IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 14 February
14-02-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom asks Government for tax relief on broadband investment | UTV acquires Tibus
The Irish Times reports that recruitment firm Saongroup is acquiring online dating company Maybefriends.com. Read the full story on ENN.
The paper also says that mobile entertainment firm Zamano expects earnings for 2007 to have reached EUR3.4 million, as noted by ENN.
The same paper reports that UTV has paid STG5 million to acquire Tibus, an all-Ireland web development company, from Anderson Spratt Group Holdings. Tibus will be integrated into UTV's new media division, which also includes residential broadband and phone services. Tibus provides online services for clients across a range of business sectors and central and local government. It employs 30 staff at offices in Belfast and Dublin.
The Irish Independent reports that Eircom has asked the Government for tax relief to support investment in the telecoms network in order to bring broadband in Ireland to a higher standard. The company told finance minister Brian Cowen that were the Government to introduce reliefs, it would invest as much as EUR500 million in the network, over and above the EUR1 billion it already planned to spend. Eircom also suggested that the Government might consider co-investing in the broadband network, or that it might intervene to lessen Eircom's regulatory burden -- a move it argued would support greater investment.
The Irish Examiner reports that the UK government is considering cutting internet access for people who download music and films illegally. The draft consultation green paper, produced by British officials and expected to be published next week, proposes a "three strikes" rule for offenders. The first strike would see the user receive a warning e-mail, the second would lead to suspension of their internet service and the third strike would lead to the termination of their contract. Internet service providers would be responsible for enforcing the legislation if it comes into force.
The Financial Times says that Google has seen 50 times more searches on Apple's iPhone than on any other mobile handset. If the trend continues and other handset manufacturers follow Apple's lead in making web access easy, the number of mobile searches will overtake fixed internet searches "within the next several years", said Vic Gundotra, head of Google's mobile operations. Google has never separated out its mobile revenues but Gundotra said the business was growing "above expectations", both in terms of usage and revenues.
According to the same paper, the former head of DSG International has spoken out about the raid on the retailer's offices by European Commission officials investigating an antitrust probe against Intel. John Clare, former chief executive of DSG, said the idea that retailers broke EU rules in their dealings with the chipmaker was unlikely, given Intel's sensitivity about its dominant market position. "I find it very odd that they [the Commission] conducted dawn raids on a retailer," said Clare.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft plans to announce the replacement of the head of its mobile phone group as part of a broader executive reshuffling, according to sources. Under the plan, which includes promotions for more than 10 executives and the departure of others, the software maker will name Andrew Lees, currently a corporate vice president at the company's server and tools group, as head of its mobile communications business, which makes software for mobile phones.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 