Are Gmail Phone Calls meant to compete with Facebook?

I thought the idea was crazy when I first came across this Wired story in Google Reader. After reading it, I am not so sure. I do appreciate that adding the ability to make and receive phone calls will make you keep a Gmail tab opened all the time, which will be very useful when Google launches their rumored social networking service. It is important to them that they be the nexus of the users' Internet experience and not Facebook.