Vonage - replaces CEO, continues to screw Canadians

Vonage the deeply troubled VoIP carrier or (PoIP - Plain old Phone over IP) as I like to call them, have replaced Citron as there CEO and by some grace of investment deities has managed to secure another 210M$.

It is truly astounding how anyone can see this as a good place to park money. Even if Vonage stopped all marketing and expenditure for 10 years, they would still not be profitable - considering the massive debt the operate under.

As my grandma used to say - Never throw good money after bad.

In other news, Vonage still screws Canadian customers with an ridiculously priced unlimited plan that is still 50% more expensive than our US counterparts pay. This is exacerbated by the weak US dollar.

Note to anyone in Canada - there are many many alternatives to Vonage, whom offer better prices and better service.

Where is the Vonage Price reduction for Canada? Our dollar is @ par with the US$

I don't get Vonage, they have attached a premium to CDN service since its inception - and now the CDN $ is very close to @par with the US$ - and still CDN pricing hasn't changed.

24.99 - unlimited premium service on Vonage.com
39.99 - unlimited premium service on Vonage.ca


What gives Vonage?

*Update (Oct. 25/2007) - I spoke to a CSR at Vonage today and they said that they price according to competitive local rates. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, IP has no boundaries, there are no additional costs to operate in Canada, yet they continue to overcharge Canadian customers.

Vonage/Verizon Patent Dispute Dissected

Ipurbia has a great post on the details (sadly unavailable on the web) about the Vonage/Verizon patent dispute.

It appears that Skype and other VoIM clients are in the clear, but Level 3 and other Termination providers might be in the crosshairs in the future.

Worth the read.

Vonage charges you 42% more if you're Canadian.

This has been bugging me for a while, The Vonage Premium Unlimited Plan is 24.99$ USD, or using XE for a quick conversion; approximately $28.18 CDN.

The exact same plan if you are unlucky enough to be in Canada is $39.99 CDN !!!! That is an increase (or penalty) for Canadian customers of 42% !!!!!

I understand why I see so many Vonage commercials in Canada, this division might be the only profitable division of the entire company.

Can anyone explain this to me? or is it as blatant as it appears?


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