You’ll miss your land line when it’s gone.
Though many consumers are dumping their land-based phone lines in favor of go-everywhere cell phones, one Vienna-based company is banking on the fact that most families still want a house phone — even as the technology moves beyond traditional communications.
“Right now most people pay $50 to $70 a month for what is increasingly limited [home] phone service. But there are still some phone calls you prefer to make from home. You don’t want to make those more emotional connections [over a cell phone],” said Joyce Dorris, co-founder and chief marketing officer for SunRocket.
Founded in 2004, SunRocket offers consumers a high-tech land line using Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, technology. Instead of having a physically separate telephone line, customers can place calls that travel over a broadband Internet connection. The company provides customers with an adapter that lets them use a traditional phone with their high-speed internet connection.
By plugging into the existing broadband infrastructure, VoIP companies like SunRocket can offer drastically reduced rates for phone service and avoid “gotcha” fees that traditional phone companies often charge, Dorris said.
The company’s basic package, which includes long-distance and features such as call waiting, at a $199 annual rate, or about $16.50 per month.
One of only a handful of companies in the VoIP space — Vonage is the perhaps the most well-known provider — SunRocket quickly became a darling of the venture capital world when it launched in mid-2004. The company won the “Hottest Venture Capital Deal” earlier this month from the Northern Virginia Technology Council for closing on nearly $50 million in venture financing.
“For us it comes down to betting on big markets and winning management teams and we saw we had both,” said Jonathan Ebinger, a partner with Silicon Valley-based BlueRun Ventures, which has so far invested about $20 million in two rounds of financing. “The telecom industry is changing and Voiceover IP is going to be a part of that.”
About SunRocket
» Management Team: Founded by former MCI executives Joyce Dorris and Paul Erickson. As MCI’s chief strategist, Erickson launched MCI’s popular 1-800-COLLECT program. Lisa Hook, former president of AOL Broadband, joined SunRocket as president and CEO in March.
» Number of employees: 150
» Venture Capital Funding: BlueRun Ventures, Doll Capital Management, Anthem Capital Management and Mayfield Fund have invested a total of $46.4 million.
» Plans for growth: SunRocket has more than 135,000 subscribers. The company has doubled its subscriber base in the past four months and expects to have 300,000 customers by the end of the year.
“It’s a breakout industry that’s expected to explode,” Dorris said. “People are increasingly comfortable with their high speed Internet service, so as penetration for high speed service increases that market for Internet phone service increases.”
SunRocket is the second-fastest-growing VoIP company next to Vonage, which currently has 1.6 million subscribers. As a private company, SunRocket declined to disclose company financials.
