Telstra and Google have launched its ‘Voice-activated Calling’ function, which allows the network’s mobile customers to make calls from select Google Home/Nest devices.
With this partnership, Telstra becomes the first mobile carrier in the world to offer outbound calling using Google smart devices’ built-in VoIP functionality.
It’s totally free to set up for Telstra mobile customers and calls are at no additional cost to a customer’s existing mobile plan, though some data charges may apply.
To set up the device:
- Open Google Home app and go to Settings option
- Open Services tab, then Mobile Calling
- Under the Telstra heading, sign in
- Agree to terms and conditions
- Once configured, you will receive a SMS to confirm setup completion
The calls go out over Telstra’s mobile network and displays the caller’s mobile number as the outbound caller ID, so those on the other end will still know who’s calling.
Users will be able to link up to six mobile numbers with Google Voice Match and sync contacts for seamless calling using the speaker.
At this stage, other non-Google smart devices aren’t supported, although this could change moving forward.
The service is exclusive to Telstra customers for the next 12 months, so Optus and Vodafone customers will have to wait a little bit more for a similar service to be implemented in their networks.
