Sprint Nextel

NYSE delisting = more bad news for Vonage

Pete Wylie — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:32:48 -0400

Vonage Holdings admitted to more gloomy financial news Thursday, as it reported that the NYSE informed the VoIP company last week its stock was in danger of being de-listed. Vonage must get its share price over $1.00 within six months, or it risks being removed from the premier stock exchange in the world.

In a statement, Vonage said that it "intends to cure the deficiency."

You can bet that the current share price and de-listing notice will be a hot topic at the Vonage Special Stockholders meeting Monday, Nov. 3. The meeting was originally scheduled to discuss Vonage's debt refinancing agreement with SilverPoint Partners, but the board now has this to consider as well.

Vonage had to extend its tender offer four times before some one bit at refinancing the debt, and it has yet to fix issues with churn, or find new subscriber bases. And it was ordered to pay Sprint $80 million for a patent violation just over a year ago.

No doubt Vonage employees are hoping 2009 is a lot better than 2008.

For more:
- see the company's release here

Vonage finally inks refinancing

Pete Wylie — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:51:39 -0400

Vonage today announced it will refinance $253 million in convertible debt, pending a shareholder vote on the deal.

Silver Point Finance LLC will fund $202.3 million of the debt in a tiered system, including a first-tier $130.3 million security in senior convertible notes and $72 million second lien credit facility. Silver Point will also purchase $18 million in convertible third-tier notes from Vonage, according to company release.

Vonage plans to purchase the difference of around $33 million with cash on hand. These finalized plans put to rest speculation that Vonage might not find a taker for the refinancing of the debt facility, which was set to mature in 2009. Vonage has struggled in the past few quarters to grow its subscriber base. The company, which floated the tender offer June 30, 2008, announced on Friday that it was extending the offer for the fourth time.

John Rego, Vonage CFO, said in a release,"This agreement provides Vonage with the financial stability to focus on increasing profitability while continuing to provide customers with innovative, feature-rich phone service."

The company's stockholders will vote on the proposed purchase of the debt Nov. 3, 2008, at a special meeting.

For more:
- see the company release here

Who doesn't like the iPhone?

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:37:29 -0400

By Carl Ford

As I walked the mall this weekend and saw the line at the Apple store to be the next iPhone convert, I began to wonder who is making money--other than Apple--on the iPhone?

The AT&T store was quiet, with a piece of paper saying that, despite the four-foot iPhone display in the window, they had no phones. The iPhone 3G has actually gained prominence within the store with a display and accessories kiosk, but nothing left to sell but the peripherals.

The rest of the displays featured the usual suspects: different Blackberrys, a Treo, a Samsung Blackjack. AT&T's Tilt and an LG Glide were the closest to the horizontal feel of the iPhone, but nothing in the presentations was designed to excite, just to compare.

At Sprint, its Samsung Instinct is trying to stand toe-to-toe with the iPhone and if you went on the web, you would think that it was competing with "Batman: Dark Knight " as well.

Speaking of "Dark Knight," Verizon has a Nokia "Dark Knight edition" camera phone. For its iPhone competitive strategy, Verizon has the LG Dare. While Verizon is putting all its cards in this basket, it's a good phone as Noah from phonedog.com would tell you. But Verizon's marketing for the LG Dare is off to the side.

Over at Alltel, Chad does not care about smart phones; the story is the magic of circles. Chad and the Verizon guy will be duking it out soon. If I were Chad, I would keep the wizard nearby.

Given all this, I would say there is a chasm that has yet to be crossed in mobility. As Fierce prepares for its 4G virtual event, I have to believe we need more.

As a recovering Bell Head, I like the Sprint/Samsung integration to the network operator, particularly to visual voice mail. While some say voice mail is dead, I think voice mail just needs to be annotated. Social networks are teaching us that the phone no longer has to be a real time experience and voice mail could be the binding between these worlds.

While many are happy to join the iStore for Apple's iPhone, I think it was telling that the AT&T salesman had downloaded a VoIP dual mode app but did not use it. I expect we are going to have that familiar problem of apps not being seen enough to be used. Competing for prominence on a phone suggests to me also that Google's Android may be brilliant indeed.

Who should love the iPhone at the end of the day? I would say ad agencies. The fact that iPhone added 2 million more users to AT&T's network is going to drive a lot of commercials. And it may be the prominence of apps on the phone is part of the advertising.

