SunRocket goes under
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 - 4:05pm
SunRocket, the second-largest in the US independent VOIP provider (200,000 subscribers), abruptly went dark in an apparent shuttering of operations and impending ceasement of business.
I happen to be their now-abandoned customer. 
Anyone else here?
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
A friend of mine had Sun Rocket for her phone service awhile ago.. I wonder why she didn't mention it to me. More over, how odd that such a successful company would just collapse like that. It reminds me of the dot-com days when those just went under with a flick of the wrist. I certainly hope you get it worked out, Gorilla. :/ Best of luck to you.
Its like, dinosaurs, WITH GUNS! - GFW podcast 8/21/07
I would avoid ViaTalk for now; they normally run a $199/year with a free year promotion, but they've cut the deal down substantially because they figure the SunRocket people will switch out of desperation. I'd suggest holding off until the deals come back to normal with them.
I've been using Vonage, and they've been pretty good, although I'm not happy that the calls are totally unencrypted.
According to the insider info, SunRocket was largely unprofitable.
One thing it had going for it, though --
* good price
* fairly reliable servce
* excellent international rates
Considering ViaTalk or Packet8 now.
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
As a Vonage customer, I'm afraid the same will happen to them. Then again, their install base is big enough that they could be scooped up by a larger, actually profitable company. Vonage service has been pretty sucky for me lately, though.
I generated a virtual world in the toilet bowl this morning.
-- Podunk on the PS3's mystical, magical abilities
Has there been any update on those patents that Verizon trolled them for and won? I had heard that if Vonage can't successfully appeal, that they'll be ordered to stop accepting new customers in the US. Has that changed?
"We're taught from a young age how to dodge rock hard objects moving at incredible rates of speed while simultaneously beating folks half to death with sticks. We do this for fun." -kung fu grip
http://blog.digital-lifeline.ca
They're sort of dangling over the precipice, but the Supreme Court just changed the rules somewhat on patents (requiring a higher standard, basically), and there's a good chance Vonage may be able to stop Verizon based on that new standard. It's a low-quality patent.
I have had Vonage for a while now, seems to work most all the time.
I heard an analyst saying that SunRocket just didn't have the subscriber base to be profitable and that it takes a million users or more to make it.
I work for a VoIP provider that is being overwhelmed by phone calls from Sunrocket customers calling desperately to get another service up and running asap. I'm not going to say who I work for but just be careful with Viatalk. When shopping for a VoIP provider (any service actually) make sure to check their Terms of Service before signing up. There are some providers out there with a bunch of fees if you try to change your plan, upgrade, cancel or modify it in any way and in the end, the whole thing is just too expensive that you would've been better off just paying a regular phone provider.
And good luck to SR's former customers.
XBL/PSN Gamertag: KillTrash
I switched over to Packet8. Waiting for the equipment to arrive.
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs