential buyers to advertisers via phone, but the third party who provides the communication services is still unknown. Could it be Time Warner Telecom who will be providing VoIP services for Google's Click-to-Call service?" We've previously mentioned the Click-to-Call service.
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Google and Time Warner Telecom - VoIP Partners?

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  • Click To Talk (Score:3, Interesting)

    by matthiasvangorp ( 576254 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @10:36AM (#14113169) Homepage
    If they pull this one, they'll leave the competition in the dust. If they haven't done so already.
    • No-one can compete against Google, they've got billions at their disposal.
      • Re:Click To Talk (Score:5, Insightful)

        by krakelohm ( 830589 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @11:46AM (#14113536)
        "No-one can compete against Google, they've got billions at their disposal."

        No-one can compete against Microsoft, they've got billions at their disposal... right?
        • Really, no-one can. No attempts to compete against Microsoft since Microsoft gained control of the market have succeeded. Only lately have open-source products even come close, but you can't say Microsoft isn't controlling the situation.
          • Sure, companies are doing it all the time, just on a smaller scale. You cannot tell me that Microsoft is not scared of Google on the search/portal side, that Microsoft is not scared of Apple on the OS side, that Microsoft is not scared of Open Office(and its flavors) on the Software side. The only front I see Microsoft not being too worried on is the Home Entertainment side. Really the only place to go from Xbox is up.
    • Re:Click To Talk (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Frankie70 ( 803801 )

        If they pull this one, they'll leave the competition in the dust.



      I don't see what's big technical challenge here?
      Will it take more than one day of coding to code
      a "Click to Call" thingy?

      I vaguely remember somebody doing this during the
      whole dot com days - One of the car insurance
      ads had a "Click To Call", I think it was Geico
      but I am not sure.
  • Google + AIM (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Nadsat ( 652200 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @10:36AM (#14113171) Homepage
    So does this mean Google will merge with AIM? You've got search.
  • More News this week about Click to call and Aol Banners.
    Microsoft missed this one completly.
  • *Groan* (Score:4, Funny)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @10:51AM (#14113246)
    Just what we need... targeted advertisements during our phone calls. Like this one I just found on a google search:

    Bank Robbery
    Products and information about
    Bank Robbery.
    eBay.com
    • Re:*Groan* (Score:4, Funny)

      by meringuoid ( 568297 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @10:59AM (#14113283)
      Seriously, though, at what point do these eBay ads fall foul of false advertising laws?

      Golden Fleece
      Great deals on Golden Fleece
      Shop on eBay and Save!
      www.eBay.com

      Hmm. This guy jason@argo.gr has pretty good feedback...

      • False advertising has to be the least of their legal worries. I was too bashful to click through to view their "Great deals on Dirty Goth Hotties," but I can't imagine that's legal outside of Nevada...

  • by pmike_bauer ( 763028 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @11:04AM (#14113305)
    Slashdot: Gossip for Nerds on blogs that maybe/might/kinda/sorta matters.
  • Yawn (Score:2, Interesting)

    by paulhar ( 652995 )
    Amazingly the advertisers could just put their phone number in the advert...
    and then people who care could pick the phone up and dial it.

    I know it's a bit 80's but at the end of the day click-to-call just means that
    they'll end up calling you, so you'll have to get up and answer the phone anyway.

    Why. Make. Life. Complicated?
    • If you click to call them, they don't have to pay any WATS providers.
    • Why. Make. Life. Complicated?

      They hope you won't think that way, because then they'll have your phone number. Which is good for them, and bad for you.
    • Click to Call gives you way more control than otherwise possible through 800 number.
      For example: you already know which product customer wants. Because you know the context. So no more "For electronics, press or say One, for fish food, press or say Two, for orchids and discontinued flowers, press or say Three". You can similarly omit language preferences. You don't have to use same 800 number with complicated routing (you don't need to lease/buy/use multiple 800 numbers). You can integrate it directly with
  • What about AOL (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jacoplane ( 78110 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @11:07AM (#14113316) Homepage Journal
    I wonder if this has anything to do with Google's potential bid for AOL [com.com]. If AOL goes to Microsoft, Google stands to lose a lot of advertising revenue. So it wouldn't surprise me to hear they're cosying up to Time Warner.
    • Re:What about AOL (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      AOL is NOT Time Warner Telecom. they are completely seperate companies.
  • Temporary measure (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 25, 2005 @11:14AM (#14113363)
    Fits in nicely with the dark fiber piece from a week ago. If Google has 300 portable data centers throughout the country, they can provide local dialtone in almost every area code at no cost. I would imagine that any agreements with Time Warner would be for the sort term. This, combined with Google's SIP peering agreements with Earthlink and others to come deals a significant blow to SkypeOut. Watch out Ebay!
  • by xoip ( 920266 ) on Friday November 25, 2005 @11:16AM (#14113376) Homepage
    The call back technology that is being used has been around for close to a decade. I worked on a product integration with a company out of the UK [netcall.com] a few years back who offered this technology.
  • what rumours?! (Score:2, Informative)

    by thelost ( 808451 )
    erm its not rumoured at all. http://www.google.com/help/faq_clicktocall.html [google.com]
  • by lenulus ( 737004 )
    Honestly, no conrete idea which company they might be partnering w/ but maybe the click to call thing is a hint. Vonage currently offers a feature called Click-2-call [vonage.com] which they have as a registered service mark. They also are the biggest VOIP provider and have a lot of infrastructure in place to support this (not that Time Warner and AOL don't... but ehh...).

    The other possability I could see, which is a strech could be ebay who just recently accquired Skype, they might be a pretty good contender parti
  • Google partnering with Time-Warner? So much for that whole "do no evil" thing.

    Can you tell we have TW cable?

    • by Raypeso ( 851771 )
      Time Warner Inc., Time Warner Cable, and Time Warner Telecom are all different companies.
      • " Time Warner Inc., Time Warner Cable, and Time Warner Telecom are all different companies."

        Can one buy enough stock in one to control the company and direct it down a path that disadvantages either or both of the other two?

  • ...across eBay's bow...
  • Click creates the connection between your telephone and that of the advertiser. After "clicking" -- and entering your telephone number -- your telephone rings and so does that of the advertiser. Maybe there will be VOIP eventually, but not now.

  • Google owns the bandwidth necessary. Google has the intelligence and the foresight as well, if they can, I would strongly believe they could quickly hire in and develop the expertise to handle these services on their own. This service will not cost Google anything other than making use of existing resources, merely in new manners.

    There have been many discussion in reference to them buying up large amounts of dark fiber. (http://news.com.com/Google+wants+dark+fiber/2100 - 1034_3-5537392.html>) And recen
  • "It is rumored that Google has started testing 'Click-to-Call' which links potential buyers to advertisers via phone, but the third party who provides the communication services is still unknown." So... this is going to be inclusive of the gammet of spam/advertising that is so rampant on most websites. I would be one of those that would link Google with, or put the company on the same level as, a company that utilizes popups/spam to build business. Google has gone above and beyond a lot of other search en

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