For the record 22 May

22-05-2008

by Deirdre McArdle

Puca launches TXT-AID | ICT Ireland urges government funding in schools

Communications regulator ComReg has published a paper containing the new cost of capital that Eircom should be allowed. The cost of capital is the return on investment that Eircom is allowed to earn on its regulated fixed-line business. It is known as the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). ComReg maintains that the WACC is necessary to ensure that Eircom does not obtain too high a price -- at the expense of consumers -- or too low a price -- which would see Eircom under-recover its costs, compromise investment and potentially impact on the long-term sustainability of the industry. ComReg is satisfied that in setting the rate at 10.21 percent, it has struck the right balance.

Mobile marketing firm Puca has launched an initiative called TXT-AID to help the disaster relief efforts underway in China's Sichuan province and in Burma (Myanmar). The fundraising campaign, which is being supported by Vodafone, O2, Meteor and Three, will run for two weeks starting from midnight on Thursday. Mobile users will be able to make an instant donation of EUR2.50 by sending the keyword AID to the SMS short code 57500. The proceeds will be distributed in full among four aid organisations who are providing help to the hundreds of thousands of people that have been affected by the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Burma: Irish Red Cross, Oxfam Ireland, Trocaire and Concern Worldwide.

Xerox Ireland has announced an expansion of its Concessionaire Channel. The move will see Digital Documents Direct (3D) Limited and Colornet Limited, two Xerox partners, expand their offering into the North East, West and Midland regions on the back of an estimated EUR4 million investment over the next three years. These regions have traditionally been serviced from Dublin, but will now have dedicated showrooms and sales teams in place with knowledge of the local market and its requirements.

Global enterprise spend on mobile devices will grow from USD6 billion today to an estimated USD17 billion by 2012, according to a report by Datamonitor called "Enterprise Mobility: Trend Analysis to 2012". Despite the increase in spending on mobile devices, IT managers are proving to be cautious when it comes to embracing mobile strategies due to security concerns. "As more enterprises look to expand their mobile workforces and equip their employees with mobile devices, the issue of device management is going to become increasingly important. The popularity of mobile devices in the consumer markets is forcing enterprises to consider how best to manage these devices in the workplace and they need to ensure they have clear policies in place to manage employee expectations," advised Daniel Okubo, author of the report.

Social networking site Facebook has outlined some elements of its upcoming profiles redesign. The new design will focus on a tab-based structure, with five tabs: Feed, Info, Wall, Photos, and Applications. Early images suggest that users will also be able to add extra tabs if they want. The main aim of the redesign is to create an ordered, uncluttered look. Another addition will be a Publisher box, which will allow users to add content such as photos, notes and links to their own profile from one area.

ICT Ireland has expressed concern following the statement by Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe that he was unwilling to make any firm commitment that the EUR252 million, allocated in the National Development Plan for the development of information and communications technology in schools, would be spent. Speaking on Wednesday in the Dail, Minister O'Keeffe said that a final decision remained outstanding. Speaking at the Internet and Experience in Education Conference in Tipperary, Director of ICT Ireland Kathryn Raleigh said: "Technology in Irish schools has been grossly under-funded for years and this has left Irish students at a major disadvantage compared to many of their European counterparts." Raleigh has called for for the Government to commit to spending in this area as a matter of urgency.