Google Voice currently[update] provides free PC-to-phone calling within the United States and Canada, and PC-to-PC voice and video calling worldwide between users of the Google+ Hangouts browser plugin (available for Windows, Intel-based Mac OS X, and Linux).

[14] Voicemails, missed call notifications, and/or text messages can optionally be forwarded to an email account of the user's choice.

A Google Voice local phone number for incoming calls is currently[update] available only for users in the United States.

Incoming calls to the number may ring simultaneously any of the user's configured phones or the account's Google Talk feature.

[7] As of August 2011, users in many other countries also may place outbound calls from the web-based application to domestic and international phone numbers.

GrandCentral, founded in 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet with funding by Minor Ventures, was acquired by Google on July 2, 2007, for US$95 million in a transaction led by Wesley Chan.

[7] On March 11, 2009, the management of the service revealed that the team had been working on it throughout that period, apparently in secret,[7] and that it was being rebranded "Google Voice".

Google hired a telecom design consultant, Peter Bouchard; he was brought on to make modifications and help relaunch the service.

[25] Google Voice was launched on March 11, 2009, based on GrandCentral, with new features, including voicemail transcriptions and SMS managing.

On July 1, 2009, Google Voice provided the option for users to change their service phone number for a U.S. $10 fee.

[35] Google was reported to be working on a desktop application, though rumors also circulated that the project had been scrapped in favor of a browser-based solution.

Google Voice product manager, Vincent Paquet, confirmed that this function was added through the help of the technology received after the Gizmo5 acquisition.

We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users – for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.

[65] As of 1 June 2010[update] Google had purposely blocked international texts, with the intention of reintroducing the service once billing systems are in place.

[69] This is possible with the help of a voice and video chat plugin for web browsers to connect to cameras, microphones, and speakers installed in the computer.

[73] However, it has been reported that at one time some users could receive calls with their Google Voice accounts via the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

[74] Hardware manufacturers such as Obihai Technology have created devices that enable the home user to use conventional wired telephone(s) to place and receive calls over their broadband connection through Google Voice, as well as other service providers.

[76][77] Obihai initially recommended its users to switch to rival providers[78] but returned with official Google Voice support for its hardware analog telephone adapters on September 11, 2014.

[79] Software manufacturers offer applications, such as PCPhoneSoft.com's "GVJack" App that converts magicJack dongles to use Google Voice.

[80] The GVJackApp for magicJack and the GVMate Phone Adapter are signalling independent and continued to work (using Google Hangouts) after support for XMPP was terminated.

[82] Users who want calls to be picked up by their home, work, or mobile phone voicemail systems or answering machines must turn off call screening in Google Voice and make sure that their phone's voicemail systems or answering machines pick up within 25 seconds.

[83] AT&T petitioned the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)[84] to require Google (as it requires POTS providers) to allow calls to high-cost destinations, typically rural independent telephone companies with wholesale prices up to ten times above the national average.

[85][86] Google Voice requires an existing "real" [non-VOIP] phone number and a generated PIN to register.

However, many users simply employ one of numerous text verification websites to supply temporary "real" numbers.