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Vonage
Service overview
Since first launching VoIP service in the United States in 2001, Vonage (www.vonage.com) has racked up more than one million subscribers and has completed over 1.6 billion VoIP calls as of January 2006. The company offers SIP-based VoIP service to both business and residential customers throughout the U.S.,United States, Canada, U.K.,the United Kingdom, and Mexico. Vonage provides what’s called “stand-alone” VoIP service, meaning customers must already have broadband access from another provider.
Service packages
Vonage’s biggest drawclaim to fame is cheap phone service. They offer both residential and small business packages. TheirThe residential unlimited plan is $24.99. It includes: unlimited
Residential customers can pay extra for an additional fax line or 800-number. 800-number;
Their Vonage's small business unlimited plan is $49.99 a month. It offers the same basic featuresfeature set as the residential,residential plan, but also includes a dedicated fax line. Vonage offers low cost plans with limiteda monthlylower-cost usage;tier theseof plans arefor both $14.99residential and $39.99business forcustomers residentialbased andon businesslimited usemonthly respectively.usage.
Target markets
Vonage targets the residential/SOHO (small office/home office) market. For the most part, customers are not especially techtech-savvy savvy and are attracted by lowthe promise of costlow-cost phone service. After signing up for service, customers are shipped a small VoIP gateway (or ATA, link to article)ATA) within a few days. Installation is simplified as much as possible, and is essentially plug and play (provided you don’t have too complicated a setup). With the gateway, you can connect your regular telephone to the internet. Internet.
Industry profile
Vonage has pumped large amounts of money into marketing and advertising campaigns. In 2005, they spent 220 million on internetInternet banner ads alone (that’s 71% more than last year’s top advertiseradvertiser, according to Nielson/NetRatings). The company spends about $200 for every new subscriber. Company CEO Jeffrey Citron has a bold vision, isn’t afraid of risks, and can raise money. In May 2005, Vonage received $200 million in venture funding—which happenedfunding to— berepresenting the largest single funding in telecommunications since 2000.
TheirVonage's advertisingaggressive dollarsad buys have paid off thus far. Vonage boasts the highest market share for North American residential/SOHO VoIP subscribers. According to a Infonetics report, Vonage leads the way with 39%; Time Warner holds 25% and Cablevision has 19%.
However, many industry analysts are skeptical about how much longer Vonage will continue to enjoy thisthe lead-dog position. Their market share dropped from 36% in Q1 2005 to 32% in Q2 2005. And their Q2 share (36%) was actually their lowest share in nine months. Vonage was early to market, but now must compete with larger cable and phone companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner. Another major factor is that Vonage is a “single play” provider; they offer only VoIP service, whereas cable companies can offer bundled packages including data, voice, and video.video services.
But the organization isn’t relying on marketing dollars alone to retain theirits position. Vonage tries to stay ahead through innovative services and applications. They just launched a new portable WiFi handset directed at the consumer market. They also released a Western European virtual phone number service wherethat allows subscribers canto sign up for an inexpensive secondary number, and select from a range of European numbers. Friends, relatives, and colleagues can now call them in the U.S.United States for the charge of a local call.
See also:
Service overview
Since first launching VoIP service in the United States in 2001, Vonage (www.vonage.com) has racked up more than one million subscribers and has completed over 1.6 billion VoIP calls as of January 2006. The company offers SIP-based VoIP service to both business and residential customers throughout the U.S.,United States, Canada, U.K.,the United Kingdom, and Mexico. Vonage provides what’s called “stand-alone” VoIP service, meaning customers must already have broadband access from another provider.
Service packages
Vonage’s biggest drawclaim to fame is cheap phone service. They offer both residential and small business packages. TheirThe residential unlimited plan is $24.99. It includes: unlimited
- Unlimited calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, voicemailCanada
- Voicemail (that includes both emaile-mail alerts and online message retrieval),retrieval)
- Caller ID
- Three-way caller, ID, 3-way calling, call forwarding, and callcalling
- Call forwarding
- Call waiting.waiting
Residential customers can pay extra for an additional fax line or 800-number. 800-number;
Their Vonage's small business unlimited plan is $49.99 a month. It offers the same basic featuresfeature set as the residential,residential plan, but also includes a dedicated fax line. Vonage offers low cost plans with limiteda monthlylower-cost usage;tier theseof plans arefor both $14.99residential and $39.99business forcustomers residentialbased andon businesslimited usemonthly respectively.usage.
Target markets
Vonage targets the residential/SOHO (small office/home office) market. For the most part, customers are not especially techtech-savvy savvy and are attracted by lowthe promise of costlow-cost phone service. After signing up for service, customers are shipped a small VoIP gateway (or ATA, link to article)ATA) within a few days. Installation is simplified as much as possible, and is essentially plug and play (provided you don’t have too complicated a setup). With the gateway, you can connect your regular telephone to the internet. Internet.
Industry profile
Vonage has pumped large amounts of money into marketing and advertising campaigns. In 2005, they spent 220 million on internetInternet banner ads alone (that’s 71% more than last year’s top advertiseradvertiser, according to Nielson/NetRatings). The company spends about $200 for every new subscriber. Company CEO Jeffrey Citron has a bold vision, isn’t afraid of risks, and can raise money. In May 2005, Vonage received $200 million in venture funding—which happenedfunding to— berepresenting the largest single funding in telecommunications since 2000.
TheirVonage's advertisingaggressive dollarsad buys have paid off thus far. Vonage boasts the highest market share for North American residential/SOHO VoIP subscribers. According to a Infonetics report, Vonage leads the way with 39%; Time Warner holds 25% and Cablevision has 19%.
However, many industry analysts are skeptical about how much longer Vonage will continue to enjoy thisthe lead-dog position. Their market share dropped from 36% in Q1 2005 to 32% in Q2 2005. And their Q2 share (36%) was actually their lowest share in nine months. Vonage was early to market, but now must compete with larger cable and phone companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Time Warner. Another major factor is that Vonage is a “single play” provider; they offer only VoIP service, whereas cable companies can offer bundled packages including data, voice, and video.video services.
But the organization isn’t relying on marketing dollars alone to retain theirits position. Vonage tries to stay ahead through innovative services and applications. They just launched a new portable WiFi handset directed at the consumer market. They also released a Western European virtual phone number service wherethat allows subscribers canto sign up for an inexpensive secondary number, and select from a range of European numbers. Friends, relatives, and colleagues can now call them in the U.S.United States for the charge of a local call.
See also:
