In the papers 5 February

05-02-2007

by Maxim Kelly

Ireland has low levels of radiation from mobile masts, says report | Xsil review could affect jobs

The Irish Times reports that the US Internal Revenue Service has negotiated a deal with Google that limits the tax savings the search giant will make by way of its Irish subsidiaries. The agreement, reached in December 2006, will slow or stop a decline in Google's global effective tax rate, which was saving it tens of millions of euro annually by having greater proportions of its profits go through Dublin. The deal is backdated to 2003.

The paper also says that Eircom has made approaches to its banks to see whether they will provide new credit lines to fund the development of a 3G network. Entry into the 3G market would require significant capital expenditure in addition to the EUR114 million cost of acquiring the licence. Eircom is debating whether to accept ComReg's offer of the State's final 3G licence.

The same paper says that Irish firm Valista has joined a consortium of global software firms providing a one-stop shop for telecommunications, media and entertainment companies looking to sell digital assets through a variety of channels. The Digital Services Hub is led by content management specialists Vignette and also includes Sun Microsystems, Volantis and SafeNet.

The paper also reports that radiation emitted by mobile phone masts in the Republic is significantly lower than internationally permitted limits, according to research carried out for ComReg. Some 80 antenna masts around the State were tested for their emissions of non-ionising radiation and all were found to be within safe limits. In some cases the levels were less than one-thousandth of the limits set by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

The Irish Independent says that Norway-based search firm Fast Search and Transfer is launching an advertising program called AdMomentum to rival that of Google. "It's like a digital marketplace in a box," said Sue Feldman, an IDC research vice president who reviewed early versions of AdMomentum. "This gives websites an opportunity to become more independent and take more control over their revenue stream."

The paper also reports that thousands of Irish mobile phone users have been conned by a text message that promises free call credit. Both Vodafone and O2 have warned customers that the message, which has been circulating since last month, is a hoax. There are two versions of the message, which claims that the mobile operators are offering free text messages forever to their customers and that mobile phone owners can get EUR5 in free phone credit if they forward the text message to 10 friends.

The Irish Examiner says that tougher sanctions for drink drivers introduced last summer are still not in operation because of delays in upgrading Garda IT systems. Under the Road Traffic Act 2006, the disqualification periods for those convicted in court of drink driving were increased, but the Garda IT systems have yet to be fully adjusted to handle the new fixed charges, so Transport Minister Martin Cullen has delayed their introduction.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is urging some iPod and iTunes users to hold off on upgrading to Windows Vista, warning that the iTunes music software might not work well with the new operating system from Microsoft. Apple said iTunes may work with many Vista PCs but the company knows of some compatibility problems and recommends that users wait until it resolves the issues with an iTunes update in the next few weeks.

According to the Financial Times, major film studios have given their backing to a DVD format that will allow shops to compete better with online retailers by selling a far wider selection of films. The DVD Download format features copyright-protection software that will allow stores to burn any one of thousands of movies onto a DVD while customers wait. The format is expected to open the floodgates for stores to exploit the massive back catalogue of video content.

One of Britain's top eBay traders has been banned from the online auction service after a Sunday Times investigation found that an account in the name of his former wife had allegedly been used to artificially increase the value of goods he was selling with false bids. Eftis Paraskevaides, an antiquities dealer from Cambridgehire, allegedly took part in the practice -- known as shil bidding -- and has been banned from eBay.

The Sunday Times also reports on a growing trend among British children using mobile phones to film each other having sex. Experts say the trend is growing, and Britain's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has begun an assessment with Cork University to establish the scale of the problem.

A dossier detailing five serious allegations against the former chairman of software firm Torex Retail, Chris Moore, has been handed to Britain's Serious Fraud Office, according to the same paper. The allegations involve mainly accounting and invoicing irregularities. Torex has substantial operations in Ireland, including a EUR30 million acquisition of Dublin-based retail technology firms McKeown Software and POS Group.

The Sunday Business Post reports Irish technology firm Xsil is reviewing its operations and that a recommendation to move its manufacturing to Asia could affect jobs. Xsil, which makes machines to slice silicon wafers used in microchips, currently employs more than 150 staff in Dublin.

Although nearly 3,000 people lost their jobs across all sectors last month, a further 1,000 jobs under threat are mainly in the technology sector, according to figures in the Sunday Business Post. Motorola Ireland, Vodafone Ireland, FCI Ireland and Thomson Scientific were tech firms named by the newspaper.

Ireland has one of the highest growth rates for broadband take-up in the EU at 30 percent, reports the same paper. Ireland is also one of only two countries where the dominant market player -- domestically, Eircom -- has lost market share to competitors, according to a report from the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA). However, only 10.4 percent of people in Ireland have broadband, compared to a 16 percent average across the EU 15.

Aer Lingus customers will soon be able to book flights to almost 100 US cities on the airline's website, reports the same paper. The new facility is the result of a recent link-up between the Irish airline and a number of American carriers.

The Sunday Business Post also carries a story on the increasing importance of video-sharing site YouTube. Several large US advertisers have launched competitions for members of the public to design ads to be broadcast during the Super Bowl -- the biggest single advertising event of the year, with single advert spots going for USD2.6 million. An Irish-made ad for Recruitireland.com has also been circulating on YouTube, reports the paper.

Tech finance firm Whitebridge Capital is opening an office in Boston, reports the same paper. As noted by ENN, Whitebridge founder mark Fenelon believes there is currently a lack of interest in Irish technology firms from international investors.

According to the same paper, Belfast-based telecoms software firm Aepona is understood to have raised around STG5 million from a number of institutional investors. The firm is currently expanding and has opened a new software development centre in Kiev. The company has already hired eight software engineers in Ukraine and will hire a further 17 by the end of the year.

Another Belfast software firm, Mobile Cohesion, has launched a new version of its telecoms software and is set to announce a big deal with an Asian mobile phone operator, according to the paper.

The Sunday Business Post also reports on another tech deal between network specialist Kedington and the Beacon Hospital in Sandyford, Dublin. Kedington has completed a EUR500,000 deal to install 136km of CAT 6a data cabling at the south Dublin hospital, as well as 2.5km of fibre and 1,500 data points.

The Sunday Tribune reports that a third of packaging firm Ire Tex's 250-strong staff could be cut after it lost a major contract with Dell. Ire Tex is seeking 80 redundancies in Cork and Limerick after Dell cancelled the contract "at very short notice".