Carl Ford is Strategic Advisor and Community Developer for FierceMarkets. His words of wisdom can be found at www.carlford.net.

Holly Connects Connects With Embarq

Doug Mohney — Sun, 25 May 2008 21:50:38 -0400

Embarq has selected Holly Connects to supply the Holly Voice Platform as the foundation for "forthcoming enhanced subscriber services."

Holly's Voice Platform provides a flexible VoiceXML framework for any voice self-service application and includes a suite of software components and associated tools for the development of speech recognition solutions using standard hardware and software components. The platform seamlessly integrates with existing telephony and web-based infrastructure and supports traditional touch-tone, speech recognition, CTI, and call control.

Over the last few years, Embarq has tended to be a trend leader in adapting newer, more innovative technologies faster than other carriers. The company was one of the first to roll out a Mobile UC bundle and brought out a Casabi-enabled phone in April. It will be interesting to see what services Embarq will roll out incorporating Holly's technology.

For more:
- Embarq calls Holly for voice application development

Related articles:
EMBARQ 's Casabi-flavored Home Phone--Hot!
Embarq to end wireless partnership with Sprint

Telcos Have Google Envy

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

A new report by Heavy Reading asserts that when it comes to delivering differentiating next-generation services, Internet companies like Google have the edge, while major carriers aren't sure what to do. Surveyed firms--France Telecom, NTT, TelaSonera, and Verizon Communications--know what they don't know and realize they will have to partner with third-party application companies to deliver the advanced services consumers will ultimately want.

Telcos are looking at third-party applications and trying to find ways they can add value to them. Most of the carriers feel they bring value to the table with billing, security, and QoS; policy control is also an area which carriers are looking at, but it's very controversial and kicks up the net neutrality crowd.

The bottom line--traditional telephony--is a dying asset and if they want to keep growing revenues in the future they will have to partner up and open up their networks to third parties. Sprint and Verizon Wireless have already taken the first steps in opening up their network and movement is expected on the wireline side as well. When it comes to advanced services, carriers see Google as their biggest threat, but Google doesn't make money as a service provider. Instead, Google relies almost exclusively on online advertising for revenues.

For more:
- Light Reading's GoogleEnvy writeup
- Reinventing the Telcos Report

Related articles:
Verizon Wireless embraces open access
Sprint outlines Xohm WiMAX plans
Sprint: 'We're creating a platform for innovation'

Australian operator says VoIP won't work on WiMAX

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

VoIP providers may be eagerly anticipating Clearwire and Sprint's next dance onto the nationwide WiMAX network floor, but at least one early adopter, Australian Garth Freeman, CEO of Hervey Bay's Buzz Broadband, labeled the technology a "miserable failure." Freeman, who operated--and closed--Australia's inaugural WiMAX network, told a pro-WiMAX audience at a Bangkok conference last week that the technology was rife with bugs that made it unacceptable for use with VoIP and other Internet apps. Specifically jitter and latency rates as high as 1MS, and "non-existent" line of sight performance beyond 1.8 miles. Add poor indoor performance outside a quarter mile, and WiMAX-supported VoIP installations begin to look a little pie-in-the sky.

Buzz isn't alone in decrying WiMAX penetration issues. At an IEEE conference in 2007, India's VSNL said it was recording loss of signal just two football field's away from base stations.

Freeman went on to lambaste the "opportunistic hype" surrounding WiMAX, concluding with a warning to the gathering that "WiMAX may not work." A year ago, just months after launching WiMAX, Freeman said Buzz had signed 10 percent of its target WiMAX market, using VoIP value as a come on.

For more:
- Read about Garth Freeman's tirade in CommsDay

Related articles:
HelloSoft launches VoIP for Soc Report
Clearwire launches VoIP over WiMAX network Report

Microsoft challenges Avistar's UC patents

Tom Burton — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Another patent David and Goliath brawl is underway, this time between UC services company Avistar and Microsoft. The U.S. patent office is to re-examine Avistar's patents after Microsoft this week challenged 24 out of Avistar's 29 of them. The patents are in the fields of instant messaging, video conferencing and online collaboration--all key elements in unified communications.

Avistar describes Microsoft's actions as a "go-for-the-throat" maneuver that was unexpected following more than six months of cordial negotiations surrounding Microsoft's potential licensing of Avistar's intellectual property and technology.

