Verizon implies, Vonage denies

Vonage VoIP Forum Digest, February 22, 2007--we use Vonage and Skype for all business and personal calls and subscribe to an internet fax service; all of things are made possible by Time-Warner service on a cable modem. Our average monthly bill went in mid-2005 from around $350 a month to about $130 a month, and the base rates haven't risen since. Our totals including the fax service (Send2fax) still hover around $150. Here's the dispute as framed by both sides, succinctly:

Vonage Denies Verizon's Charges

Vonage and Verizon started courtroom proceedings in Verizon's patent suit against Vonage.

Verizon, which is asking for $197 million, says Vonage is infringing on a total of five Verizon patents for billing and fraud detection in services such as call forwarding and voicemail, as well as for the use of Wi-Fi handsets in a VoIP network.. Vonage denies all these claims.

"Vonage, using our patented technology, is able to lure customers away from our landline service," Verizon lawyer Daniel Webb told the jury in opening arguments of a two-week trial in Alexandria, Virginia. "That's what this case is all about."

Not only does Vonage deny infringing on these patents, but they also deny the "luring" charge.

"Verizon has lost millions of customers, and they've lost them for a variety of reasons, not because of Vonage," Vonage attorney Roger E. Warin, said to the jury. "This case is about choice and competition, which should be decided in the marketplace not the courtroom," he said.