Cablevision Systems Corp. announced that its digital voice-over-cable product, Optimum Voice, has surpassed the one million-customer milestone. The cable industry's first broadly-deployed VoIP service, Optimum Voice has already attracted one-third of Cablevision's cable television customers and more than half of the company's high-speed Internet customers. Since the launch of the service, Optimum Voice customers have paid an estimated $500 million less than they would have been charged by traditional phone companies for a similar level of service.
"Optimum Voice brought competition to a market that had historically been dominated by high-priced monopoly phone companies, and offered consumers a reliable flat-rate voice product that included all the popular calling features with no additional charges or hidden fees," said Tom Rutledge, Cablevision's chief operating officer. "As we pass this milestone, we thank our customers for a response to Optimum Voice that has been clear and undeniable. Optimum Voice has exceeded our own high expectations and has already been embraced by one-third of our cable television customers and more than half of our high-speed Internet customers."
"The strong response to Optimum Voice has positioned Cablevision to pursue its next major growth opportunity - providing Optimum for business voice and data services with the same level of value and reliability to the hundreds of thousands of businesses in our service area," Rutledge added.
Optimum Voice has had a profound impact on the growth of all of Cablevision's digital services and the company's overall success, particularly as a driver of the company's innovative Optimum Triple Play marketing offer. Since the launch of Optimum Voice, all of the company's digital services have extended their industry-leading penetration rates and Cablevision has added three million revenue-generating units (RGUs).
Optimum Voice provides unlimited local and long distance calling to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico as well as a full array of advanced features for a flat monthly fee of $34.95. Optimum Voice features include enhanced voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, caller ID blocking (*67), call return (*69), three-way calling and call forwarding, in addition to directory assistance (411), VIP ringing, find me, caller ID on call waiting, busy redial, anonymous calling and anonymous call blocking -- all at no additional cost. The service's "My Optimum Voice" web portal allows customers to easily activate account features, listen to voicemail messages through any Web browser, review and sort calling history and manage other settings.
Optimum Voice includes enhanced 911 access for every customer and provides a local number portability option, so new customers who switch from other telephone companies can keep their existing phone number. Optimum Voice service is carried over Cablevision's world-class broadband network, not the public Internet, and offers customers a highly reliable voice service with superior value.
The most recent enhancement to Optimum Voice was the launch of Optimum Voice World Call, an innovative international calling plan that allows customers to call anywhere in the world for just $19.95 per month.
Optimum Voice is available exclusively to Optimum Online® high-speed Internet customers. Nearly 98 percent of Optimum Voice customers are three- product customers who also take Cablevision's video service. As the Optimum- branded video, high-speed Internet and voice services continue to become increasingly integrated, these customers will continue to receive the highest level of product functionality and the ability to maximize the overall value of each service individually and as a complete product set.
Last fall, Optimum Online and Optimum Voice were named the top high-speed Internet and VoIP services in the nation by the readers of PC Magazine in the publication's 18th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and VoIP Digital Voice Service Providers. Optimum Online received the highest overall rating among all high-speed Internet providers in the nation, with top ratings in the categories of speed and reliability. Optimum Voice received the highest overall rating among VoIP services and top scores in the categories of sound quality and connection reliability.