Cidav Printed Circuits Ltd. (TASE:CIDA), which traded at a market cap of NIS 11 million this morning, announced that its subsidiary, Cidav Digital had obtained a Ministry of Communications license to market a new imported communications router. The new router is intended for Skype Technologies SA subscribers. The new device makes it possible for Skype users to transfer calls to a handset or ordinary landline Bezeq telephone for both incoming and outgoing calls. Cidav Digital will begin marketing the new router through e-commerce sites at a recommended consumer price of NIS 500.
Cidav's share reacted in an astonishing manner. The share, which normally attracts little interest, skyrocketed 129.9% on a huge turnover of NIS 4.6 million. More than 15% of the company's shares changed hands today, boosting its market cap to NIS 25.4 million by the end of the day.
Cidav chairman David Schneider today said that tens of millions of people, including many Israelis had downloaded Skype software. "The moment is approaching when revenue from calls for Bezeq (TASE: BZEQ) and the international call carriers will plummet, as people switch to calling by Internet.
"It is already possible to send e-mails and video files at no cost. Only for conversations do the government and telephony companies still try impose restrictions, so they can collect money from the public. Skype proves that this battle has already been decided. Almost all the traditional telephony companies will disappear within a few years."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on February 22, 2005