In a time when almost everyone has a smartphone and children don’t know what a landline phone is, Google has announced its very own home phone service dubbed Fiber Phone.

This $10 per month phone service, inspired by Google Voice, comes with unlimited nationwide calling and reasonable international rates.

“Landlines can be familiar, reliable and provide high-quality service, but the technology hasn’t always kept up,” says John Shriver-Blake, Google Fiber’s Product Manager, in a blog post pushed out on Tuesday. “That’s why today, we’re introducing Fiber Phone as a new option to help you stay connected wherever you are.”

Shriver-Blake says that Fiber Phone is aimed to bestow users “everything” they want from a home phone service and a lot more.

For the amount of $10 every month, users will have access to unlimited local plus nationwide calling. Its rates for international calls, in the meantime, will be aligned to the same inexpensive rates as Google Voice.

Google’s offering comes packed with a Fiber Phone box that is compatible with the landline phones that already exist in your home. Shriver-Blake says that the handset is not incorporated in the package.

With this home phone service, users will be given the option to keep their old phone number or choose a new one.

Features that come with most traditional home phone services are included. For instance, users are able to use caller ID, 911 services and call waiting. On top of that, Google makes it simpler for users to access their voicemail.  Shriver-Blake says users’ voice messages will be transcribed and then can then be accessed as an email or text.

Fiber Phone, in the meantime, is not the traditional home phone service, as it is cloud-based and enables users to use it on a multitude of devices such as tablets, smartphones or laptops. Moreover, users stay connected regardless of whether they are away from home.

Google is going to offer Fiber Phone “in a few areas to start” though a list is forthcoming.  It is likely, however, that Fiber Phone will initially be pushed out in its present Google Fiber cities, including Atlanta and Charlotte.

This Google’s offering will compete with traditional broadband providers, in the likes of Comcast and AT&T, that are also offering high-speed services.

By Dave Calpito for TechTimes.com