NEWS IN BRIEF
For the record 15 May
15-05-2008
by Deirdre McArdle
BT Ireland posts increase in revenue and earnings | CBS buys CNET Networks for USD1.8 billion
BT Ireland has formed a partnership agreement with O2 Ireland that will see it selling mobile products and services alongside its fixed-line and IT services portfolio to the SME market. O2's offerings, from tariffs and mobile broadband to BlackBerry and XDA devices, can be combined with BT fixed-line services to create tailored packages for smaller firms. "While we currently offer managed mobile solutions to large organisations, we believe the time is right to add mobile services to our portfolio for small & medium businesses, creating bundled propositions that will effectively compete in the marketplace," said Chris Clark, CEO, BT.
Staying with BT Ireland, the firm announced a strong performance for the full year to the end of March 2008. Turnover grew 4.3 percent year-on-year to STG771 million compared to STG739 million for the same period last year. Meanwhile, EBITDA increased by 21 percent year-on-year. New wave revenue, which is driven by broadband, networked IT services and mobility, rose by 13 percent year-on-year, and made up 30 percent of total revenue. The results are based on the firm's operations on the island of Ireland. In Northern Ireland BT saw broadband connections rising by 23 percent over the year to more than 153,000, while in the Republic connections grew by 24 percent to close to 80,000.
Broadcasting giant CBS is to buy web media company CNET Networks for approximately USD1.8 billion as it aims to widen its internet reach. The deal values CNET at USD11.50 per share and represents a 45 percent premium to its closing price on Wednesday. CBS said the purchase would help boost its earnings from the start and expects CNET and its CBS Interactive unit combined to hit USD1 billion in revenue by 2010 or 2011.
Just 1 percent to 2 percent of all general insurance is purchased online in Ireland, according to a report by Chill.ie, a newly-launched web-based insurance broker. The Irish figure is dramatically lower than in the US and the UK, where Chill.ie suggests between 15 percent and 20 percent of general insurance is purchased online. "While there has been significant growth in the level of online shopping for services and goods in Ireland the big exception to this has been in the area of financial services," said the report, which was conducted by the Finlay Consultancy.
Ireland's first centralised Electronic Assistive Technology (EAT) library www.try-it.ie -- has been launched. A consortium comprising the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Enable Ireland National Assistive Technology Training Service, the NCBI, the Assistive Communications Technology Officers Network and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association has established the web-based library, which aims to provide a forum for education, training and networking in the area of EAT. Through the website, training providers and carers will also be able to borrow electronic aids, which will enable them and their users to assess and try out a range of assistive technology before recommending purchase.
Meteor has teamed up with the Jack & Jill Foundation as the charity organisation attempts to break the world record for collecting and recycling mobile phones. To help it reach its goal the group has organised a dedicated collection day which will take place at Dublin Castle on 22 May. Anyone who wants to drop off old or unused mobiles can do so between 10am and 8pm on the day. For those who cannot get to Dublin Castle on the day, they can drop their old mobile into any Meteor store throughout the country before 20 May. All mobiles collected will be refurbished and shipped to developing countries around the globe where they will be re-used.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 