31 August 2006

Vonage Buys Customer Base As Freetalk Stops Talking

Vonage has bought the customer base of Freetalk, the ambitious VoIP service launched less then a year ago by the U.K.'s DSG international plc, the parent

of high tech retailers Dixons, PC World, Currys and The Link. At launch (TelecomWeb news break, Sept. 28, 2005), Freetalk was heralded as the cheapest VoIP

service in the British Isles.

It's unknown both how much Vonage is paying per subscriber, or how many subscribers are involved. A DSG spokeswoman decline to reveal either, saying the amount involved was too

small to be material to DSG, and thus not subject to mandatory public disclosure. "We won't be disclosing a figure ," she said, nor would she comment on rumors that the final

price will depend on how many Freetalk subscribers actually switch to Vonage other than to say that "It wouldn't be down to just who's switching."