Google reportedly is searching for a "strategic negotiator" to help it partner with a telecom firm. More than likely, Google's entry would be in the residential area, as opposed to corporate or enterprise service.

Google did not respond to request for comment in time for publication.

VoIP, or voice over Internet Protocol, is gaining in popularity among both consumers and enterprises as the technology improves. Indeed, incumbent telecom vendors are finding themselves facing stiff competition from players like Google -- companies that not so long ago they never would have considered competition. Demand is growing, though, because the IP-based technology promises boosted features at a lower cost than current carriers offer.

From Comcast to Kazaa

The most recent established vendor to enter the market is Comcast, which announced plans to roll out IP-based service nationally over the next year and a half. Comcast hopes to sign up 8 million customers over the next five years for its VoIP service. By mid-2006, it says, it will have made VoIP available to all of its 21 million customers.

Some of the newer entrants include Internet service providers, such as AOL, which is considering the technology as an new source of revenue for its existing customer base, and the peer-to-peer company Kazaa. Kazaa recently partnered with the best-of-breed VoIP provider Skype.

Driving Revenue

The distinguishing factor among these new players is their revenue model and, of course, level of investment. Many of these newer players view VoIP merely as a source of additional revenue.

Google, for example, is believed to be considering a VoIP-related partnership in order to provide click-to-dial capability as part of its search engine for paid advertisers. Meanwhile, the best-of-breed vendors, such as Skype, now are targeting corporate markets. "It was inevitable that they do this," Frost & Sullivan program director Jon Arnold told NewsFactor. "They are discovering that this is where a lot of the usage takes place."

These firms will be competing with the incumbent carriers that also are moving -- reluctantly, in some cases -- to provide IP-based service. Then there are the cable providers, which now are considered almost mainstream players in the telecom space; indeed, bundling services together has become a common growth -– if not survival -– strategy.

Comcast will be investing significantly in its VoIP service, which will include call forwarding, three-way calling, call-waiting, caller identification, speed dialing and the ability to check voice mail over the Internet.