Okay, Rural America, Google Voice is yours. Recall that earlier rural lawmakers and telephone providers complained that Google was blacklisting rural phone numbers for use with Google Voice. Google said these services charged too much for access.
At the time, Google clearly named small phone providers as ones that overcharge — and, in fact, Google blocked the number for the campaign office of U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, the Minnesota Democrat and chair of the House Ag Committee. Google told the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday that it was now blocking calls to fewer than 100 numbers, most used for phone sex services. "We have found that calls to a relatively small number of telephone numbers generate vastly disproportionate costs," Google's FCC letter said.
Google Voice gives people a single number. Calls to that number can be forwarded to other numbers or to voice mail. A call to the Google number, for example, could ring a home, office and cell number at the same time. Information here on this service.