Vonage
There has been some debate recently on the state of Vonage. Will Vonage survive? Will Verizon put Vonage out of business? A little bit of recent history will let you know where these questions come from.
Shortly after Vonage went public in mid 2006, Verizon sued Vonage for infringement on seven patents Verizon own, technology for completing phone calls between VoIP users and people using phones on the traditional public switched network, authenticating VoIP callers, validating VoIP callers’ accounts, fraud protection, providing enhanced features, using Wi-Fi handsets with VoIP services and monitoring VoIP caller usage. Vonage obviously denies this and has defended it vigorously, however so far the courts have swayed towards Verizon. Vonage publically state they have workaounds in development or developed in the event Verizon win.
So what does this mean for you as a customer or a potential customer. The worst that could happen is that Verizon win and Vonage have to spend millions of dollars implementing workarounds they have developed. Alternatively Vonage could go out of business and file for bankruptcy then immediately come back into the VoIP market or Vonage could win and continue to be the largest VoIP service provider out there. If you are a current Vonage customer and you are happy with the service they are providing then there is no real reason to move, however for new customers this law suit is no doubt causing concern for Vonage. It is difficult to market with the specter of patent infringements hanging over you.
Vonage are by far the largest VoIP provider with 2.5 million subscribers, in terms of experience in the VoIP market no other provider can match it. Vonage have a both residential plans and business plans boasting a vast array of features from call waiting to Enhanced 911, from Fax to toll free numbers and many more. Vonage certainly have enough features to keep the average phone user happy regardless of whether it’s for a small business or for a residential phone.
If you are in doubt read the Vonage reviews from current customers or click here to see providers that have at least the same features as Vonage. As you will see there are not many providers competing with Vonage in terms of features however their reviews are not the best.
Technorati Tags: Vonage, Verizon, Voicewing, Vonage patent, Broadband Phone, VoIP, Digital Voice
