https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Telephony/UC/Collaboration


SunRocket Apparently Shuts Down

  • Written by Kelly
  • July 17, 2007

SunRocket Inc., which in recent weeks has been sending out mixed signals about its prospects for the future, has apparently closed its doors.

Reports of this news are circulating in the media just a week after the Vienna, Va.-based company laid off a quarter of its work force.

An e-mail to the CTO resulted in the following reply: Thank you for your e-mail. The recipient is no longer an employee of SunRocket. A call to the corporate communications office netted the standard, The number you have reached is not in service message. Another call to the customer service line got this: We are no longer taking customer service or sales calls goodbye. Yet, it appears that visitors to SunRockets Web site still can order services over the Internet.

And as recently as this April the consumer VoIP provider told xchange and New Telephony it would introduce enhanced applications such as multimedia emergency calling and even video sometime in 2007. It said it wanted to avoid troubles associated with being a pure-play VoIP provider.

Also in April, the 3-year-old company said it had more than 200,000 customers. And, a month prior, it introduced a cordless VoIP phone with the help of American Telecom Services Inc. (ATS).

SunRocket was privately held, so it does not have to explain whats happening at the company, which is backed by Doll Capital Management, BlueRun Ventures and the Mayfield Fund. Calls to those private equity firms, as well as VoIP analysts, were not immediately returned.

Bruce Hahn, CEO of phone maker ATS, said his company is not affected by SunRockets closure, as ATS spotted SunRockets ills months ago. ATS uncovered management, directional, billing and process problems within SunRocket during the first quarter of 2007, so it instead partnered with Primus Telecommunications Lingo division, a healthier, public company, Hahn said.

We saw some difficult times coming and therefore minimized any exposure we had by redirecting our efforts, he said.

Its ironic that SunRocket crashed and burned while rival Vonage Holdings Corp., embroiled in a nasty patent infringement case with Verizon Communications Inc., has remained afloat. As speculation of Vonages imminent demise swirled earlier this year, industry insiders touted SunRocket as a solid model that companies such as Vonage should emulate.

SunRocket was founded by two former MCI Inc. executives. The company made its name as a provider of unlimited VoIP calling to and from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico for $199 per year. And for a time, it was second only to Vonage. Then, this spring, TeleGeography Research released a report that found SunRocket couldnt keep up it was seriously trailing the likes of Time Warner, Cablevision and Comcast Corp. Even as SunRocket boasted about serving 200,000 subscribers, that didnt even come close to Vonages 2.4 million.

Other VoIP providers are rescuing SunRocket customers stranded by the shut down.

Nuvio Corp., which distributes through resellers, is offering SunRocket subscribers its new Safe Landing plan of $199.99 per year as a replacement service. Safe Landing provides unlimited local and long-distance calling, but only within the United States. Vonage is giving SunRocket users two months of free service when they port their numbers to Vonage and sign up for the companys U.S. Residential Premium Unlimited Plan.

SunRocket ran an affiliate partner program.

ATS www.atsphone.com
BlueRun Ventures www.brv.com
Doll Capital Management www.dcm.com
Mayfield Fund www.mayfield.com
Nuvio Corp. www.nuvio.com
SunRocket Inc. www.sunrocket.com
TeleGeography Research www.telegeography.com
Vonage Holdings Corp. www.vonage.com

Tags: Agents Telephony/UC/Collaboration

Most Recent


  • Making Waves
    7 Channel People Making Waves This Week at Verizon, Brightspeed, Okta, Nutanix, More
    CCaaS market revenue will grow by a record 216% by 2027, according to which organization?
  • Strike
    2,000 Frontier Communications Workers 'Fed Up,' On Strike in California
    The workers say Frontier is violating subcontracting limitations in their contract.
  • Partner Hurdles Adopting AI
    As Artificial Intelligence Advances, Is Human Error Holding Up the Contact Center?
    LiveVox’s CEO discusses the challenges and promise of AI for the industry.
  • Time to sell on clock diagram
    Nice Partners with Microsoft, Creates Co-Sell Arrangement for CXone
    CXone will help organizations globally transform their customers’ experiences, building a digital-first customer service operation.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Sales Strategy
    Telesystem Promotes TBI, MetTel Vet to Channel Strategy Manager
  • Cloud Phone
    AT&T to Offer Up to 1 Million Customers Cisco Webex Calling
  • Sign a Contract
    Unisys Adds Managed UCaaS with $153 Million Unify Square Acquisition
  • Fortune 500 2021 logo
    AT&T, Microsoft, Verizon, More Tech, Telco Companies Make Latest Fortune 500

Upcoming Events

View all

MSP Summit

September 13, 2022 - September 16, 2022

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

May 1, 2023 - May 4, 2023

Galleries

View all

7 Channel People Making Waves This Week at Verizon, Brightspeed, Okta, Nutanix, More

August 19, 2022

The Gately Report: SonicWall Partners to Play Big Role in Company’s Next Chapter

August 19, 2022

As Artificial Intelligence Advances, Is Human Error Holding Up the Contact Center?

August 19, 2022

Industry Perspectives

View all

How to Take Shared Responsibility for Securing Cloud

August 11, 2022

Seize the Application Modernization Opportunity

August 2, 2022

A Growth Mindset: Your Organization’s Strategic Differentiator

August 1, 2022

Webinars

View all

Outsmarting RaaS: Implementation Strategies To Help Your Clients Before, During, and After a Ransomware Attack

August 23, 2022

Why it is Important to Upgrade Aging Servers and How to use Live Optics to Upgrade Efficiently

August 25, 2022

Executives at Home are Not Alright: An Intro to Digital Executive Protection

September 8, 2022

White Papers

View all

Work Goes Remote – (and Other Top ITOps Trends)

May 25, 2022

The New Bottom Line: How MSPs Can Meet the Healthcare Crisis While Evolving Their Businesses

April 19, 2022

How to build a Security Operations Center (on a budget)

April 4, 2022

Channel Futures TV

View all

ThreatLocker Preaches Zero Trust, Addresses Industry Competition

Cisco Taking Partners of All Types to ‘New Heights’

August 19, 2022

Kaseya-Datto: Channel Exec Talks MSP Benefits from Acquisition

August 19, 2022

RingCentral Partner Revenue Growth Hits Highs in 2022

August 19, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@RingCentral's Wendy Harmon explains why partners have reason to celebrate this year. @MSP_Summit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

Channel development manager Jason Pryce of @datto on @KaseyaCorp's acquisition, security push and more. @MSP_Summit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@FrontierCorp workers on #strike in California for subcontracting. @CWAUnion dlvr.it/SWwXhh https://t.co/c8QQZyBaq5

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@MichelleRagusa of @CiscoPartners gets us ready for @MSP_Summit by talking #SMB, security and more. #MSPSummit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@IGIcyber sidles up to @meetgradient to bring ease of use and added value to MSPs. dlvr.it/SWwRSG https://t.co/vLFDPfAyQ1

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

Now Available: Expo Pass to Channel Partners Leadership Summit & #MSPSummit this September 13-16! Take a look at th… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

How do you stay on top of your game? 💪 By connecting & sharing knowledge with other elite partners, ready to stay r… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

How do you stay on top of your game? 💪 By connecting & sharing knowledge with other elite partners, ready to stay r… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X