Vonage "the dog"

[NATHAN LLOYD]

Is Cramer being cruel to this one or what? I'm afraid the CEO of Vonage might start calling the show threatening him.

[computeraces]

He still has a bad taste in his mouth from Sealy - ZZ.

[Pinguin]

I sure am glad I didn't buy into that IPO ... that would truly hurt

[David411]

wouldn't it make sense to pick vonage up in a month or so after it's come down, I mean it had a bad IPO but its still a great company that will more than likely report good earnings at least until comcast or verizon takes over the VOIP

[Hanger]

I thought I read somewhere that Vonage hasn't had a profitable quarter yet. Can probably get it cheap, but with the big market companies getting into VOIP, I don't think Vonage will really be able to compete. Probably end up being like SUNW and LU, bouncing around 2.50-5.00

Just my opinion.

[aiki14]

I thought I read somewhere that Vonage hasn't had a profitable quarter yet. Can probably get it cheap, but with the big market companies getting into VOIP, I don't think Vonage will really be able to compete. Probably end up being like SUNW and LU, bouncing around 2.50-5.00

Just my opinion.

I couldn't agree more. When the big guys move in with any force Vonage will go from dog to bug.

[MMJC]

Wasn't there an interview with a Vonage huncho on the old Kudlow and Cramer show several months a go, where Cramer saw VOIP as the wave of the future and that Vonage would take business away from companies like Verizon? They called it the wave of the future, creative destruction,etc.

I couldn't understand how Vontage would make money, since you need broadband:DSL or cable to use Vonage.

Interesting Vonage advertises on CNBC......

Anybody recall the episode ???

[Stas1976]

What is written bellow is my opinion only:
There is such service as skype (http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html). It belongs to ebay. It does not have a monthly contract and you can use it to make international and local calls for very little price. You also can register an incomming number and if you want you can buy a phone. So it costs much less then Vonage, more popular overseas and aslo much more convinent. Skype is a main competitor for the Vonage. And I think Vonage could not stay in this competition. Comcast and Verizon are loosers in this market - they are not a problem to Vonage.

[Hanger]

Lets see whats happens to skype with the lawsuit over patent violation.....could be a hit to Ebay/Skype.

I however feel that Comcast/Verizon will not be losers in this market-they offer the broadband internet service, so unlike Vonage, dont have to pay for access charges of the wiring. Less overhead right there, and that is with a subscription base of 0.

I see a double profit for Comcast/Verizon for VOIP, charge for broadband and phone, for the same line coming from your house to the same router to the same amplifier to a different router to a new switchboard.. to the world....dang, this really does sound like a great buying opportunity for these two as this seems like pure profit........

[Stas1976]

I see a double profit for Comcast/Verizon for VOIP, charge for broadband and phone, for the same line coming from your house to the same router to the same amplifier to a different router to a new switchboard.. to the world....dang, this really does sound like a great buying opportunity for these two as this seems like pure profit........

You missed one great point - Skype2Skype is free. My wife is working abroad. I saved a fortune speaking with her by skype not by the regular phone line. At the same time I paid to the skype a lot of money to make calls to my mom and dad who are living in Belarus. I know this business pretty well cause sometime I paid more then $1K a month for phone bills what may sound unrealistic

[Mad Girl Investor]

Verizon accuses Internet phone carrier Vonage of VoIP patent infringement
6/19/2006 1:00:28 PM

By JEFFREY GOLD
AP Business Writer

Verizon Communications Inc. has charged that Internet phone carrier Vonage Holdings Corp. violated patent rights that Verizon has on technology for making phone calls over the Internet.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia, on behalf of subsidiaries Verizon Services Corp., of Arlington, Virginia, and Verizon Laboratories Inc., of Waltham, Massachusetts.

Vonage, which said Monday it had been sued, contested the claim. ''Vonage believes that its services have been developed with its own proprietary technology and technology licensed from third parties and intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit,'' the company said in a statement.

[NATHAN LLOYD]

If you have a high speed internet connection, you can use AIM/Yahoo IM to talk over the internet. You can even use cameras to see each other. All you need is speakers and a microphone. My brother has played games online and had conversations with multiple people using Yahoo IM for free.

How can Vonage convince people to pay for this?

[Hanger]

Ahh ok I have a far-fetched question now, hopefully will spark some interesting conversation...

When the federal government is successful in creating multiple tiers of broadband internet varied by speed/cost/designation of usage, which level will the phone service run on? With this theory, you as a residential customer recieves the slow/smaller service in terms of MB's of transfer. At what point can they divide it up too much to really keep people away from VOIP due to the lack of practicality. I don't believe they would designate the phone as a separate level, simply because of the confusion I think it would create within support/engineering teams.
This is a point I could see to be very valid in trying to determine which service wins VOIP long term if any at all.