Avistar's CEO, Simon Moss, says Microsoft's actions should be seen in the context of issues surrounding the importance of current patent law as a protection for innovation--much of which comes from small, entrepreneurial companies such as Avistar. Moss argues potential changes to patent regulations would harm smaller companies--and the economic competitiveness of the U.S. Avistar says Microsoft's "strong-arm" tactics come at the same time as the E.U. has fined the software giant $1.4 billion for breaching an anti-trust ruling.

If all procedural flaws are corrected, the patent office has about two months to decide whether to grant the requests and engage in a formal re-examination. Patent re-examination would take between six months and two years.

For more:
Avistar announces patent challenge Release

Related articles:
Verizon sues Charter over patents Article
Sprint goes to court for patent breaches Report

Vonage working for image makeover

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

This year will be the make or break year for pure play VoIP giant Vonage with its viability in the hands of its bankers who have to agree to refinance its significant debt. Vonage handed out most of its IPO cash on patent settlements to the horde of telcos that decided the best way to compete with VoIP was through the courts.

In December, some $250 million of Vonage's debt will come due for repayment. While the owners of those convertible notes can exchange them for stock, the stock is now trading in a $2 range compared with a high of $13.33 when it floated back in 2006, making it highly unlikely the lenders will accept anything but cash.

A betting person would punt on a telco bail out--Sprint does not have a residential wireline business. But in the meantime Vonage is getting on with better looking after its customers and this week announced at CES its "My Vonage" product strategy. This is Vonage's attempt to move away from the discount price trap it has fallen into and instead promote the rich feature set that comes from IP comms.

First announcement is a device called V-Portal. According to the release V-Portal is "a digital voice adapter and single port router with a built-in liquid crystal display, and contact book, an innovative one-stop communication hub with useful features such as group calling and voice activated dialing." It is being heavily rebated to new Vonage users and is on sale at $9.99 (plus a $30 activation fee for the privilege of having Vonage turn on the device!)

For more:
- Vonage to launch V Portal Release
- Vonage kicks off My Vonage strategy Article

Related articles:
Can Vonage do it? Article
Vonage still top VoIP carrier Article

Corrected: VoIP's worst of 2007

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

All was not sunny and bright in the land of VoIP in 2007, with serious problems facing Vonage, SunRocket, and Skype among other VoIP carriers. The lessons learned in the just-past year will serve VoIP carriers and customers well as they move into the future.

Much of the trouble involved relatively small VoIP carriers and their encounters with much larger firms. Vonage spent the year with the specter of legal doom hanging over its corporate head -- only at the end of the year did word come that Vonage and Nortel had settled the legal case in which they'd been involved. Skype's encounter was of a different sort, but left the company no less changed after Ebay purchased the European VoIP firm, then spent the year trying to figure out precisely how to profitably integrate the carrier into its larger business.

Neither of these encounters was as dramatic as that of SunRocket with its larger corporate competitors. In July, faced with unexpected competition and burdened with a business plan that seemed unequal to the task, SunRocket suddenly went out of business, leaving thousands of customers scrambling for a dial-tone. The lesson? For customers, at least, the lesson has to be keeping an alternative carrier available as part of a disaster recovery plan.

For more:
NewTelephony has the complete story here

Related articles:
Vonage settles with AT&T; expects positive cash flow in '08 Report
Vonage settles with Sprint Report

Vonage loses patent appeal

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Vonage has lost its patent appeal to Verizon and will pay an additional $37.5 million on top of the $80 million Vonage handed over to the telco giant. Vonage has paid out patent settlements to Sprint, AT&T and now Verizon to a tune of $240 million. Vonage had paid Verizon $80 million with an agreement to pay an additional $37.5 million if a federal court declined to hear an appeal. The court Thursday declined Vonage a hearing.

"We were not surprised, but disappointed, that the court denied our request for a rehearing of the case," a Vonage spokesman said. "We are pleased to continue putting litigation behind us and keep focusing on our core business." Vonage is very focused on getting its operations in order so it is not burning cash. It's precariously balanced with liabilities of $729 million compared with assets of $666 million. CFO John Rego told analysts at the Q3 call Vonage would have about $54 million in cash at the end of Q4 which is thin when you have that much debt and every new customer costs over $200. Founder and newly returned CEO Jeffery Citron says dealing with Vonage's debt issues is the company's number one priority.

More Reports:
- What's $40 Million Among Friends? Report

Related articles:
- Vonage settles with AT&T; vows positive cash in '08 Report
- Vonage learns how tough the telcos are Report

SPOTLIGHT: Can Vonage do it?

