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Circuit City to offer Vonage Internet phone service starting Monday – What is Skype?

Circuit City (CC) will offer Vonage’s No. 1 Internet phone service in all its 600 stores starting Monday, giving the new breed of phone offerings its first national retail beachhead.

The move is expected to sharply raise the profile of the discount phone service, expand its fast-growing customer base and entice a somewhat less tech-savvy audience.

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/techcorporatenews/2004-03-05-vonage_x.htm

"This is a great way for our customers to see our product, try it out and take it home," says Vonage CEO Jeffrey Citron.

Those who sign up at the electronics giant will save $100. An adapter from Circuit City costs $100, but Vonage will offer the first two months of service free — a $70 savings — and waive the $30 activation fee.

Since its launch two years ago, Vonage’s Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service has enlisted 120,000 subscribers via online and traditional advertising and word of mouth.

Customers, who must also have high-speed Internet service, plug a regular phone into an adapter that connects to a DSL or cable-modem broadband line.

Voice calls are converted into digitized packets that travel over the Internet before being turned back into voice signals and handed off to a regular phone company at the other end.

Since expensive traditional phone wires and switches are largely avoided, Vonage’s monthly fees are $34.99 for unlimited calling or as little as $14.99 for 500 minutes.

By contrast, standard phone firms charge about $50 to $60, plus taxes and fees, for unlimited calls.

While the quality of Internet phone calls was shaky a few years ago, most analysts say it’s now equivalent to standard phone service.

The number of VoIP customers is expected to grow from about 200,000 to 4 million in 2007, says research firm InStat-MDR.

But Vonage’s lead, and even its survival, is threatened by AT&T, cable providers and the regional Bells, all of which have plans to offer VoIP service.

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Norm Bogen, analyst with InStat/MDR, says, "There will be a shakeout, and I think the cable guys are in a strong position."

For its part, Circuit City — which will earn a one-time bounty for each customer it corrals in addition to the equipment charge — is seeking a foothold in the burgeoning industry.

"Internet telephony is the next big frontier," says John Roe, Circuit City’s merchandise manager-digital services. "Our goal is to get in early and establish ourselves as a destination."

Vonage also plans to strike deals with other retailers. Citron would not be specific, though Vonage has done trials in select markets with Best Buy (BBY) and RadioShack (RSH).

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