Dueling Fools: Vonage

Perky commercials. Disruptive technology. Abysmal returns. Meet Vonage (NYSE: VG), one of The Motley Fool's favorite punching bags. Since going public in June last year, the company has been repeatedlyflamed by Fool writers who have warned investors to steer clear of what they perceive to be a unique stinker of a stock.

Since Fool Rick Munarriz pegged Vonage as "The Worst Stock for 2007" back in December, the shares have significantly underperformed those of established telecoms such as AT&T (NYSE: T), China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), the general market itself, and, well, just about every company under the sun.

Decelerating growth, customer churn, a perceived lack of a competitive moat, and what I'll lightly describe as "legal challenges" courtesy of Verizon (NYSE: VZ) have been the primary causes of Vonage's pains.

Fools with a penchant for beaten-up stocks, though, can't help wondering whether the market has overreacted. Is Vonage not really the hopeless, moatless train wreck that so many Fools make it out to be? The Fool's leading telecom writers, Dave Mock and Tom Taulli, have been invited to debate the merits of investing your coin with this down-and-out telecom.

Let the duel begin!

• Read the bull argument
• Read the bear argument
• Read the bull rebuttal
• Read the bear rebuttal
• Sound off in Motley Fool CAPS
• Vote for the winner!

Foolish editor Joe Magyer does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. Vodafone is an Inside Value selection. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.