NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 12 March
12-03-2009
by Bryan Collins
ALTO criticises Eircom | Google launches telco service
The Advertising Standards Authority's efforts to impose standards on how ISPs advertise their internet service has received support from ComReg and the National Consumer Agency (NCA). The communications regulator and the NCA gave their support in response to the number of misleading 'up to ' offers by ISPs about their broadband speeds. "These standards have long been available throughout other EU countries. These measures are vitally important for the protection of consumers. The tendency in Ireland is to mis-sell products, until you read the terms and conditions," said Eamonn Wallace, chairperson of Ireland Offline.
Folowing the news on Wednesday that Eircom is to pull back on its investment in its next-generation broadband infrastructure, the Association for Alternative Operators in the Communications Market (ALTO) has issued a statement criticising the telecoms firm's decision. ALTO believes broadband is essential to the economic recovery of Ireland and pointed to Facebook and HP -- both of which recently created jobs here. "Eircom's debt woes are now a national issue and its overwhelming dominance on the exchange-to-user infrastructure must be broken to allow other networks invest in the services we need to become the knowledge economy the Government envisages," said Ronan Lupton, ALTO chairman.
The internet is about to get an Irish bi-monthly TV show looking at videogames, gadgets and the web. Techtv101.com is being launched by Michael Brennan, who previously produced a computer games TV show for Channel 6 and will feature three presenters. "Techtv101.com is basically an Irish web TV site, based with Irish presenters and Irish related technology news. The primary focus of the site is to get user involvement from its viewers and provide a one-stop-shop where users can see all the latest video content at an Irish site," said Brennan.
Mobile phone shipments will fall by 8.3 percent during a "very rough" 2009, according to IDC. The market intelligence company also reported that mobile phone shipments fell 11.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. This decline marked the first time the holiday quarter has not recorded double digit growth in seven years. Overall mobile phone shipments grew by just 4.3 percent during 2008, which the IDC blamed on poor global economic conditions.
Beleaguered telecom equipment manufacturer Nortel Networks is trying to sell its major divisions instead of rebuilding itself, according to reports. The company, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, is considering offers from would-be buyers for its office telecom and wireless equipment businesses. Nortel had about USD2.4 billion in cash and around USD4.5 billion in long-term debt when it filed for bankruptcy protection in January.
A new manufacturing method for lithium-ion batteries could reduce charge times to a matter of seconds. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US used a computer simulation to investigate the movement of ions and electrons, and were then able to develop a prototype battery which charged within 20 seconds. Professor Gerband Ceder and his team believe this technique can be easily applied to current manufacturing processes behind the widely used lithium-ion batteries. This could result in new smaller, lighter, quick-charge batteries within two to three years.
Google has launched a telecommunications service that offers free domestic and discounted international calls. Google Voice acts as a middle-man service where-by users are given a single number. Once someone dials this number Google Voice then rings all devices owned by the user. The service can also transcribe voice mails, search text messages and facilitate conference calls. It is initially being made available to users of Grand Central, which Google bought in 2007. It is understood that the service will be made available to the general public within a few months.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 