The internet search behemoth, Google Inc. has reported acquired the internet telephony company, Gizmo5 and is all set to give a stiff competition to current players in the field of over the net calling, such as Skype etc. Gizmo5 has been bought by Google for an astounding $30 million and not surprisingly, the telephony company is based on the open source protocols.

The idea behind the acquisition is to use the Gizmo5 desktop client as a medium for Google to further enhance the capabilities of Google Voice service, which a free calling service, that also provides the users with a dedicated Google number, to which all the landlines and cell phone calls can be diverted. The founder of Gizmo5, Michael Robertson is expected to be on the advisory panel of Google Voice.

According to Andy Abramson (VoIP expert),

“Google is now the the uncommon carrier. All of a sudden you have something that offers more than Skype. But now you can do everything with Google and pay nothing and have a platform where engineers can build new things.”

Before the acquisition by Google, Gizmo5 used to charge the users a meager amount of $6 a month for subscription, that entitled the users to 300 minutes of calling time for any numbers across the United States and unlimited incoming calls on their computers.

Via CNN.