Vonage/Skype-Smaller companies compared to Comcast/Verizon, therefore less lobbists, so more support/sticky palms to regulators/lawmakers to get their service on the faster tier...perhaps see a 1-3second delay through Vonage on the lower, slower tier...

Hmmm thoughts?

[Svenwulf]

I am a very happy and satisfied Vonage customer. Before you think i am a sucker for the wacky advertising, don't mistake this as endorsing the stock, or even the viability of the company. I pay 27.87/month after all taxes and fees, not including my high speed cost. I get unlimited local/long distance, even a lot of overseas (not my thing) I get all the bells and whistles of a premier phone service (call waiting, caller id, voicemail, free 3-way, blah blah blah) I get an additional 'virtual' phone number in an area code of my choosing to allow others to call me long distance on the cheap. I get instant online access to my LUDS if i was a snooping kinda guy. And i get it all for less than half what i was paying Ma Bell for the land line (50-70/month after fees/taxes). I live in a metro area with lotsa area codes. My work, 10 miles away, was a toll call! Skype and yahoo are only good for calling other PCs/subscribers to my knowledge, so not really a replacement for the land line. Many of my friends have gone over to just a cell phone, but i leave my phone at work, so Vonage is great for the house. I looked at packet 8 and several options, and have to say the customer service at vonage is what sold me, absolutely great- like they actually knew i had a choice about it! I know the fees for high speed are tempting to add into the cost of vonage, but in my situation, and most broadband folks, i would buy the highspeed service anyhow. It comes out of the work or entertainment budget. Finally, as a comcast broadband customer, i thought signing up for their (comcast's) service would make more sense. But they want more money (35 in my area) and have that wonderful cable company attitude. So Vonage might have trouble getting 911 to my house, and be mired in technology disputes, just means they are that much more anxious to keep me as a customer. I do see me needing to get a new phone company in near a year however, as much as i like them.

[pmb1010]

I 2nd the post just above, in regards to Vonage.

If I used Skype or the like, I'd need to have a computer hookup in order to send/receive calls.

With Vonage, the *wife can simply pick up the phone handset she's used for years and years* with no muss, fuss and get a dial tone. Although she knows how to use a computer, the thought of having to integrate that into voice communictations in my home is unrealistic.

I like the service, the costs are 1/2, or less - what I paid for Local and LD. The call forwarding, wait, ID are all plusses.

I think the competition going forward will be the local carriers, AT&T and Verizion with their FIOS optical type service.

YMMV

[Mad Girl Investor]

I too am looking into switching over to VOIP to save money. Does anyone know of any other than Vonage? Id like to use it to compare prices, services features vs VG? Thanks everyone for the useful info!

[Stas1976]

I 2nd the post just above, in regards to Vonage.

If I used Skype or the like, I'd need to have a computer hookup in order to send/receive calls.


You can also buy a skype phone and use it the same way as you used vonage phone. (http://us.accessories.skype.com/direct/skypeusa/accessoriesList.jsp?acctype=8)

[NATHAN LLOYD]

I guess I'm from the newer generation, but I haven't used anything but a cell phone in 4 years. I call everyone I know on VZ & they own VZ, so I haven't paid long distance in a few years.

[madcowdisease]

I guess I'm from the newer generation, but I haven't used anything but a cell phone in 4 years. I call everyone I know on VZ & they own VZ, so I haven't paid long distance in a few years.

Same here. Primary phone is a cellular. It's been this way since 1999. I've been with the same co. the whole time and have been late no more than once on my bills. So, for my patronage they upgraded me to unlimited everything (roaming, longdistance, minutes, texts, internet) a year and a half ago for ~$58.

Needless to say I'm not switching providers anytime soon.

[pmb1010]

You can also buy a skype phone and use it the same way as you used vonage phone. (http://us.accessories.skype.com/direct/skypeusa/accessoriesList.jsp?acctype=8)

interesting, didnt know about this.

Outbound seems to be no brainer, how does it handle incoming?
Do they provide a phone number, or is it only thru BuddyLists?

[Stas1976]

interesting, didnt know about this.

Outbound seems to be no brainer, how does it handle incoming?
Do they provide a phone number, or is it only thru BuddyLists?

Skype offers varity of the phone number options. There are selection of US,UK,Germany phone numbers that you can choose to accept incoming calls.

For example I have registred my incoming phone number in Denmark because rate Denmark2Belarus is the lowest. My mom and dad call me to Denmark phone number and skype redirects these calls to my cell phone in USA/New Jersey. It costs 1/3 of the price that my mom would pay if she had called me dirrectly to USA.