For the record 20 March

20-03-2008

by Charlie Taylor

BT, ALTO welcome ComReg line share consultation | Netlog partners with Last.fm

ALTO, the association of alternative telecoms operators, has welcomed the publication of a consultation document by ComReg on line share pricing. The consultation proposes a reduction in the price of sharing a line for broadband in the exchange by 65 percent -- a drop from EUR8.41 to EUR2.94. It is part of a wider review of the local loop unbundling (LLU) market and the prices proposed are interim pending the result of the overall review. Speaking on Thursday, Liam O'Halloran, ALTO's chairman, said the organisation supported ComReg's action. "In the last few months alternative operators have announced a range of products and investments to provide better broadband services to customers and the ComReg announcement should help this even further," he said.

Meanwhile BT Ireland also welcomed the publication of the ComReg document, with CEO Chris Clark stating on Thursday that the consultation was "a step in the right direction" to reduce the high price for LLU line share. "We also welcome that a review of LLU pricing in general is underway by ComReg and look to further significant reductions in full unbundled LLU prices in the autumn to remove the barriers restricting this market. Eircom prices such as the EUR47 penalty (on top of the cost) to move our own customers to LLU is highly restrictive and is preventing mass migration to LLU as happens in other countries," said Clark.

The Minister for Innovation Policy, Michael Ahern, said on Thursday that the Government has invested EUR200 million since the late 1990s in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Schools Programme. Ahern, who was commenting during a visit to Dunshaughlin Community College where he launched '21st Century Learning day', also said it was vital that Ireland continues to integrate the concept of innovation into the school syllabus through business, science and ICT teaching.

British Telecom is preparing to trial its free 'Avatalk' phone and texting service on Second Life starting from next week. According to a Silicon.com report, BT, which set up a private 'island' called Area 21 in Second Life last year, is launching a pilot for the service from 26 March. It will enable users to make 10 free calls and send 10 SMS messages via their avatars. Avatalk uses BT's global IP platform, Web21C, to carry calls and transmit SMS messages to mobile networks.

Netlog, which claims to be one of Europe's biggest social networking sites, with 33 million users, has announced a partnership with Last.fm, which enables Netlog users to add widgets to their profile pages. Using the widgets, Netlog members will be able to access Last.fm's music library directly from their profile page and will also be able to listen to Last.fm Radio.

Irish website Entertainment.ie has launched a new mobile-friendly version of its site. The mobile site includes the most popular sections on the regular website, including cinema, TV, gig and event listings, movie trailers and gossip.