So what’s it going to be with VoIP provider Vonage?
The next Google or eBay (which already swallowed up Vonage competitor Skype)?
Or the next TiVo (which everybody adores but can’t make a dime)?
We’ll know soon enough after yesterday’s news from Vonage that the company will be trying to raise $250 million in a much-anticipated IPO.
The offering may not be the slam-dunk many thought it would be when Vonage first emerged from anonymity to begin a run that has it now controlling more than half of the consumer VoIP market in North America. As this BusinessWeek story nicely summarizes, Vonage faces a host of obstacles that include increasing competition — especially from deep-pocketed major players — rising customer-acquisition costs and declining revenue on a per-line basis.
In fact, doubts about the company’s long-term prospects have been bubbling up for about as long as the IPO rumors.
One thing this IPO will not be is a referendum on VoIP; that genie’s not going back into the bottle.
The only question is who’s going to find a way to make money off it — and who’s going to go broke trying.
