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Vonage May Have Way Around Patent Disputes
nevillethedevil writes "Bloomberg is reporting that Vonage may have found a way around the current patent issues they have been facing with Verizon and others. They are applying technological solutions to a legal problem, changing the way that Vonage's communications software operates at a basic level to ensure that they no longer infringe on patent claims. 'Vonage's new technology can be installed through software downloads and shouldn't be costly to deploy, Citron said. The company will continue to appeal the court decision that requires it to pay Verizon damages for infringing patents on technology that translates Internet-based calls to standard lines.'"
No what be exciting is 8 niggers in da prison shower with you, trading you like that stock market and fucking dat ass so hard you will bleed for 3 weeks. We ain't gonna stop either, it's gonna be you and us stretching out that anus all night long. 7pm *wink*
Signed,
The Exciting Niggers
is mired 18 an
apropos bathing a stray tom cat, us niggers gonna be fuckin yo lily white ass all night long, honkey! You gonna look like da goatse guy when we's thru wid you!
Vonage came up with a business model that requires the existing phone companies to exist - they do not displace them until every single person has converted. And Vonage doesn't have the corporate capability to convert everyone. So Verizon, SBC and the others are a necessary component of Vonage's business.
Next, let's assume Verizon went out of the telephone business. Who would then own and maintain the copper used by all of Vonage's DSL customers? Nobody. Because it is assured to be a money-losing business. The only reason it makes sense to maintain all that copper today is because of the telephone network that operates over it. So again, the current telephone companies are a necessary part of Vonage's business.
I am pretty sure if you read their IPO prospectus or initial pitches to VC folks you will find it clearly stated that they have no intention of providing a replacement to the existing telephone network. Their plan is just skimming off the top layer of telephone customers with big bills that will see an improvement switching to a untariffed supplier.
What would happen if Vonage became the predominant telephone service supplier in a state, even a little place like Vermont? You can bet the Vermont PUC (or whatever they call it) would then immediately inform Vonage that they have to supply free service to some people and submit all their rates to the PUC for approval, just like the predominant telephone carriers do today. Why? Because that is how telephone service got to be both cheap and universal in the US today. Do you not think the states will force this back on VOIP providers when (if) they become big enough? That would virtually erase any profit Vonage has today and put them on an equal footing with Verizon, SBC, etc.
No, Vonage is a leech skimming high value customers away from the telecom companies and using the telecom companies own infrastructure to service these customers. They can't replace Verizon because Verizon supplies their customers with cheap DSL service, subsidized by telephone service.
It is an interesting business model but one doomed to failure. Some people will get rich off the plan in the short term, but it can't last. And you can bet Verizon has decided the time has come to end the game and remove Vonage.