IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 17 May
17-05-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom poised to launch VoIP service | Google upgrades search engine
The Irish Examiner reports on the anticipated launch later in 2007 of voice over IP calling from Eircom. Citing Eircom communications boss Paul Bradley, the paper said Eircom is to launch the service, aimed at rivaling Skype, for both home and business users. No pricing or launch dates were revealed, although calls are expected to be "cheap or free," the paper said.
The Irish Times reports that the winning bidder in the Government's National Broadband Scheme (NBS) will be required to provide a wholesale service to other providers. The scheme is expected to be awarded as a single five-year contract, under which the provider will need to provide broadband coverage to the 10 to 15 percent of Ireland where no commercial broadband service is available.
The paper also reports that monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) at O2 declined from EUR45 in the last quarter of 2006 to EUR44.20 in the first three months of 2007. Revenues, however, grew 1.1 percent EUR224 million and subscribers were stable at 1.633 million. Read the full story on ENN.
The same paper reports that Mark Cleary, formerly with Vodafone, has joined telecoms company Perlico as chief operations officer.
The Irish Independent reports on a warning in the Data Protection Commissioner's annual report concerning websites such as Bebo and MySpace. Commissioner Billy Hawkes noted that personal information revealed in such sites may persist online for years to come, available to people such as potential employers and possibly causing difficulties for users. The Commissioner said that all complaints from the public more than doubled during 2006, fuelled mostly by complaints regarding unsolicited phone calls and text spam.
According to the Financial Times, Google has announced a significant upgrade to its core search engine, promising a richer multimedia experience for users and pointing the way to increased business with advertisers. Google on Wednesday launched Universal Search -- the integration of search results from a range of its services, including YouTube -- on its main search query pages. "The move potentially should be a huge boon for searchers, while search marketers who have paid attention to the importance of specialised or vertical search will see new opportunities," said Danny Sullivan, search analyst with Search Engine Land.
The paper also says that struggling PC maker Dell has outlined plans to reverse two decades of reliance on direct sales by widening its business model to include third-party vendors and retailers. The move to embrace computer re-sellers, the vendors who design and install computer systems for clients, represents a change in strategy for a company that built its business on direct sales of computers to customers over the telephone and through its website.
The paper also reports that mobile handset maker Motorola may need to announce more job cuts soon if it is to succeed in turning around its loss-making business this year, analysts have warned. Fresh from a series of meetings with senior management in New York, some analysts suggested that additional job cuts could be announced as soon as next month, but they also cautioned that cost-cutting measures already underway could take time to implement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, PC manufacturer Hewlett-Packard has raised its financial forecast for the year. The company said fiscal second-quarter revenue increased 13 percent, although net income fell 7 percent because of a tax benefit a year ago. HP increased its full-year earnings estimate to between USD2.51 and USD2.53 a share from USD2.35 to USD2.40 a share. The company projected its revenue will increase to between USD100.5 billion to USD100.9 billion at the end of its fiscal year, up from a previous forecast of USD98 billion to USD99 billion.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 