Company: Vonage

Founder: Jeffrey A. Citron

Industry: Vonage provides voice and messaging services through a broadband connection, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), through its aggressive consumer marketing in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom among others.

History:

Advancements in the world of information and technology have allowed calls to be made via the Internet. This can include calls to another computer or calls right to another landline or cellular phone. Vonage provides local calling and long distance calling in one package for a single monthly charge. Each plan has several other features.

Although the company initially opened its doors in 2001, Vonage signed up its first residential customer in 2002. This same customer is reported to be still happy with the services to this day.

Each year, Vonage seems to be making improvements to provide even better customer service. In 2003, the firm launched the first software to enable 911 calls over the Web. Then, in 2004, the company began offering its service in the retail market through a partnership with Circuit City. Later that year, Vonage started to provide their services to countries outside the United States, including Canada, UK, France, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

Today, Vonage is one of the top players in the VoIP industry. In 2008, the company held the most subscribers at nearly 2.6 million lines.

While the company has reached national and international fame, it also has its share of internal hardships. Nonetheless, Vonage continues to thrive and allow anyone to make calls almost anywhere via a broadband connection. Through its efforts, consumers can now purchase their services through a number of national retailers, such as BestBuy, WalMart, and Target.

In addition, while Vonage can mostly take the credit for changing the way people can make calls through the Internet, competition in the market is becoming fierce. Today, more and more VoIP companies are emerging and advertising efficient features. For this reason, Vonage makes sure to further enhance their services.

Leadership:

Jeffrey A. Citron – Non-executive Chairman of the Board
Marc Lefar – CEO