Investors continue to support SunRocket

Internet phone service provider SunRocket announced a $33 million round of Series C institutional financing today, bringing the firm’s total venture capital raised to approximately $80 million.

All of SunRocket’s existing investors returned for another round. Investors include: BlueRun Ventures, Mayfield Fund, DCM and Anthem Capital Management.

New to the party were Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co., the largest private sector pension insurer in Finland, which was a significant participant, The Grosvenor Funds, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm and Brú Venture Capital, a private equity and venture firm with investments in the U.S. and Europe.

Lisa Hook, president and CEO of SunRocket, said in a statement that the additional commitment from existing investors signals an unwavering belief that SunRocket has found the right recipe for success to strategically grow its customer base and implement the necessary fiscal restraint to achieve near-term profitability.

That recipe includes the industry’s only full-year, flat-rate, all-inclusive home phone package at $199 per year. In November of last year, the company also introduced SunRocket SunSpots, a group of 31 countries plus an additional 10 major foreign cities that are part of an international calling plan rate of three cents per minute.

Vienna, Va.-based SunRocket will use the cash to accelerate product and feature development, penetrate strategic new sales channels and enhance customer service with a new customer care center in Springfield, Mo., which opened earlier this month. The new facility will employ up to 500 people by the end of the year.

SunRocket has nearly tripled its subscriber base in 2006. Investors said that this momentum demonstrates that SunRocket is hitting its stride just as consumers are beginning to embrace Internet phone service and that it is an opportune time to invest in the U.S. Internet phone service market.

Earlier this month, research firm TeleGeography said SunRocket added 48,000 lines in the second quarter to reach 130,000. The firm said SunRocket would overtake 8X8 in the third quarter if its growth rate continues.

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