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:59:53 -0500

Vonage's Q3 numbers pleased the market last week and the stock went north till Vonage got caught in the broader market pessimism. There was a sentiment among commentators that maybe, just maybe, Vonage was through the worst of its patent nightmares. At the same time the VoIP pure play was shifting from a customer acquisition at any price strategy, to a more balanced growth profile which might see it go cash positive some time next year. The company was also working hard at ensuring the service in all its facets worked. Whether Vonage's bond holders are as sympathetic when it comes to debt refinancing next year is to be seen. Vonage's discipline and focus on its operations in the remains of Q4 will almost certainly determine if it survives or is gobbled up by a telco. Sprint is a suggested partner because they don't have a residential phone business. At least one commentator thinks Vonage can do it: Report

Vonage settles with AT&T; vows positive cash in '08

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Embattled VoIP operator, Vonage has broken even on its operations for the third quarter and is predicting positive cash flow next year after provisionally settling its patent case with AT&T for $39 million. Big patent litigation payments of $133 million saw Vonage's net loss rise sharply to $161.8 million, or $1.04 a share, compared with a net loss of $62.2 million, or 40 cents a share, for the same period a yer ago.

But a further reduction in marketing costs saw the loss from operations excluding its litigation settlement costs with Verizon and Sprint narrow to $1 million, compared with a $53 million loss in the third quarter a year ago and an improvement from $3 million in the previous quarter.

The Company said it expects to generate positive adjusted operating income for 2008 and said its free cash reserves had been reduced from $356 million to $194 million, which is comprised of $154 million in free cash and $40 million in restricted cash--money set aside as part of the Verizon patent settlement. CFO John Rego told analysts he expected adjusted cash reserves at the end of Q4 to be $54 million. The market reacted positively to the results with the stock up 40 cents to $2.59 in early trading.

A continued wind down in promotions has seen customer growth flatten with Vonage saying it now has 2.5 million subs compared with 2.45 million in June. The flattening in growth comes as the major cable companies have enjoyed big uptakes in internet voice subscriptions.

Churn continues to be an issue with an average monthly customer churn of 3.0% in the third quarter 2007--up from 2.5% in Q2--a number founder and CEO Jeffrey Citron told analysts was unacceptable. Citron said improvements would take time as the company worked on improving the service and support. This is an increase from 2.5% in the prior quarter, which Vonage said would have been 2.7% if not for the extension of the customer grace period.

Revenue for the third quarter 2007 grew to $211 million --in line with market expectations--a 30% increase from $162 million in the third quarter 2006, driven by modest customer line growth and an increase in average revenue per line.

However average revenue per line in the third quarter 2007 was $28.24, slightly down from $28.38 reported in the second quarter 2007.

For More:
- Vonage Q3 Earnings Release
- CNNmoney Report

Related Article:
Vonage staunches the bleeding Report

Google talks; world shudders

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:59:57 -0400

So who isn't in talks with the $707 a share money mountain otherwise known as Google about their proposed new phone system? With the markets seemingly unable to find any sensible valuation for the ad machine on steroids, Google is reportedly talking to both Verizon and Sprint about selling Google powered handsets.

Google's M.O. is typically to destroy any pricing in the marketplace it enters, often by entering as a free service and dangling those ubiquitous ads everywhere. What that might do to the juicy wireless margins everyone is currently bleeding from the punters is any one's guess.

But if indeed it is a mobile operating platform--and despite the hype there are precious few details what Google is actually going to propose--it won't just be the telcos who are sweating. Microsoft and the makers of the Blackberry, Research in Motion, will quickly feel the heat on sales of their mobile platforms. And if you believe the new smart phones are just PC's by another name, then for Microsoft there is the prospect of the greatest tech battle of them all, the fight for control of the PC operating system.

The Google talks come the same week as mobile carrier UK 3 announced its partnership with EBay for its new Skype wireless phone. Skype only has 250 million plus customers.

For More:
- Wall Street Journal Report
- Pick your poison Google or Skype Report

Related Articles:
UK 3 to offer Skype phone Report
Google in talks with Verizon, Sprint Report

Vonage shares surge on hope of survival

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:58 -0400

News of a settlement on Verizon's patent claim against Vonage, spurred the VoIP leader's stock price 39 percent, with shares rising 60 cents to finish $2.13 on the New York Stock Exchange. That was the biggest gain since Oct. 8 when the Sprint patent settlement was announced, and comes after Vonage shares had fallen 69 percent since new year, but a long way down from its bullish IPO price of $17 in May 2006.

