Vonage ordered to pay Sprint $69.5 million, royalties on future revenues
By Darren Murph 
posted September 25th 2007 5:24PM
posted September 25th 2007 5:24PM
While there was once talk of just selling Sprint the keys to the (crumbling) Vonage offices, it's pretty safe to say that those plans are no longer in the cards. Apparently, Vonage Holdings Corp. "was ordered in federal court to pay $69.5 million in damages for infringing on six telecommunications patents owned by competitor Sprint-Nextel," and if that wasn't punishment enough, "jurors ordered Vonage to pay a five-percent royalty on future revenues." If you'll recall, this isn't the first time Vonage has had to cough up major quantities of dough after being sued for patent infringement, and although a spokesman for the firm "declined comment," the company has already announced that it will "seek to overturn" the verdict.Read - Vonage to pay Sprint $69.5 million
Read - Vonage to Appeal Court Decision in Sprint Patent Suit
When will Vonage just die like they deserve?
I think Vonage is awesome.
My favorite feature is the virtual line, saves my family lots of money.
Dropped Verizon for Vonage. Not looking back either considering I'm saving $40/month for better service!
Here's my problem:
- I worked for a store that sold Vonage and filled out the forms on their site to get 6 months free. They gave me 0. Even new customers got 1 month free. They refused to refund any of the money.
- They sent us a router by mistake, we sent it back unopened as per their instructions. They still charged us and refused to refund us the money. Gave us different excuses each time.
- Within the 2 months we tried using them they never moved our phone number over. Couldn't ever get anyone on the phone to help us since all their automated menu's lead to an automated computer that tells us it's approved and pending. When I ask a real person to look into it, they always forwarded me to that same computer.
- Our service was always full of static to the point that it was unbearable. Since my cell didn't get good service from my house, I basically had no phone. I would always call their service and they'd give me a run around, never fixing it, or just telling me they couldn't get it to work and that we should find another service.
Sad part is, anyone I know that has tried to work with their customer service have had equally horrible support. There are 2 types of Vonage customers I've seen; those that never had an issue and are happy, and those that have an issue and never get it resolved due to horrible customer service.
When will Darkest Daze just die like he deserves?
to Darkest-
This is one of those things that Your Mileage Might Vary. I have ported over 4 lines from Verizon to Vonage, and all went without issue. I always got tech support right away with no delay, and they were helpful and prompt each time. As with anything, everyones experience is different. Don't bash something because it didn't work for you, because it certainly works for millions of other people - User Error is a big part of most users problems - I know - I manage a help desk. Also, with so many other companies on the VOIP Bandwagon, one could always try another company. There are only about 1200 to pick from, and that's the magic of being able to choose.
Ummm... how is sprint/nextel a competitor to vonage? It appears that they quit selling home phone lines, now, they just do mobile, and they're managing to kill themselves off pretty well by doing that. If it weren't for XOHM, they would be sunk.
Tele.. your kidding right? Do you know anything about Sprint other then you don't like'em? Let me re-phrase that. Do some research before you make a statement that makes you look stupid. Sprint might have dumped the "local" phone group but their wireline is alive and well. With Wideopenwest riding Sprints backbone (that's wires in case you need help) and others, I would say they are not all about just WIRELESS. Wireless is the reason the company is going downt he tubes. Before that, they use to turn a profit. Go figure.
Vonage gets even better when your internet access goes out.
Yeah, and my cordless phone works better when the electricity goes out. What's your point? My IP is just about as reliable as my power company, which is to say 99.9%+ uptime...
His point is Vonage sucks. And if you don't keep a wireline phone laying around the house, your more ignorant then your post indicates.
I have been with Vonage since 2004, and it is the best technology that I have stumbled onto!
They are amazing!
My g/f stopped her vonage to move to pennsylvania now she still gets charged.. beware when you try to stop vonage.
Seriously..
I had Vonage for years(they have a $15 a month 500 minute plan that is probably fine for most people) and they were fine. UNTIL I tries to cancel! They tried everything to keep me.
