Comments on: Vonage to Resell Earthlink Wi-Fi http://gigaom.com/2007/01/07/vonage-to-resell-earthlink-wi-fi/ Trusted Insights and Conversations on the Next Wave of Technology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:03:27 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: boxofun http://gigaom.com/2007/01/07/vonage-to-resell-earthlink-wi-fi/#comment-81328 boxofun Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:15:33 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/01/07/vonage-to-resell-earthlink-wi-fi/#comment-81328 <p>I gotta agree with Om here… First off in the cases where muni wifi is free - how is Vonage going to resell that? Second I don't see how this adds to their top line significantly - at least anytime soon because there just aren't that many places muni wifi is available - say nothing of the bottom line impact - especially considering the costs of ISP customer service… This is just one more thing to toss out in conf. calls to stave off Wall Street disgust and try to excuse bad numbers when the core business plan fails to meet metrics… </p> <p>Being the big kahuna in low cost VOIP is not a recipe for success - not given customer acquisition costs. The company/Citron is desperate to get investors to ignore that cost (as if somehow in the future they won't have to spend money to acquire customers - I saw him bragging about "operating profit" before customer acquisition costs to Forbes today) but the fact is that they will always need to spend money to acquire customers - even if the goal is merely to stand still from a revenue standpoint because of natural churn. </p> <p>Pets.com was the dominant low cost supplier of dog food - and selling it was probably profitable before shipping costs… See how well that business did…</p> I gotta agree with Om here… First off in the cases where muni wifi is free – how is Vonage going to resell that? Second I don’t see how this adds to their top line significantly – at least anytime soon because there just aren’t that many places muni wifi is available – say nothing of the bottom line impact – especially considering the costs of ISP customer service… This is just one more thing to toss out in conf. calls to stave off Wall Street disgust and try to excuse bad numbers when the core business plan fails to meet metrics…

Being the big kahuna in low cost VOIP is not a recipe for success – not given customer acquisition costs. The company/Citron is desperate to get investors to ignore that cost (as if somehow in the future they won’t have to spend money to acquire customers – I saw him bragging about “operating profit” before customer acquisition costs to Forbes today) but the fact is that they will always need to spend money to acquire customers – even if the goal is merely to stand still from a revenue standpoint because of natural churn.

Pets.com was the dominant low cost supplier of dog food – and selling it was probably profitable before shipping costs… See how well that business did…

]]> By: Aaron Johnson http://gigaom.com/2007/01/07/vonage-to-resell-earthlink-wi-fi/#comment-81327 Aaron Johnson Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:10:53 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2007/01/07/vonage-to-resell-earthlink-wi-fi/#comment-81327 <p>Those this might sound rather crazy it is astoundingly true!! Good way to go for Vonage!!</p> <p>Reason I state this is because of the management of Earthlink. I mean I live in Philadelphia, PA and the Wi-Fi has been available but no one knows!! Earthlink has done absolutely no advertising for the service nor have the picked the right location for the more poverty areas in my opinion who is in need of it. So Earthlinks new business model for them may be best now that they are incompetent to make things work. </p> <p>Vonage is taking a hell of a step noticing this and doing it well with the offering of a so called new phone…this is still vonage. But overall it is a chance for them to infect the users brain with the words wireless, cheap, internet, and phones. Which from what Vonage learned from Elinks implementation, they have a chance here at least (which is why I believe they are starting here first).</p> <p>CyKiller is coming back…</p> Those this might sound rather crazy it is astoundingly true!! Good way to go for Vonage!!

Reason I state this is because of the management of Earthlink. I mean I live in Philadelphia, PA and the Wi-Fi has been available but no one knows!! Earthlink has done absolutely no advertising for the service nor have the picked the right location for the more poverty areas in my opinion who is in need of it. So Earthlinks new business model for them may be best now that they are incompetent to make things work.

Vonage is taking a hell of a step noticing this and doing it well with the offering of a so called new phone…this is still vonage. But overall it is a chance for them to infect the users brain with the words wireless, cheap, internet, and phones. Which from what Vonage learned from Elinks implementation, they have a chance here at least (which is why I believe they are starting here first).

CyKiller is coming back…

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