Vonage, in its first earning report since its IPO in May , announced a loss of $ 74.1 million for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $ 63.6 million 12 months ago. The loss, about $ 1.16 a share, came despite revenue of $ 143.4 million, compared to $ 59.4 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The company''s marketing costs increased to $ 90 million, a 46 percent increase over the year prior. Acquiring a new subscriber cost the Holmdel, N.J.-based company $ 239, up from $ 236 last year. The company''s monthly churn rate was 2.3 percent, or about 43,000 turnovers every 30 days. A survey by Brix Networks cited call quality as the main factor for why consumers decide to switch service providers.

Vonage CEO Mike Snyder remained optimistic, and said the company was on track to to be profitable by the first quarter of 2008. He cited an increase of average revenue per line, which rose $ 27.70 from $ 26.63 a year ago, as a good sign for the company. Vonage began trading publicly on May 24, at $ 17 per share. Faced with lawsuits , and little investor confidence, the stock has plummeted to $ 6.98 (as of press time on August 1).

Vonage, which has about 1.9 million subscribers, still holds a substantial lead in the pure-play VoIP subscriber market, but is facing stiff competition from cable companies, traditional telecos, and low-priced new companies. According to a study by Infonetics Research, Vonage held 27 percent of the North America subscriber market. But, combined, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable held 39 percent of the market. Cable providers who offered telephone services ranked higher in customer satisfaction than traditional phone companies, J.D. Powers & Associates reported .

Vonage is also seeing competition from companies offering cheaper and cheaper Internet calls. Skype has its free SkypeOut calling offer , which will expire at the end of the year. Also, Gizmo Project is offering free calls to landlines and mobiles in in 60 countries.
Vonage, in its first earning report since its IPO in May , announced a loss of .1 million for the second quarter, compared with a loss of .6 million 12 months ago. The loss, about .16 a share, came despite revenue of 3.4 million, compared to .4 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The company''s marketing costs increased to million, a 46 percent increase over the year prior. Acquiring a new subscriber cost the Holmdel, N.J.-based company 9, up from 6 last year. The company''s monthly churn rate was 2.3 percent, or about 43,000 turnovers every 30 days. A survey by Brix Networks cited call quality as the main factor for why consumers decide to switch service providers.

Vonage CEO Mike Snyder remained optimistic, and said the company was on track to to be profitable by the first quarter of 2008. He cited an increase of average revenue per line, which rose .70 from .63 a year ago, as a good sign for the company. Vonage began trading publicly on May 24, at per share. Faced with lawsuits , and little investor confidence, the stock has plummeted to .98 (as of press time on August 1).

Vonage, which has about 1.9 million subscribers, still holds a substantial lead in the pure-play VoIP subscriber market, but is facing stiff competition from cable companies, traditional telecos, and low-priced new companies. According to a study by Infonetics Research, Vonage held 27 percent of the North America subscriber market. But, combined, Cablevision and Time Warner Cable held 39 percent of the market. Cable providers who offered telephone services ranked higher in customer satisfaction than traditional phone companies, J.D. Powers & Associates reported .

Vonage is also seeing competition from companies offering cheaper and cheaper Internet calls. Skype has its free SkypeOut calling offer , which will expire at the end of the year. Also, Gizmo Project is offering free calls to landlines and mobiles in in 60 countries.

Marin Perez