So for the next 3 months I would find "missed calls" on my work phone; the phone used to cancel my account and never actually used for my account. They must do a reverse lookup when you cancel! WTF is that??? Occasionally I would get a call from them during the day and the Indianian person would ask to talk to my companies name.
arggggggg, so I don't think I would get them again based on this experience.
This type of thing is why I haven't bought an ooma. In theory it's great (lower/no cost & you're helping a startup plus avoiding a telco) but sometimes it's just a hassle.
I wonder how Vonage can survive this one. They've got a household name. I'm surprised Sprint doesn't just buy them.
why buy what you can kill?
Funny that within days of winning this lawsuit Sprint announced their airave at home signal booster. I am guessing that has something to do with the technology infringement.
Don Wilson, you half-wit. Vonage has a simultaneous ring feature that is handled server-side. If someone calls me on my Vonage line, it rings to that and my cell simultaneously. If my internet (or power) goes out, I just answer my cell phone instead.
I hope this doesn't force them out of business in Canada. I've been a customer for years and would hate to have to back to a phone company.
I love this service. I use it at home and at my work. Saves me a bundle each month. With every tech there are always hurdles. I actually have sprint as my cell phone service and they have poor reception often.
Vonage has brought power back into the hands of the consumer . . . Sprint/Nextel be damned!
When Vonage closes it's doors, check out Packet8.net
I've been with them since 2004. The service is loaded with features and quality is as good or better than Vonage.
Packet8 has a different business model than Vonage. THEY ARE PROFITABLE!!
Vonage has been burning through cash like crazy, most of which was used on marketing.
Vonage is not gonna last folks... buh-bye!!!
Ok guys chill out on your viral adds. I mean please.
Their seeking to overturn the verdict, a smart decision among many many stupid ones.
soooo what if you get your internet through your phone company?
I've worked for the phone company (Verizon). I've used their service, Time Warner Cable's, and Vonage's.
Reliability: My cable company is reliable. Only one outtage in the last 3 years. With the phone company, 3-4 times a year was standard.
Features: Vonage has more. Period.
Cost: Less than Verizon and less than the cable company offering the same VOiP type of service.
Customer Service: The cable co is the best of the three. Vonage is the worst. Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with them too often.
If Verizon wants to use their patents to make a better service, great. If Sprint wants to use their patents to make a better service, great. But they aren't. They just want to charge more for inferior functionality. I can only hope Vonage can stay in business but we'll see.
Lessons learned. You were with VZ. 3 or 4 outages a year, need I say anything more..
http://www.marketamerica.com/abulashop/index.cfm?action=voiceOverIP.voipOverview
^try voitel. better backbone than vonage.
The phone company is going to be just like Gas prices soon! I think that the little guy "vonage" finally started to make a name for themselves, and the big monopoly is just feeling a tad bit threatened. I love Vonage and am terrified to be forced to go with a big company who has forced there self into being our only choice in phone service, next thing you know I will have a HUGE phone bill again because well, Verizon will end up being my only choice and rake us for every dime they can.
It is likely that between this mess and the Sunrocket melt down – many people will be scared off by any VoIP services provider and so stem this likely erosion, service providers will undoubtedly begin to come up with great deals. I for one, am glad. I want to switch to a company that I feel won’t go under and I found an unadvertised special from Net2Phone that seems good. 3 months free and then $19.95 per month thereafter. They seem to be one of the first to have been in this market (for 12 years) and they are well funded by IDT. Anyone have any experience with them?
We used Vonage for quite a while but a few months back, after we began hearing more and more about the law suits we switched to a company called Lightyear Alliance, http://www.phonefuture.mylightyear.net Have had great service from them and very pleased with the company. Price is the same as well as options provided, in some cases actually better. This is an unfortunate situation for Vonage, but there are still providers out there who will take us and don't seem to be having any legal problems. In the long run I think this is the way to go and down the road will become a big market, maybe even driving the Bell companies out entirely.
any legal problems yet. If Verizon and Ma Bell's other kids can get Vonage, what would stop them from going after thee other VOIP who are pretty much using the same tech infringing patents?
It's just a matter of time the big M word shows up, because it is feeling like we are getting near 1984 again...