![]() ![]() ![]() Scott Devitt, an analyst at Legg Mason, said that with eBay's 157 million registered users and roughly 65 million active users, there may already be overlap between eBay and Skype users. ![]() And since the value of a telephone subscriber is generally a known quantity, the value of an active Skype customer can be at least guesstimated." "Skype absolutely takes money out of the pockets of existing telephone companies. "Skype threatens existing, highly profitable franchises," wrote technology columnist Robert Cringely in a column for PBS.org. #Skype stock price freeBut the technology Skype makes undercuts paid services, as opposed to free services such as e-mail and instant messaging. The price tag has reportedly scared off companies who feel they could produce the technology themselves. Whether it's worth $3 billion is a matter of some debate. the customer base and the brand, rather than develop the technology themselves." Is it really worth $3 billion? "For these bigger companies that want to get into (VoIP), it makes sense to look at them acquiring. "Skype has a lot of early adopters, and they have technology that works," said David Smith, a vice president and analyst at information technology research firm Gartner. #Skype stock price for freeSkype does offer some paid services, such as SkypeOut, which allows Skype users to call people with regular phones for less than what the major telcos charge, and SkypeZone, allowing for free phone calls in wireless "hot spots."īig companies who want to get in on the VoIP act see Skype as a way to immediately access the company's technology and big user base. We prefer to think of ourselves as a big group hug, even a present." and we don't want any money for it," the Skype Web site says. #Skype stock price software"What we've got is a simple bit of software we want to give you. About 126 million people have downloaded the software. Broadband phone company Vonage is planning an IPO, and Microsoft and Yahoo! have gotten in on the act via planned acquisitions of VoIP software makers - Teleo by Microsoft and Dialpad by Yahoo!įounded by Niklas Zennstr�m, the co-founder of file-swapping service Kazaa, and Janus Friis, Skype rolled out its software in July 2004 and has since signed up 40 million active users. Why are so many companies salivating over a small company that gives away its software?įor starters, Internet telephone service - also called VoIP - is heating up, and it could become a threat to long distance companies. Yahoo! ( Research) and Microsoft ( Research) were also rumored suitors, though they may have been spooked by the company's steep asking price, according to a Wall Street Journal report. ( Research) this July for a $3 billion acquisition, but those talks broke down. The company was also reportedly in talks with News Corp. Skype is reportedly in talks with eBay ( Research) for an acquisition for figures ranging from $3 billion to $5 billion, according to reports published Thursday. Skype, a company that makes software allowing users to call each other over the Internet at no charge, features warm and fuzzy language on its Web site about how it just wants to give away software.īut when suitors come knocking, the Swedish startup reportedly waves a hefty price tag. ![]()
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