IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 19 March
19-03-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Google loses trademark battle for Gmail | Facebook to launch online chat service
The Irish Times says that EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding has praised Ireland's recent leap forward in the take-up of broadband but has insisted that retail prices need to come down. She also welcomed Babcock & Brown's plan to divide Eircom into separately owned networks and services arms, although she recently backed away from giving regulators the power to force incumbents to sell their networks. Reding was speaking in advance of the launch of the Commission's annual review of the European telecommunications market on Wednesday.
Separately, the paper reports that alternative telecoms lobby group ALTO has said the structural separation of Eircom into two or more separate entities may not be desirable, but the reality of the financial markets and the size of the company's debt may make it the only practical option. Speaking at a telecoms industry event in London on Tuesday, ALTO chairman Liam O'Halloran signalled that Eircom's competitors are taking a more "pragmatic approach" to Babcock & Brown's plans for former incumbent telco.
The Irish Independent says that Ireland's broadband penetration rate increased to just over 20 percent at the end of the last quarter, according to ComReg's latest report. Read the full story on ENN.
The paper also notes that search giant Google has lost its bid to get EU-wide trademark protection for the name Gmail. The Gmail name is too similar to an existing German trademark, according to a ruling by the EU's trademark agency. Google has been blocked from getting EU rights to the name because of the trademark owned by German businessman Daniel Giersch for a slogan that includes the name G-Mail.
According to the Financial Times, UK mobile operators could face substantial fines after regulators announced plans to stamp out mis-selling in the industry. Telecoms regulator Ofcom said a voluntary code of conduct to minimise mis-selling had failed. It set out proposals for a legal regime allowing it to fine the operators. The penalties could be up to 10 percent of a company's turnover relating to customers with whom it has contracts, which means the fines might be substantial.
The paper also says that Facebook plans to launch a new service that will enable the social network's 60 million users to chat to each other online. The service, expected to roll out sometime in the next few weeks, represents Facebook's latest challenge to AOL, Microsoft and other makers of popular instant messaging programs. The move is likely to come as a blow to software developers who have been working on chat services designed to run on Facebook's popular application platform.
The Wall Street Journal says that the US government auction of airwaves ended on Tuesday, raising almost USD20 billion from companies hoping to build new broadband wireless networks for next-generation phones and other devices. It was a record haul but not a complete success for the Federal Communications Commission, which drew some criticism about conditions attached to some blocks of airwaves that may have led to lower revenue. One block to be shared with public safety groups did not sell and will have to be re-auctioned. The FCC has not released names of the winners, and identities may not be released for several days.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 