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SunRocket postpones service shutoff until August 5
Customers of failed VoIP provider SunRocket finally got some answers today after the service suddenly shut down ten days ago -- a message posted on the company's website officially broke the news that service is being discontinued and apologized to customers. SunRocket has brokered a deal to sell off some assets and keep things going until August 5th, and TeleBlend and 8x8 have apparently committed to providing former SunRocket customers with special rate plans. This pretty much kills those rumors that SunRocket had been acquired, so anyone feeling the burn had better port their numbers right quick -- after August 5th they'll just be a memory.[Via PC World]
SunRocket silently calls it quits, abandons VoIP biz
And you thought Sprint was catching flack for denying an exceedingly small portion of its customers service. Turns out, Vonage rival SunRocket has apparently shut its doors and abandoned the business -- all without a single warning or notice beforehand. Callers who recently dialed in for customer care reached an automated message saying that the firm was "no longer taking customer service or sales calls," and each individual that was employed at the call center has supposedly lost their job. As expected, no attempts by Reuters to contact SunRocket were successful, so we still have no idea if paying customers will ever see a pro-rated refund if their service does indeed cease to exist. So, dear readers, are any of you feeling the SunRocket burn?[Thanks, Jerad]UPDATE: Well, what do you know. Here's an article suggesting that SunRocket has actually been acquired by Pluto. We've seen no confirmations as of yet, but we'll keep an eye out.[Thanks for the update, Bob]
FCC ruling could mean higher VoIP bills
A new plan by the FCC to keep the Universal Service Fund stocked in anticipation of the coming August exemption for DSL providers will likely lead to higher VoIP bills for consumers. The agency has ruled that companies like Vonage and SunRocket who offer Internet telephony services must now pay 7% of their revenue into the fund -- used to subsidize rural and low-income phone service -- which has been traditionally been stocked by taxing POTS and DSL providers at a rate of 10.9%. However, since DSL providers have been let off the hook for this program, the FCC needed to make up for the shortfall, so the agency both instituted the VoIP component and raised cellular carriers' contribution from 3% to 4%. Since providers tend to pass new costs on to the consumer, we can probably expect to see higher VoIP bills in the near future, but luckily the recent repeal of that Spanish-American war-era excise tax should mostly balance things out on the cellphone side of things.
ATS announces E6501 DECT-enabled cordless VoIP phone
A new VoIP handset from American Telecom Services promises to help you break free from your landline addiction and make an easy transition over to Internet telephony, while still allowing you to situate satellite phones all over the house to match your current setup. At first glance, the E6501 offers a number of compelling features, including SIP-compliance, built-in speakerphones, DECT support for avoiding the already crowded 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz bands, and most enticingly, a sub-$50 pricetag for the base unit and only $30 each for up to five additional handsets. The bad news here comes when you find out that set only works with ATS' chosen service providers, a group that's currently comprised of just IDT and a company called SunRocket, so Vonage and Skype fans will need to look elsewhere. For those of you still interested, unfortunately there's no word yet on which retailers will be carrying these models, nor when we can expect to see them in stores.[Via VoIP & Gadgets Blog]