Vonage has agreed to pay Verizon $80 to $120 million depending if the appeals court reconsiders Vonage's plea. But the sharp change in investment sentiment seemed to be driven by a view that Verizon had intended to put the VoIP out of business and the settlement meant Vonage now has a chance to recover. "Verizon had always given the impression that its intent was in putting Vonage out of business,'' Jeff Weiss, a patent lawyer at Weiss & Moy PC in Washington told Bloomberg. The settlement "was fairly shocking," he said.

All eyes are now on Vonage's 3rd quarter results, due Nov. 8. Some analysts are predicting Vonage --despite its 2.5 million customers -- will run out of cash early next year. Vonage is still dealing with a third patent claim, this time from AT&T and at the same time is facing stiff competition from the cable companies which are aggressively leveraging their existing customer base to grow their "digital voice" business. Comcast has been the most successful and now has more VoIP subscribers than Vonage.

For More:
- Vonage statement on the patent settlement.
- Bloomberg report of investor reaction. Report

Related Articles:
Vonage settles with Sprint. Report
VoIP becomes key in the battle for eyeballs. Report
Comcast surges past Vonage. Report

Comcast goes wireless in Connecticut

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:57 -0400

Comcast continues its aggressive convergence play, announcing it is extending its wireless offering into Connecticut and western Massachusetts. The new service, unveiled in the greater Boston metropolitan area earlier this year, uses the Sprint Nextel network and Sprint phones branded as Pivot. Interoperability is the buzz word from Comcast executives. Users of the Pivot phone will get unlimited calling between the wireless and home phones using Comcast's digital voice service. The new Pivot service will allow a customer to check voice mails at home or access home television listings or even watch live or mobile television.

Comcast is the operator the telcos most admire/fear and the move by the Philadelphia-based cable provider into the lucrative wireless arena is consistent with its convergence strategy of melding wire and wireless services into an integrated offering. Comcast's digital voice product now has nearly 3 million customers and is expected to grow rapidly over the next four years. The basic Pivot service is being offered at $33 a month.

For More:
- Comcast goes Wireless. Report

Related Articles:
Comcast CEO on killer apps for Pivot. Report
SPOTLIGHT: Comcast invades SureWest turf. Report

Vonage learns just how tough the telcos are

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

U.S. VoIP challenger Vonage is finding out just how tough the North American telcos can be. Fresh from settling its infringement action with Sprint Nextel for a cool $80 million and still embroiled in litigation with Verizon, Vonage got a new legal salvo from another telco incumbent Friday.

This time the writ is from AT&T. ZD Net has the patent infringement details of what looks like a very wide claim, but who would be surprised at that. Presumably AT&T's patent lawyers know some thing we don't, but the action is being bought in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, and AT&T is alleging Vonage infringed a patent that allows customers to make VoIP calls from standard telephones. AT&T says it tried to reach an agreement with Vonage to license the patent.

Vonage's lawyers are working overtime as this is the third infringement action Vonage is facing from a telco. Earlier this year, a court found Vonage infringed on Verizon patents. Vonage won a stay on an order that would have prevented it signing up new customers and says it is close to implementing workarounds for the infringement.

Vonage is one of the largest independent VoIP providers in the U.S. and with nearly 2.5 million customers appears to be paying the price of being too successful as it continues to heavily promote its $24.99 a month, all-you-can-eat plan.

For More:
- Vonage gets hit with another patent action Report
- Vonage infringed on Verizon patents Report
- Vonage goes to court--again Commentary

Related Articles:
Courts issue Vonage, Sprint and Verizon verdicts Article
Damages vacated on Verizon v. Vonage appeal Report

Vonage settles with Sprint

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Vonage agreed this morning to pay Sprint Nextel $80 million to settle a patent dispute. A federal court in Kansas city awarded Sprint $69.5 million in damages to cover the revenues Vonage generated with the violated patents. The $80 million settlement is said to cover past and future use of the 100 or so patents at issue.

Vonage, based in Holmdel, N.J., denied violating the Sprint patents and said it would appeal the court's ruling. The same strategy in a similar lawsuit with Verizon prompted the judge in that case to prohibit Vonage from signing up new subscribers. The company had to post a $66 million bond to be able to continue to do so. Settling with Sprint eliminates the possibility of a similar situation.

