http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21122856 en Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:21:44 EDT Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:21:44 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21155778 Donkaroo : Thats a great business model priller. Vonage has quite a few good features with good pricing. I know they got spanked with all kinds of lawsuits, patent infringement, pressure from investors, and now have stiff competition but these extra fees and contracts are going to hurt them in the long run.

One of the best things, as you said, is PAYG. Even the $15/month plan for 500 minutes was great. Since I mainly use my house phone as a backup to my cell phone the unlimited plans were wasteful. It's just a shame to see the pioneering VoIP provider changing in such a bad way. I actually thought it was funny how Verizon and ATT are doing away with contracts and early termination fees but Vonage is just starting to implement them. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21155778 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21139188 Mediocrates : Yes but those are standard boilerplate statements in any SEC filing. They don't really mean anything but that there's no guaranty that ANY business will forever remain solvent.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21139188 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:13:35 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21138544 stevech0 : They just have to get rid of the red ink. Investors/shareholders have lost patience.

Every few bucks helps I guess.

Reminds my of the dirty tricks or downright illegal tactics that the Ma Bell RBOCs used to kill of the CLECs. And the deregulators in the government did nothing, nada. The were busy with Martha Stewart.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21138544 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:52:21 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21123698 priller : While Vonage is sure getting spanked by the cable phone service offerings, their own business model is prohibiting growth and resulting in poor customer retention. Here's what I think Vonage needs to do to attract and retain customers.

1) Eliminate contracts, now at 2 years! Just plain stupid and scares away customers from ever signing up in the first place.

2) Offer Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) plans. With "unlimited" plans most people are paying for service they do not use. Most of the smaller players are offering PAYG and savvy customers know that is all they need.

3) Allow Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) - That would open them up to an while new customer base.

4) Eliminate Bogus Fees - Bogus fees like "Regulatory Recovery Fee" are the reason people started to abandon the telcos in the first place. Vonage's grab for cash sent them in the wrong direction.

5) New features, not higher priced plans - As widely discussed here, the new "Pro" is a pretty sad premium plan. Memo to Vonage: Fire the marketing staff.

6) Make it easy to cancel - Mixed reports on this. However, forums are full of horror stories about how hard it is to cancel service. People are not going to sign up for something they don't think they can get out of. Vonage needs to allow customers to cancel service at a click of a button or email to customer service.

7) Cheaper Plans - Make the $4.99 and $9.99 retention plans generally available to all with a click of the mouse.

I've been a customer for over 5.5 years and the Vonage service offering itself is excellent. However, the business practices of Vonage have set it up for failure.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21123698 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:09:36 EDT http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21122856 stevech0 : The bottom line from the Aug. 11, 2008 Vonage filing with the SEC says "...There can be no assurance that we will be successful in completing this [refinancing via the capital markets] or any other refinancing transaction, which raises substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern. The unaudited consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. "

Gee, it would be sad to see them fail after all their hard work to create a market. Maybe their debtors will be kind. The red ink cannot continue forever.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21122856 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:57:17 EDT