VoiceOne has entered into an agreement with Google and has already been providing services to it, Shawn Lewis, chief technology officer of VoiceOne parent VoIP Inc, said in an interview. Lewis said he believes that the contract expires in two years and that he could not provide further details because of a nondisclosure agreement.
A Google representative said she would look into the matter but did not provide any immediate information.
According to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, VoiceOne entered into a master service agreement on 1 September, 2005, to supply Google with voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, services.
The two companies have entered into a peering relationship, under which their IP networks will exchange traffic, Lewis said.
VoiceOne services enable companies to offer their customers Internet-routed phone calls, which are much cheaper than calls made over traditional telephone lines. VoIP Inc's customers include Broadwing Communications and Pac-West Telecomm.
Google announced Google Talk, its voice-enabled instant-messaging service, in late August.
VoIP is a hot emerging field. Google rivals Yahoo, Microsoft and America Online all offer voice-enabled chat as part of their instant-messaging services. Skype, acquired last year by eBay, was a pioneer in the area.
Meanwhile, Rates Technology Inc, or RTI, sued Google in October, alleging that technology in Google Talk infringes on its patents.
