Monday, January 8, 2007

Vonage to Go Dual or Triple Play

Vonage Holdings Corp. is creating a subsidiary to resell EarthLink Municipal Wi-Fi access. EarthLink Wi-Fi is live in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Anaheim and Milpitas, California. EarthLink's San Francisco network isn't operational yet, but has been approved. That will make Vonage a "dual play or quasi-triple-play" provider, moving Vonage beyond the "over the top VoIP" or "minute stealer" position it has had in the market.

Vonage now will be a provider of broadband access, VoIP and wireless VoIP, since its Wi-Fi phone will work throughout areas of the municipal Wi-Fi footprint where the signal can be received. One might question the ultimate viability of either independent mass market broadband access, VoIP or muni Wi-Fi businesses, but the move gives Vonage a chance to move in a new direction, gaining many of the benefits of "bundled" services approaches.

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