In the papers 29 May

29-05-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

Yang says Microsoft 'no longer interested' in buying Yahoo | Fujitsu fired from electronic health project

The Irish Times says that telecoms regulator ComReg has criticised Eircom for its poor performance in repairing faults and installing phone lines for new customers, as noted by ENN on Wednesday.

Separately, the paper says that Eircom has indicated it has no intention of selling mobile arm Meteor, and plans to split the telco in two have been shelved for at least 12 months. Speaking after the release of Eircom's third-quarter results, Chief Executive Rex Comb said that Meteor would not be offloaded to try and reduce the company's EUR3.8 billion debt. With regard to the much-publicised proposal to split Eircom in two -- separating the retail business from the network -- Comb said this was not on his agenda. "This is an issue that I believe would be good for Ireland but it's in a holding pattern at the moment," he said. "It's not on my radar for the next 12 months."

The paper also says that Taoiseach Brian Cowen has signalled that the National Development Plan (NDP) may not be implemented, warning that the "assumptions which are set out in the plan are predicated on growth of more than 4.5 percent per annum". The Taoiseach was responding in the Dail to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who questioned whether the Government's NDP commitment to invest EUR252 million in ICT for schools would be honoured. Cowen said the investment in ICT for schools "will depend on the budgetary parameters as we go through the next seven years."

The paper also says that Hosting365 has sold its shared hosting and domain registration division, Register365, to Namesco, as noted by ENN.

The Financial Times reports that Yahoo chief Jerry Yang has said that a potential deal with Microsoft would have tremendous power but that the software giant appears no longer interested in a full merger. In his most public comments to date about his thinking on the four-month-old Microsoft merger saga, Yang signalled that his company remained open to a potential deal, but said Microsoft had ruled out a merger for now. "Microsoft is no longer interested in buying the company, and we are talking about other things," said Yang. Last week, a source said Microsoft has proposed buying Yahoo's search business and taking a minority stake in the internet firm.

The paper also reports that the UK's NHS programme to provide every patient with an electronic care record has suffered a severe blow as the project fired Fujitsu, one of its key suppliers, after failing to resolve a wrangle over the contract. Ten months of renegotiations with Fujitsu, which holds an STG896 million, 10-year contract for installing the records across the whole of south and west of England, have broken down, according to both the company and the NHS. The dispute centred on the NHS's demand for more flexibility in delivery of the services. 'Connecting for Health', the NHS IT programme, said it is now to issue a termination notice to Fujitsu, a move that could cost the Japanese-owned services company an estimated STG300 million.

According to the same paper, German chipmaker Infineon has warned it expects a bigger operating loss and flat sales at its communication chips unit this quarter, as a project to supply Nokia was delayed. A spokesman for Infineon said there were delays in shipping a single chip for running cheap mobile phones to handset giant Nokia. Infineon had previously forecast higher sales and a narrower operating loss at its communications chips unit for this, its third quarter, compared with the second quarter.

The paper also notes that telecoms firm Cable & Wireless has made an informal offer for Thus, a smaller rival. C&W said it had made a "preliminary approach to the board of Thus in relation to a possible offer." C&W is interested in Thus's customer base, which includes Scottish Power and Johnston Press.