Vonage Hits 500K Subs
Hoping to make a splash as Spring VON kicks off, Vonage is poised to
announce it has blown through the 500,000 subscriber mark. If the
company can maintain its momentum - and doesn't suffer from any more
embarassing network outages - its year-end target of 1M customers seems
attainable.
So what do Vonage's subscriber numbers mean - other than sales are
running at an annualized rate of about US$150M? For one, Vonage has a
critical mass of users - at least in the U.S. From a strategic
position, its easily the 'Amazon.com” of its market, and able to do
an IPO when and if that day comes. It's also a more attractive
acquisition target for anyone who has the appetite these days to spend $1.5
billion to $2 billion.
In Canada, Vonage is apparently doing well, although it is impossible
to quantify because the company doesn't release actual subscriber
numbers. If the Canadians market reaches the 250K customers target
forecast by some analysts, my guess is Vonage will have 50K to 100K
customers.
March 7th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
Does size really make it a better experience? OK: say Vonage has tons of cusomters…. it seems like they have upset a high percentage of them with technical and service problems. Something inside me says it is better to go with a smaller company that is focused more on customer support and quality, than on becoming huge via sales. Have any thoughts on that?
March 9th, 2005 at 4:23 pm
How many companies have you started and run successfully based on “something inside” of you?
There is always a leader and lots of followers. First there was Yahoo! Then came along excite, lycos and a few other names… There's only 1 left…
It will be interested to see Vonage grow and how others attempt to grow along or attack their growth…