ROUNDUPS
For the record 18 February
18-02-2003
by Ralph Averbuch
Oracle and Nokia join forces for mobile enterprise services | ComReg claims Eircom has failed to comply with issued directions
Following the first Digital Media Services Directory, plans are underway for a more authoritative revised edition to be released in June. IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the Digital Hub partnered with Digital Media Intelligence to produce the first edition, a guide to the growing digital media sector. An on-line version of the directory ensures that all participants have an opportunity to keep records current and can be readily accessed by anyone with an interest in sourcing digital media services from Ireland. More information on being listed is available on-line.
Enterprise software company Oracle and mobile maker Nokia today announced a joint initiative to deliver Oracle Collaboration Suite on Nokia mobiles. The move signals both companies' intention to deliver integrated mobility solutions to the enterprise workforce. Expect to see real-world examples by the second quarter of 2003.
Irish company Xiam officially launched the Xiam Application Management Platform (XAMP) at 3GSM World Congress. The platform helps integrate content provider services with mobile operator infrastructure. For more information on the XAMP visit the Xiam Web site.
A senior member of Enterasys Networks, providers of Business Networks for enterprise customers, today predicted slow growth in the adoption of Voice over IP(VoIP) during 2003. Talking to channel partners in Dublin, Anja A. Allen, Director of the Office of the Chief Technical Officer, told delegates that market growth will be limited to small/branch office environments, greenfield sites and end of life projects. Allen outlined uncertainty in terms of interoperability between systems. "With many standards in existence such as H.323, SIP, Megaco and MGCP*, VoIP and converged solutions are usually proprietary," adding, "Despite the fact that the SIP protocol is gathering significant momentum from industry giants such as Microsoft, Worldcom and Siemens, there is still considerable market confusion."
At 3GSM World LogicaCMG announced that its technology was driving Eircom's fixed-line SMS service and text to speech (TTS) services. The company also showcased how live TV content can be adapted for mobile phone handsets, demonstrating a product developed for global news network, CNN. The demonstration took place over multi-media messaging (MMS)-enabled handsets and revealed how live video streaming can be accessed by these phones.
Partial Private Circuits have been successfully introduced in a number of EU countries and have created more competition in the market for point-to-point services, according to the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). To kickstart the Irish market for PPCs, ComReg issued a Decision Notice on 13 December 2002 which contained a number of directions to Eircom. ComReg states that Eircom has failed to comply with a number of the directions, and as a result the PPC product which Eircom was due to make available to operators from 15 February 2003 will be delayed.
A panel considering offers in relation to Alphyra met recently to consider a submission by the Federated Kaufmann Fund, shareholders in Alphyra, who raised concerns relating to the conduct of the offer by Rendina Limited. The submission requested the panel suspend the Rendina offer timetable and conduct an investigation into the actions of the Alphyra management buy-out team.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 