[Myrddin]

Why will Google need telephone companies in the emerging VoIP world?

The telephone companies carry the internet traffic as a common carrier. VoIP is just TCP/IP networking with voice content, but it travels over transmission facilities owned by the telephone companies. VoIP is just taking the directory number switch out of the equation for desktop to desktop voice traffic. If you actually connect to a real telephone with a directory number, the phone company is still delivering traffic to the end user.

[Nathan Zachary]

companies like Rogers aready markets a VoIP system. you don't need a pc, or an xbox just plug it in and go.

[angkor]

If you actually connect to a real telephone with a directory number, the phone company is still delivering traffic to the end user.

VoIP phones *are* real phones. And those with cable broadband and VoIP service are completely off the telephone company grid, e.g., not a trace of Verizon in the house.

In a world of global directories there is no rational reason to marry a VoIP telephone *exclusively* to a numeric address, i.e., 202-555-xxxx