Vonage current situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Vonage current situation - Essay Example The company claims that its technology is unique as it allows higher flexibility, more features, low cost and ease in operation and size. It has reached higher number of customers due to announcement of free unlimited calling to landline phones in all cities and locations in more than 60 countries. It also provides important facilities like call waiting and call forwarding at an affordable price. It is in touch with all the customers of different nations through web and it connects to people in USA through national retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Recently it launched Vonage Mobile which is its first mobile calling service and it is considered to be a free downloadable service that enables low cost international calling through cellular network or Wi-Fi. Vonage Holdings Corp. has its headquarter in Holmdel, New Jersey. Its financial status has been improved considerably relative to previous year. Though its operating revenue recorded for the second quarter i.e. April-June 2009 was lesser ($222 million) than that recorded in second quarter of 2008 ($227.5 million), it recorded a net profit of $2.28 million in 2009 compared to a net loss of $6.88 million in 2008. This is due to reduction in operating expenses in 2009. The average monthly direct costs of telephony services per line was reduced to $6.76 in 2008 from $7.22 in 2009 resulting in reduction in operating expenditure which in turn resulted in higher net profit. Vonage has gone to public in May 2006 though IPO for raising $250 million and registered as public company with New York Stock Exchange. Around 13.5% of its shares were sold to the public and 60 % of its shares were retained with the directors of the company. It was quoted at $1.76 on 7th October 2009. Its 52 week high and low values were $2.63 and $0.31 respectively which indicate that the

How significant was the division between the Scottish Highlands and Essay

How significant was the division between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands - Essay Example It is interesting to note, that the topic of Highlands-Lowlands division is closely connected with the discussion of the British imperialism and its impact on the development of Scottish nationalism (or national identity), as it is a historical fact, that the development of imperialism had already reached rather significant level, but its spreading onto the Highlands territory was prevented by the division between Highlands and Lowlands; although the connection between the division and the Scottish nationalism is seen, the work will not make special accent on this topic, but we will here look at the general impact on people, their culture and the whole future history of Scotland which was made by this division. The division of the Highlands and Lowlands has created a major impact on the fact that Scottish people didn't feel like entire nation and the notion of nation has ceased to exist for them. However, this impact was created through the number of factors, which are to be consider ed separately in this work. The feudal movement, which existed in Scotland, was one of the major engines, making the division of the Scotland closer. The roots of the division lay in the fact, that King David, being active supporter of the feudalism and making everything possible to spread it over the country, has unconsciously divided Scotland into two parts: the estates, which he often granted to his lords, were mainly situated in the southern part of the country, making it more bourgeois and developed, and thus closer to Britain - not physically, but in economic development and culture. It is already by that time, that Scottish nation was characterized by two different languages spoken, and two different political preferences - while the Highlands was closer to Ireland, the Lowlands at the moment tended to speak Teutonic (modern English) and thus culturally to be closer to England. The manners and customs of the Scots vary with the diversity of their speech. For two languages spoken amongst them, the Scottish and Teutonic, the latter of which is the language of those who occupy the seaboard and plains, while the race of Scottish speech inhabits the Highlands and outlying islands. The people of the coast are of domestic civilized habits; the Highlanders and people of the islands, on the other hand, are savage and untamed race, rude and independent, given to rapine, ease-loving, hostile to English people and language - and exceedingly cruel.'1 This extract makes it evident, that though the division between Highlands and Lowlands is mostly discussed through the period, starting with the 17th century, the roots of the problems were already apparent in the 14th century. Knowledge and understanding of these roots is essential for defining the significance of this division both for the history and for the people. Though the later period became a mark of more equal feudal development of both Scottish parts, but the discrepancies, planted earlier, remained to grow into more serious forms, which later turned into huge cultural, religious and attitudinal division between the people of one state. Closer to the beginning of the 18th century, it has become apparent that the division betw