diff --git a/lib/vagrant/machine.rb b/lib/vagrant/machine.rb
index 19de0cd2c..70498bf56 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/machine.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/machine.rb
@@ -107,9 +107,20 @@ module Vagrant
     #
     # @return [Object]
     def communicate
-      # For now, we always return SSH. In the future, we'll abstract
-      # this and allow plugins to define new methods of communication.
+      if !@communicator
+        # For now, we always return SSH. In the future, we'll abstract
+        # this and allow plugins to define new methods of communication.
+        Vagrant.plugin("1").registered.each do |plugin|
+          klass = plugin.communicator[:ssh]
+          if klass
+            # This plugin has the SSH communicator, use it.
+            @communicator = klass.new(self)
+            break
+          end
+        end
+      end
 
+      @communicator
     end
 
     # This sets the unique ID associated with this machine. This will
diff --git a/plugins/communicators/ssh/communicator.rb b/plugins/communicators/ssh/communicator.rb
index 1065168a5..a66ee3a33 100644
--- a/plugins/communicators/ssh/communicator.rb
+++ b/plugins/communicators/ssh/communicator.rb
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ module VagrantPlugins
   module CommunicatorSSH
     # This class provides communication with the VM via SSH.
     class Communicator < Vagrant.plugin("1", :communicator)
-      include Util::ANSIEscapeCodeRemover
-      include Util::Retryable
+      include Vagrant::Util::ANSIEscapeCodeRemover
+      include Vagrant::Util::Retryable
 
       def self.match?(machine)
         # All machines are currently expected to have SSH.
diff --git a/test/unit/vagrant/machine_test.rb b/test/unit/vagrant/machine_test.rb
index 34adb75b5..eaf33ba2d 100644
--- a/test/unit/vagrant/machine_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/vagrant/machine_test.rb
@@ -170,6 +170,17 @@ describe Vagrant::Machine do
     end
   end
 
+  describe "communicator" do
+    it "should always return the SSH communicator" do
+      instance.communicate.should be_kind_of(VagrantPlugins::CommunicatorSSH::Communicator)
+    end
+
+    it "should memoize the result" do
+      obj = instance.communicate
+      instance.communicate.should eql(obj)
+    end
+  end
+
   describe "setting the ID" do
     it "should not have an ID by default" do
       instance.id.should be_nil