And this blogger thought Vonage, which offers Voice-Over-IP service, and was once all over the television waves with commercials, was all but dead. No. In the first quarter of 2011, Vonage drew in $43 million in net operating income, and introduced new features and products.
But now, it has this announcement I ran over while searching, so I’ll post part of the press release:
HOLMDEL, N.J., Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Vonage Holdings Corp. VG -0.54% is partnering with TracFone Wireless, America’s prepaid wireless leader, to offer high-quality, low-cost unlimited(1) home phone service to TracFone’s extensive prepaid mobile customer base.
The move allows TracFone’s prepaid wireless customers to enjoy unlimited local and domestic long-distance phone service at home through Vonage with no annual contract and no commitment.
Through the relationship, TracFone customers will receive unique offers for the Vonage U.S. & Canada Unlimited calling plan. The plan provides unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. It also includes free Vonage Visual Voicemail®, caller ID, call waiting, anonymous call block and three-way calling among many other calling plan features.
“By partnering with TracFone, we are able to bring affordable home phone calling to a customer base that recognizes the need for high-value calling plans,” said Marc Lefar, CEO of Vonage. “With no commitment and unlimited domestic long-distance calling, TracFone customers won’t find a service like this anywhere else.”
“We are constantly looking for new ways to bring even more freedom, flexibility and value to TracFone customers,” said F. J. Pollak, President and CEO of TracFone. “Our partnership with Vonage to provide low-cost, unlimited calling home service to our customers helps us do just that.”
For more information visit www.vonage.com .
If you’re a Skype user, it’s easy to think that service companies like Vonage are a thing of the past, but the reality is we’re entering an age where what’s used varies with the degree of intensity of Internet use – if the Internet is something you do almost 24 and 7, and the same is true for your friends and contacts, you’re more likely to use Skype. But if it’s not, and you’re looking for a low-cost alternative to standard phone service and have Internet access, Vonage is a good service to use, and $43 million says so.
Stay tuned.
Bill Carroll