Vonage Bails on VON Canada?
Andy Abramson has a post that Vonage has backed out of VON Canada because its PR firm doesn't believe there is enough of a consumer play. This would be a big blow to the show given Vonage was likely a major sponsor of the show, which was plagued last year by an overly-large venue and a lack of “star” keynotes. Andy suggests Vonage's decision suggests it is not doing well in Canada - a claim that seems plausible given you hear much more about VoIP service from the big cablecos, Rogers, Videotron and Shaw. A quick check of the exhibitor list for VON Canada does not include Vonage.
Update: Andy has another post on speculation Vonage is closing to filing its S-1 with SEC as part of its IPO plans. He speculates maybe that's why Vonage isn't going to VON Canada given there will likely be a blackout period to do pre-IPO marketing.
January 19th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Mark,
I think it's just smart marketing, not a sign of doing poorly. If you look at some of their marketing deals, things like the Alliance Atlantis deal and others, you'd be pretty assured that they are comfortable with what they are doing. Spending a lot of money on what is really a 'geek show' while they are going after a broad consumer market, is probably a poor spend. Maybe I could understand a small booth, showing off their new hardware or somesuch like that, but as a premier sponsor, I think it doesn't make any sense.
I don't think it at all reflects how they are doing.
January 19th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
good points. it will be interesting to see how VON is presented given the IP world seems focused on TV while voice is so last year.
mark
January 23rd, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Today I canceled my VoIP account with Vonage and found something quite scary. Their website (when I called to cancel) clearly said .99 cancelation fee when closing an account under 12 month - however the customer service rep insisted that it's a mistake on their website and is actually $34.99 - which I'm sure they've fixed by now..
http://www.vonage.ca/features_terms_service.php
“3.6 Termination Fee (Applies only to Residential and Business Plan Customers). You will be charged a termination fee of .99 per voice line if your Service is terminated for any reason during the first twelve months following the activation of your Service”
After fighting, they said they would only charge me the .99 but I am concerned for other people who signed up for the service with that .99 cancellation fee. They said they are going to change that on the website right away but does that mean that they are legally allowed to change their cancellation fee after someone has agreed to their terms of their contract ??
Vonage should issue a statement to anyone who has signed up for their service to this date, that they are entitled cancel for .99 as the contract they signed on-line specified. Otherwise, this means that any company out there can simply change their terms of their contract and charge whatever they want - which is quite scary.
I did print off the 'agreement' and took a screenshot, but I don't know if that would help protect anyone else who may have signed up under the assumption that the cancelation fee is only .99 as they agreed to.