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8×8 CEO Tries to Minimize Pure-Play VoIP Negativity

6:55 am on July 30, 2007 | Category: Business, VoIP

The CEO of independent VoIP carrier, 8×8, did his best to downplay negativity about the pure-play VoIP sector in an interview with the editor of Telephony Online last week.

Analysts and industry watchers have adopted a grim attitude towards pure-play VoIP in recent months, in light of strong cable VoIP growth, Vonage’s ongoing legal dispute with Verizon, and most recently the collapse of broadband phone startup, SunRocket.

But 8×8 CEO, Huw Rees, continues to insist that â€œthings aren’t that negative,â€ noting that his company’s Packet8 VoIP service is drawing ever closer to profitability.

â€œThere are some specific situations that obviously affected SunRocket and Vonage but are not necessarily affecting us,â€ Rees said, explaining that Packet8 is targeted primarily towards small businesses, as opposed to consumers.

â€œWe didn’t abandon consumers, but we decided not to compete with nonsensical offers,â€ Rees explained. â€œSunRocket was offering $199 for two years of service as a special offer. We know the cost associated with this business (and) there is no way you can make any money on that.â€

As for competition from cable incumbents, Rees says that big cable doesn’t have the same influence in the small to mid-sized business market as it does with consumers. Most of America’s 20 million small businesses don’t have existing relationships with cable companies, and as support for enterprise VoIP increases, these customers will go somewhere.

Therefore, gaining the trust of business owners and managers, and differentiating themselves from bargain basement consumer VoIP providers will be the main test for companies like 8×8 in the months and years to come.

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