more on anti-gripe about Skype purchase

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Chris Savage <chris.savage () crblaw com>
Date: September 20, 2005 2:32:19 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: RE: [IP] anti-gripe about Skype purchase


> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 2:13 PM
> To: Ip Ip
> Subject: [IP] anti-gripe about Skype purchase
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Andrew Lippman <lip () media mit edu>
> Date: September 20, 2005 2:04:15 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
> Subject: anti-gripe about Skype purchase
>
> Every increase in the value or valuation of Skype or equivalent is a
> decrease in the value of the telecoms.  That's the message of the
> Skype purchase, and it's good news for us.  The next buyout will be
> even larger.

Andy, I'm all for the (creative) destruction of the value of traditional
telecoms.  But that destruction of the other guys' value, i.e., having a
technology that essentially forces existing fixed-line networks (cable,
telco) to also offer what is today a hundred-billion-dollar industry's
worth of service for free (i.e., use DSL or cable modem for VoIP), does
not really mean that **YOUR BUSINESS** has value.

I'm not saying eBay overpaid for Skype; I don't know.  But the
destruction of telco business valuation doesn't really map to positive
valuation for Skype.

Chris S.

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