Vonage shares made a 40 percent rebound on the news. The company in the meantime awaits the final verdict on the damages award in the Verizon suit. An appeals court judge recently tossed out one of three lower court rulings in that case and vacated the $58 million award to Verizon. Vonage socked away nearly $197 million for the lawsuits, so the damage awards and legal fees are most likely covered. There just isn't a lot left over for a rainy day. The company has to start making money.

For More:
- CNNMoney is carrying wire reports here

Related Articles
Damages vacated on Verizon v. Vonage appeal Report
Sprint seeks $103 million from Vonage Report
Vonage sued by SunRocket specter Report
Vonage staunches the bleeding Report

Courts issue Vonage, Sprint and Verizon verdicts

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Vonage won a reprieve from one court yesterday after losing in a jury trail the day before. On Tuesday, the Holmdel, N.J. VoIP provider was ordered by a jury to pay Sprint Nextel $69.5 million in damages for patent infringement. On Wednesday, federal judges in Washington, D.C., vacated a decision ordering Vonage to pay $58 million in damages to Verizon for similar violations.

Three separate patents were disputed in the Verizon case. A U.S. District Court in Virginia ruled against Vonage and award Verizon $58 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined the Virginia court was right to find infringement on two patents, but it said the third had been improperly explained to the jury. The court thus vacated the damage award and the ruling on the third patent, and instructed the lower court to revisit the first two.

"We vacate in its entirety the award of $58,000,000 in damages and the 5.5 percent royalty and remand to the district court for further proceedings. We affirm the injunction as to the '574 and '711 patents. We vacate the injunction insofar as it pertains to the '880 patent," the appeals court ruled.

For more:
- The Verizon appeal decision is here
- The Kansas City Star has the Sprint Nextel verdict here

Related Article:
Sprint seeks $103 million from Vonage Report

BREAKING NEWS: Damages vacated on Verizon v. Vonage appeal

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:38:04 -0400

A federal appeals court has vacated the $58 million in damages awarded to Verizon by a lower court that found Vonage guilty of patent infringement.

Three specific patents were at issue in the Verizon case. The three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined the lower court was right to find infringement on two, but it said the third had been improperly explained to the jury. The court thus vacated the damage award and the ruling on the third patent, and instructed the lower court to revisit the first two.

“We vacate in its entirety the award of $58,000,000 in damages and the 5.5 percent royalty and remand to the district court for further proceedings. We affirm the injunction as to the ’574 and ’711 patents. We vacate the injunction insofar as it pertains to the ’880 patent,” the appeals court ruled.

The initial $58 million award was handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Verizon’s favor last March. A federal jury in Kansas City on Tuesday found Vonage in willful violalation of patenst owned by Sprint Nextel, which was awarded $69.5 million in damages.

For more:

- The Verizon appeal decision is here

- The Kansas City Star has the Sprint Nextel verdict here

VoIP phones walking

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Nationwide wireless broadband will likely become a reality within a few years. A substantial chunk of radio frequency spectrum now occupied by digital TV stations will be freed up, and Sprint Nextel will have its WiMAX network built out. There will be dead spots--the Grand Canyon, for example--but for the most part broadband connectivity will resemble today's mobile networks.

Mobile VoIP handsets will become the rule instead of the exception. The devices won't even be considered mobile VoIP handsets. Everybody will carry around one device with an iPhone-like interface that allows for every type of communication imaginable while powering SETI@home in sleep mode. It will be powerful enough to dock into a monitor that's both a computer and a TV screen, with remote control and voice-activated interactivity. It will automatically be able to screen calls and answer with preselected responses or bring up a telepresence connection on-screen. It will have an interactive program guide feature that searches for video like a TiVo and directs downloads. It will control the thermostat, the burglar alarm system, the microwave, the coffee pot and the Roomba, it will calculate the odds of every active lottery in North America simultaneously, it will be solar powered, and perhaps most importantly, it will look very, very cool.

We're not there yet. Today, VoIP-compatible handsets are relatively new. We've put together 10 in this issue of FierceVoIP. Check them out, and let us know what features you'd like to see in a handheld comms device. Also, be sure to vote for your favorite VoIP handset. The Nokia E51 is quite nice, but it's a tough call between that and the Hello Kitty Skype. As always, your thoughts and feedback are encouraged at dmcadams@fiercemarkets.com.