PC Mag Like CallVantage
Good news for the folks at AT&T's CallVantage as PC Magazine has awarded it top marks in a review of six VOIP service providers. That said, it is not the most overwhelming endorsement as the magazine says while CallVantage “isn't the best performer or the cheapest”, it “strikes the best balance overall, solid in every major category.” PC Mag also likes the fact AT&T will send a technician to do in-house installation.
All we need to see now from AT&T are subscriber numbers for CallVantage to see if the service is resonating with consumers. It's fine to have the top-rated service but if no one buys it, what does it matter? The only time CallVantage seems to jump into the spotlight is when it cuts prices to compete with Vonage.
Speaking of Vonage, it has apparently surpassed 400,000 customers. Let's do a little math to see what this means: 400K x $20 a month = $8M x 12 months = $96 million of annual revenue. So what do you think $96M of internet telephony revenue and strong subscriber growth are worth? 8×8 Inc. is worth $151 milliion and it had 26,000 customers as of Sept. 30, 2004. If the same valuation formula is applied to Vonage, the company is worth about $2.3 billion. Of course, no one has any idea of Vonage's bottom line. All CEO Jeff Citron will disclose is Vonage is making profits before marketing costs - and Vonage's marketing costs must be enormous.
