In the papers 8 June

08-06-2007

by Deirdre McArdle

ISPs ordered to release user info to IRMA | Ryanair's in-flight mobile phone plans delayed

The Irish Times reports that EU telecom ministers have voted to support European Commission plans to cap the price of mobile phone calls made and received while abroad. Read the full story as reported by ENN.

The same paper says that the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) has won a High Court decision requiring seven internet service providers -- Digiweb, BT, Smart Telecom, Irish Broadband, NTL, Eircom and Imagine -- to release the names and addresses of 23 people involved in sharing copyrighted music online. The association claims that between them, these 23 internet users have shared almost 180,000 songs, while one individual has provided 37,500 files for download.

The paper also reports that Sony Computer Entertainment is to cut jobs in the US as it restructures in a bid to change its business model. Read the full story as reported by ENN.

Wombat Financial Software is to invest STG2 million in its Belfast operations, creating 77 new jobs, according to the Irish Times. Read the full story as reported by ENN.

The same paper says that Vodafone has dismissed a call by an investor to return up to STG38 billion to shareholders by spinning off its key US asset and issuing bonds. The mobile operator said the proposals by investment group Efficient Capital Structures, which were backed by the former deputy chairman of telecoms equipment maker Marconi, were not in shareholders' interests.

The Irish Independent reports that Ryanair's plans to launch in-flight mobile phones have been delayed by four months, as regulatory approval has taken longer than expected. Chief executive Michael O'Leary admitted to analysts earlier in the week that the new system would not be running until November at the earliest.

The same paper reports that scientists have developed a way to wirelessly charge electrical devices from a distance. So-called "WiTricity" can already power a lightbulb over a distance of 2 metres, and its inventors believe that within three to five years the system will be capable of charging mobile phones, laptops, MP3 players and other electronic devices.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the International Trade Commission has barred the import of new models of advanced mobile phones containing chips from Qualcomm, a decision which stems from a patent-infringement complaint brought by Broadcom against Qualcomm. The ITC action primarily affects 3G phones. Carriers, such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel that use 3G networks known as EVDO, for which Qualcomm is the primary chip supplier, are likely to be hardest hit.

The Financial Times reports that Fujitsu has uncovered fake trades at one of its subsidiaries. Sales of PCs by Fujitsu Kansai Systems through NAJ, a now-bankrupt Japanese IT services company, had been faked, the company said. Last year NAJ posted total annual sales of JPY23.6 billion. Fujitsu said that the bulk of NAJ's sales of goods, supplied by 10 companies, could have been faked. The trades will have a "negligible effect on revenue" on the figures reported in the company's fiscal 2006 results, according to Fujitsu.