This sounds promising, particularly the free international calling:
SunRocket Brings Internet Phone Service to Mainstream America
The "No Gotcha" Company Sets New Standard for Making It Easy
for Consumers to Use Broadband to Enjoy Internet Phone Savings
VIENNA, VA, November 1, 2004 - Establishing new benchmarks for value,
control and simplicity, SunRocket, the "no gotcha" phone company,
today announced the arrival of SunRocket Signature Servicesm, designed
to accelerate the adoption of Internet phone service. This new
residential primary-line phone service is offered at an all-inclusive
price of $24.95 per month, with no activation charges, hidden fees or
"gotchas", making it easy and risk-free for mainstream consumers to
make the leap to state-of-the-art Internet telephony. Now available in
Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Boston, SunRocket will be available
in cities across America by the end of the year.
"We are the first phone company that gives consumers what they want --
an easy-to-try, simple-to-use, feature-rich phone service at a
superior value for a fixed monthly fee that eliminates the surprises
we call 'gotchas'," said Paul Erickson, chief executive officer of
SunRocket. "We recognize the mounting frustration that consumers have
with escalating fees, add-on surcharges and taxes that turn an
advertised $49.99 price into a $65 monthly phone bill. With
SunRocket's Bottom-Line Pricingsm, members get everything they need
for one low monthly price which includes taxes."
Making it even easier for households to experience the future of
Internet-enabled communications, SunRocket does not require contracts,
term commitments, activation fees, shipping charges, equipment charges
or cancellation fees. All necessary equipment is provided at no
additional charge for members who sign up for SunRocket Signature
Service. Members receive a free self-install kit containing a
plug-and-play gizmo that connects to the customer's high-speed modem
and sends phone calls over the home broadband connection. Membership
comes complete with a no-risk, 31-day money back guarantee.
SunRocket Signature Service includes a myriad of features and benefits
such as unlimited domestic phone calling and over a dozen free calling
features such as enhanced voicemail, caller ID with name, call
waiting, 3-way calling, smart call forwarding. In addition to these
built-in features and Bottom-Line Pricing, SunRocket offers members
these extra benefits at no additional charge:
Choice of phone numbers. SunRocket members get to choose their phone
numbers from a pool of available numbers or transfer an existing
number from their old phone company.
Free International Calls. Every SunRocket Signature Service member
receives an allowance for free calls to any international destination,
which translates to 100 minutes to any of 13 countries or 30 minutes
or more to any of 75 countries. Incremental minutes are priced at
SunRocket's low international rates, such as $0.03 per minute to Hong
Kong, London, Paris, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Tokyo or Toronto, $0.04 per
minute to Mexico City, and $0.05 per minute to Beijing, Buenos Aires,
Caracas, Lima, Jakarta, Seoul or Taipei.
Free Directory Assistance Calls. Members get two free nationwide 411
calls each month.
Free Signature Numbers. Two phone numbers for the price of one. In
addition to a regular household phone number, members can choose an
extra Signature Number to give to another member of the household,
complete with its own distinctive ring, calling features and personal
voicemail.
Enhanced 911. Unlike most other Internet phone companies, SunRocket
provides Enhanced 911 emergency calling, which routes calls directly
to emergency operators along with service location address information
and automatic phone number identification.
Paul Erickson and Joyce Dorris, former MCI Consumer executives who
pioneered many of MCI's breakthrough innovations, including
1-800-COLLECT and The Neighborhood, founded the company in early 2004.
"SunRocket isn't just about great technology at a great price. Our
vision is to build a company that is committed to doing the right
thing for consumers, something that big phone companies appear
genetically incapable of doing," said Erickson.
Nokia Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital firm focused
on early-stage technology companies, led SunRocket's initial financing
round. According to John Malloy, managing partner of the firm,
"Internet-enabled wireless and landline voice services will transform
the global telecom industry, producing billion-dollar opportunities
for new entrants with the right vision and business model to drive
that transformation. Having observed the company's leadership in
action and glimpsed the innovations they will introduce, we're
convinced that SunRocket will emerge as the leading brand in Internet
phone service."
"The interest in Internet phone service has been established. Now,
someone has to take it mainstream in a friendly, easy, and motivating
way, and let consumers escape from the 'gotcha' traps from other
providers," said Dorris, SunRocket's chief marketing officer and
former head of MCI's consumer unit. "We know what it takes to convince
millions of Americans to embrace change in pursuit of better value,
and we're excited to begin to establish SunRocket as the premier brand
for personal Internet phone service."
Consumers can learn more and sign up for service on the web at
SunRocket.com or by contacting SunRocket Member Services at
1-800-786-0173.
About SunRocket
Headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, SunRocket, the "no gotcha" phone
company, is bringing new personal Internet phone service to mainstream
America with its SunRocket Signature Servicesm. The only company to
offer a complete Internet phone service at an all-inclusive,
bottom-line monthly price of $24.95 with no hidden charges or
"gotchas", SunRocket makes it easy for broadband households to take
advantage of the value and enhanced capabilities of state-of-the-art
Internet telephony. Nokia Venture Partners is the lead investor in the
privately-held corporation. For more information, see the company's
web site at SunRocket.com.
Contact
Julie Rosenthal, JR Communications
202.248.8449
Julie@jrcommunications.com Heather Frick, SunRocket
703.394.4175
Heather.Frick@sunrocket.com
kansasman (dog4dogg@yahoo.com)