LightReading postulates that Sprint could be the likely suitor in a race to take over the legally challenged Vonage.
To me it makes sense and here's why.
WiMax.
Sprint/Nextel has an enormous effort planned around 4G communications. Their competitors like Clearwire, Comcast, Covad each already have a VoIP oriented play on the books and in the pipeline. Sprint, which has had voice for years but not VoIP per say other than carrying enterprise voice traffic immediately picks up a market ready customer base that they know how to find.
In the 2.3 million or so Vonage customers are hundreds of thousands of early adopters. These are the same kind of folks who Sprint would want to attract to their new service offering.
Buying Vonage also makes for an interesting two play with Sprint Mobile. Imagine all those Sprint wireless users being marketed to, as well as creating an opportunity for FMC (fixed mobile convergence) with one number and split or simultaneous ringing.
For many, Sprint may just be offering the ring Vonage needs to get out ahead.
The competition for VoIP customers has only begun. And now the Big Boys are seeing the potential marketplace and are rolling up their sleeves and getting into the game.
As Vonage soon found out, with a business model that is based on customer acquisition and profits only based on that customer's monthly payments, the competition for price will soon whittle profits to baseline and only the giants will have the resources to survive.
Vonage's cost of $200+ per customer acquisition is outrageous and unless they had another profit stream, was destined for desaster.
A sleeper VoIP company, AdCalls, Inc. has a business model very similar to Google and Yahoo. If Google and Yahoo can make Billions giving away FREE email and search engines, supported by Advertising; the AdCalls patent pending business model should do very well giving away FREE PC2Phone Long Distance supported by Advertising. This will be a company to watch.
Posted by: alkrauza | April 17, 2007 at 09:53 AM