FYI Ericsson Acquires Vonage

[kenn10]

Ericsson acquires cloud communications provider Vonage for $6.2B

Ericsson has entered an agreement to acquire cloud communications provider Vonage for $6.2 billion.

telecomstechnews.com

 

[krzykat]

I think the more these types of companies grow, the more corporate they get, the more layers of management and the higher the cost. Really allows for custom pros out there to make a good sales pitch on where small and personal can be better.

 

[atsak]

... And the poorer the customer service experience. Sigh.

 

[dallas]

... And the poorer the customer service experience. Sigh.

Yes. In a past life I worked for a Telephony Vendor (not Ericsson) and after about 6 months I wondered why I ever took the job. I lasted about 18 months. Since then most have either merged or disappeared.
I suspect Ericsson's telephony business has gone the way of Nortel etc. hence the acquisition of Vonage.

 

[krzykat]

Yeah, as they grow and merge, some people say 'Too big to fail' ... I think of it as "Too big to care"
Sad for their customers, good for me and their customers that are soon to become mine

 

[hawk#1]

Now, a person has one less crappy company to choose from. Although I wouldn't have used either before they merged.

 

[kenn10]

Ericsson makes decent telecom switch gear for cellular and traditional central offices for phone companies. However, they are not tuned in to the home or small business markets in the least. Vonage had become more of a business-only sales model so I doubt they'll get much worse than they already have been. With everyone pitching UCaaS now (which most of us already have with IncrediblePBX in the cloud), I guess Ericsson is looking for a piece of the pie.

 

[dallas]

Ericsson makes decent telecom switch gear

In Australia in the 80's and 90's Ericsson (AXE) and Alcatel (10C then System 12) supplied all the PSTN exchange equipment.
Ericsson were also the incumbent, having supplied the Crossbar equipment in the late 60's through to the 80's.

 

[kenn10]

There are many Ericsson switches still in service here in the USA in small cities and rural areas. They are similar to smaller versions of the Nortel DMS or Alcatel/Lucent 5E.

 

[ostridge]

In my memory - I remember seeing lots and lots of ATA's and the like hardware boxes locked to "Vonage" ;
Obviously there is a huge pile of disused and dumped hardware out there still to recycle - a large amount being the responsibility of Vonage - and I wonder what this company are doing to try and make this right.
Any company that restricts hardware to their own services should be boycotted in these more enlightened "Save the Planet" times.

 

[KNERD]

Maybe it will now go the way of DEC, and Compaq.

 

[KNERD]

In my memory - I remember seeing lots and lots of ATA's and the like hardware boxes locked to "Vonage" ;
Obviously there is a huge pile of disused and dumped hardware out there still to recycle - a large amount being the responsibility of Vonage - and I wonder what this company are doing to try and make this right.
Any company that restricts hardware to their own services should be boycotted in these more enlightened "Save the Planet" times.

in California, there is a disposal fee for LCD screens charged to the buyer upon purchase.

 

[krzykat]

Maybe it will now go the way of DEC, and Compaq.

Hey Now ... my father worked for DEC which is why I had a computer floor on our closed in porch and got to learn computers before anyone else even knew what a computer was.

 

[KNERD]

Hey Now ... my father worked for DEC which is why I had a computer floor on our closed in porch and got to learn computers before anyone else even knew what a computer was.

Compaq did a hostile takeover of DEC to get a hold of its service division. Shortly after, HP did a hostile takeover of Compaq and promptly dismantled the company, selling off everything in parts. Intel got the Alpha processor IP, and was still late to the 64 bit processor game.