In The Papers 26 September

26-09-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

Sligo IT hosts virtual conferring ceremony | ComReg to debate use of 'sexy' spectrum

The Irish Times reports on the launch of a new State-backed battery recycling scheme. Read more on this story on ENN.

The paper also reports that Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 10 flights between Britain and Ireland following an air traffic control computer failure in the UK on Thursday. Service at London's Heathrow airport and other terminals in England were disrupted by the breakdown in the UK's main air traffic control system at about 4pm. A fault occurred at one of the systems at Swanwick Control Centre in Hampshire, but was resolved some three hours later. The problem restricted the number of planes entering UK airspace as well as those taking off from major UK airports.

The same paper notes that Ireland's first virtual conferring ceremony took place at the Institute of Technology in Sligo on Thursday. Fifteen students who completed the Masonite international occupational and safety programme at the institute received their certificates, but only three of them were in the college conference room. Others watched the proceedings online on computer screens in Britain, France, Hungary, Turkey, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland. Senior Masonite executive Jim Rabe addressed them from his Chicago boardroom. As each student's name was called, their photograph was beamed onto a screen in the conference room and an electronic version of their certificate was dispatched via the internet.

The same paper reports that telecoms regulator ComReg will next week attempt to kickstart a national debate on how the radio spectrum freed up by the move to digital television can best be used. This so-called "digital dividend" occurs because digital technology makes more efficient use of the UHF spectrum. "It's a really sexy spectrum," said George Merrigan, ComReg's director of market frameworks. Although he cautioned that the digital dividend is not a "silver bullet" for Ireland's broadband availability issues, the spectrum could be used to deliver high-speed wireless broadband in areas where laying copper is not economical. Other potential uses include mobile multimedia applications, city Wi-Fi networks, enhanced public services and low power networks in the home.

According to the Irish Independent, a report about investing "effectively" in ICT in education has been sent to 4,000 schools which have seen no State investment in computers for years. "There is no investment and hasn't been for years," said Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) general secretary John Carr. "Instead, all schools get is a report, the publication and distribution of which is little more than a vanity project." The report was compiled by a strategy group established by the Department of Education to advise on the spending of EUR252 million in the National Development Plan on school computing.

The paper also notes that mobile data services provider Zamano has posted pre-tax profits of EUR673,000 for the six months to 30 June, down from EUR1.39 million for the corresponding period last year. Read more on this story on ENN.

The Irish Examiner reports on the announcement that Tyco is to cut some 320 jobs in Cork, as noted by ENN on Thursday. The news triggered calls for an emergency package to stimulate employment in Cork after its second jobs blow in a week. (Ready-meals manufacturing firm Swissco said earlier this week that 150 jobs are at risk.) Business leaders and opposition politicians demanded immediate action from the Government as the city's unemployment figure reached almost twice the national average.

The paper also notes that rats are being blamed for a massive breakdown in a mobile phone network in part of west Cork. Since last August, people on the Mizen peninsula have experienced loss of transmission on the O2 network after underground cables were cut. It is believed that vermin feasted on the cables, particularly affecting coverage in Goleen and other areas west of Schull. Engineers from O2 have been trying to rectify the problem but, according to a company spokesman, delays have been caused in fixing the network. He said that O2 plans to invest in an overhead link for the area, to prevent such problems in the future.

According to the Financial Times, strong sales of BlackBerry smartphones helped Research in Motion report a 72 percent rise in fiscal second-quarter net income. RIM, which shipped 6.1 million devices in the latest quarter and holds a 54 percent share of the US smartphone market, will launch at least three BlackBerry handsets before the end of the year. Second-quarter net income reached USD495.5 million, or USD0.86 a share, up from USD287.7 million, or USD0.50, while revenue climbed 88 percent to USD2.58 billion. However, the Canadian company's shares fell 16 percent in late trading after it forecast lower-than-expected third-quarter profits, reflecting higher marketing spending to support new products. RIM said fiscal Q3 profit will be between USD0.89 and USD0.97 a share on sales of up to USD3.1 billion; analysts had been projecting third-quarter profits of around USD0.99 a share on revenues of USD2.96 billion.

The Wall Street Journal notes that US Justice Department staff reviewing Google's online ads deal with Yahoo have met with customers and competitors and scheduled a final round of meetings with the two companies for next week, amid signs the Government may be preparing to recommend an antitrust challenge to the deal. Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general for antitrust, hasn't made a final decision and could still allow the deal to proceed. However, he recently hired a special counsel, veteran litigator Sanford Litvack. Litvack has been asked to review evidence and build a case if a decision is made to challenge the deal.

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