He noted that in the UK Carphone Warehouse is taking market share from the traditional players - and they are a consumer electronics company.
Reznik asks: "Are telcos ready to put their legacy and heritage competencies into someone else's hands and reinvent themselves as a brand company?"
Low said that raises the key issue of what is the future of a telco? "You can be a full-service player with quad-play or you can be a dumb-pipe provider. Given the open nature of the internet, the telco will have to work very hard to if they push to be quad-play provider, because they will be dealing with world-class players, like the Googles of the world."
SingTel EVP for consumer Yuen Kuan Moon agrees that is a view many consultants are pushing, but noted that one part missing in the full-service vs dumb pipe argument is telco's relationship with the end-user.
"It's not just about the brand, it's also about trust and being able to rely on the service. We all use Google, but how many of us have a relationship with Google in the sense that we can contact them when something goes wrong?"
He questioned whether using the new open access infrastructure Google, Microsoft or any of the internet players would be able "conquer the world by establishing relationships with everyone, everywhere. Is there another model for them to engage individuals?"
Nexwave Telecoms managing director Steven Ng warned everyone not to underestimate Google. "The relationship with consumers is being built today, and their financial aggression is amazing. What they've done the US is clearly a threat to all telcos. What's preventing them from going into other regions are all these [regulartory] regimes, where you still have things like the PSTN."
Ng reckons that broadband is a full replacement of the PSTN, but the PSTN is kept artificially because you want to keep it as long as you can since the infrastructure is there.
"What Google is prepared to do, understanding the evolution of VoIP circumventing the PSTN, is to provide everyone with a 3-series number. So today there's no stopping someone like them from saying, 'I've got this PSTN network, let me put in a multimedia device in every household that bypasses the PSTN'. So suddenly the users can give up all their numbers, which are replaced by a single IP number that can connect to your email and all the other innovative services."
SPH's Low said the FCC's current stance on network neutrality is fascinating because any new regulations on open access will have a major impact on how telecom services will evolve over the next few years.
Looking at the business case for Google moving forward, StarHub's Chan said its ad revenue have been funding their product innovation. "One day in two or three years, it just takes another company like Google coming along and they won't have funding to support all their indicatives."