In The Papers 3 September

03-09-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

EU won't impose US-style system on mobile telcos | RTE to serve up 'snack TV' for teens

The Irish Times reports that the Law Reform Commission has invited tenders from IT providers to convert Ireland's primary and secondary legislation from its outdated computer format into a more user-friendly version. The move will lead to the integration of law amendments into their original Acts, making it simpler and easier to access, read and interpret legislation. Statutes and statutory instruments are currently available online, but those before 1998 are in an old-fashioned format that makes them difficult to manage.

The Irish Independent says that Kerry councillors are to approach sat-nav companies in an attempt to end the problem of big buses meeting each other on the Ring of Kerry route. For years, an unofficial one-way system has seen busloads of tourists beginning in Killarney and heading west for Killorglin, travelling the ring in an anti-clockwise direction back to Killarney. But these days, sat-navs are sending foreign drivers the wrong way around the twist, causing congestion on the narrow roads of the ring. Killarney town clerk Michael O'Leary said he would "try and contact" the makers of software for sat-nav devices, to see what could be done about the problem. However, mapping provider Tele Atlas, which supplies the popular TomTom system, said "We have looked into this request and have determined that this would not be feasible."

The same paper reports that European regulators have rejected Vodafone's claim that 40 million mobile users may alter or cancel contracts because of proposed changes to rules on caller fees. EU regulators plan to curb the termination rates operators charge each other for connecting calls to networks, but they said operators will not be forced to introduce a US-style system under which users would pay for receiving calls as well as making them. Vodafone had told the regulators that if users had to pay for received calls, about 40 million may quit or change contracts. The European Commission does not plan to impose a US-style system, although it would be an option for companies, said Martin Selmayr, a spokesman for EU Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding.

The paper also notes that Eircom is to reduce ancillary charges related to local loop unbundling (LLU) from the beginning of October, as reported by ENN on Tuesday.

According to the Irish Examiner, eight prisoners have been disciplined after it was discovered they were accessing the Bebo website using mobile phones. A prison source at the Mountjoy Training Unit said: "Prison staff in the unit discovered a number of prisoners were accessing and updating their Bebo webpages. Eight prisoners have been disciplined and removed from the training unit and sent back to closed prisons." It is understood that two prisoners were taking photos of themselves and six other inmates and uploading them. Officers suspect they used at least one mobile phone although no phones have been seized. The Training Unit does not have any security screening equipment installed to detect the smuggling of mobile phones.

The paper also reports that a three-minute soap opera aimed at attracting a new generation of Irish teenagers who enjoy bite-size video entertainment starts on RTE next week. 'Aisling's Diary' is modelled on the hit online drama, Sofia's Diary. It follows the life of an Irish-American teenager who has just moved from Boston to Dublin with her family. The format used is described as "snack TV" -- a new buzz-word for short-form videos normally shown on the internet. A key element of the TV programme will be its interactivity, with viewers invited to visit the show's webpage and to contact Aisling through her profile on Bebo.

The paper also says that a major initiative to stop the European Union moving ahead with compulsory electronic tagging of sheep has been launched in the European Parliament. A number of MEPs, including Ireland's Mairead McGuinness, launched a written declaration urging the Commission to acknowledge that compulsory tagging would impose additional costs on the sheep sector at a time when it can ill afford such a burden. The MEPs are calling for the Commission to look at a voluntary system and to recognise that many practical problems with the proposed electronic tagging system have not been resolved.

The Financial Times reports that Sony is to launch the latest model of its PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld machine in Japan, in order to better compete with Nintendo's market-leading DS. The new model, first unveiled in August and featuring a built-in microphone and advanced LCD display that is better suited for outdoor use, is set to be launched on 1 October in Japan, in time for the year-end shopping season. It will sell for JPY19,800 (USD182), the same price as the current PSP model, compared with JPY16,800 for the DS.

Citing 'people familiar with the matter', the Wall Street Journal says that PC maker Dell will soon introduce a mini-laptop, entering the fast-growing market for inexpensive, no-frills portable computers. One source said the new device will likely sell for less than USD400. That price range would put the Dell device into competition with products such as the Eee PC from Asus. The sources said the new device will have a screen size of slightly less than 9 inches and will be available with either Microsoft Windows or a Linux operating system.

The paper also notes that global semiconductor sales in July climbed 7.6 percent from a year earlier to USD22.18 billion, boosted by continued demand for mobile phones, PCs and other consumer electronics. However, sinking prices for memory chip products continued to restrict revenue gains; excluding that segment, semiconductor sales would have increased 11.6 percent, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

New! "In the papers" email newsletter -- get the full text to your in-box every business day. Email itp@enn.ie with 'subscribe' in the subject line.