Vonage regulatory backlash

Guest

Take a look at... http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-5067465.html

I figured this day would come.

Posts: 38 · Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 8:44 am Post subject:

[dg is practicing self-moderation -- content removed due to critical nature and the fact that I was completely wrong. Vonage now serves 479]

On a more serious note, if this service alternative is to survive, this would be a good time for some sort of grass-roots effort to limit the taxes. After all, the Internet is interstate commerce, which shouldn't be taxable by the individual states...

Posts: 106 · Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:59 pm Post subject:

weee is all i gotta say. just when i thought it was getting good. guess vonage just has toomuch on their shoulders right now. bad virus causing inet traffic jams, not enough employees to support their service, not enough failsafe procedures, and now the fcc and pucs fbi, lecs and ld carriers on their butts now too.

weeee is my thought.

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 5:08 pm Post subject:

It's all a bunch of BULL.

VoIP (and other open IP network technologies) will be the future. Squashing a technology through 'same as me' taxation is incredible!

Fight On Vonage!! Surprised

Posts: 14 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: May 03, 2003 Posts: 14

dg wrote:

Well, I guess we can stop waiting for Vonage to pick up our area code:

1. Service issues have slowed expansion to the point that Vonage no longer shows "coming soon" area codes on the area codes page. Until the reliability issues are resolved for existing customers, adding new area codes is a bad idea.

This logic is a bit flawed. Vonage's coming soon area code postings were always only a month ahead of the current month. They took it down because nothing concrete is coming soon. As soon as something is concrete, they'll show it in the coming soon area. Too many people complain when their area code wasn't added by the time shown even though it always said it was an estimated time.

Posts: 38 · Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:39 pm Post subject:

Perhaps the wording is flawed, but I think the logic has some merit (although it is an attempt to guess what someone else is thinking due to a lack of data, and that's always risky. Smile

)

[dg is practicing self-moderation. OK, the logic was wrong too. Vonage now serves 479]

The [only remotely defensible remaining] points are:

You can expand too quickly.

Adding customers when you're having serious reliability issues is a bad idea. Adding customers where you already have service is understandable, as the investment has already been made. Adding new territories is not very smart, and the Vonage guys are smarter than that.

Adding more states to the list of those you have to fight over taxation is probably not very wise either.

[...]

In any case, I do hope (and believe) that they will work out the issues soon and that those who currently have the service will only see it get better.