NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 15 December
15-12-2008
by Deirdre McArdle
Microsemi to create jobs in Ennis | Mobile broadband take-up soars
Microsemi, which designs and manufactures integrated circuits and semiconductors, has announced it is to create 315 new jobs at its facility in Ennis, Co Clare. The US-based firm will create the jobs over the next 18 months. In October Microsemi made a submission to the Clare County Council seeking additional facilities so that it could expand its workforce by 185 people. This latest announcement sees that figure being increased upwards to 315. The positions will be in manufacturing, sales and technical support. It was just last May that Microsemi reversed a decision to phase out its operations in Ennis. At that time the firm employed 108 people.
At the end of September there were 1,125,080 broadband subscriptions in Ireland, representing a penetration rate of 29.5 percent, according to communications regulator ComReg's quarterly report. While DSL still accounts for over half of the total number of subscriptions at 633,536, mobile broadband is making significant inroads into the market. Mobile broadband subscribers at the end of the third quarter totalled 268,705, a massive 203.9 percent increase on the same time last year. Between the second and third quarters of this year, mobile broadband take-up jumped by 20.9 percent, compared to a growth rate of 4.4 percent for cable broadband, 3.6 percent for DSL and a drop of 2.1 percent for fixed wireless access. Elsewhere, the mobile penetration rate stood at 121.5 percent at the end of the third quarter, with mobile phone subscriptions increasing by 64,934 during the period. In total there are 5.2 million mobile phone subscriptions in Ireland.
In a bid to boost Ireland's proficiency in maths, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) has outlined a number of proposals. Among other things, the group proposes that students are incentivised to take maths at Higher Level; primary and secondary school teachers are provided with teacher training courses; a more interactive, imaginative approach to teaching maths is developed; the maths knowledge needs of adults in the workplace are addressed; and benchmarking and evaluation of Ireland's maths education performance is conducted. "Boosting our maths skill levels is essential to realising opportunities for employment. Maths is a fundamental requirement for Ireland’s development as a modern economy -- important both for service and manufacturing jobs and for sectors of the economy with growth potential such as ICT, life sciences, business and finance and professional services," said Anne Heraty, chairperson, EGFSN.
Funding of EUR1.247 million is to be made available to 12 projects around the country under the BenefIT scheme. Launched in October 2007, the BenefIT scheme provides financial support to voluntary, not-for-profit organisations to develop initiatives to encourage and support the participation of late adopters of technology. "There are too many people in our society -- many of them old or vulnerable -- who are unable to access the internet, use e-mail or simply use a mobile phone. With today's funding, my message to them is that now they can," said Minister for Information Society Sean Power, who announced the funding, in a statement. The money will be divided between 12 projects which will together reach over 23,000 people who will receive training on how to use the internet and computers.
Budget airline bmi has become the first carrier to offer its passengers an in-flight communications service that will include the use of mobile phones to send text messages. It will also allow access to the internet and e-mail from laptop computers fitted with GSM data cards. The service is being supplied by in-flight communications provider OnAir and is being trialled for six months on one of bmi's Airbus A320 aircraft operating between Heathrow and Moscow.
Mobile operator Meteor has won a bronze medal at the World Contact Centre awards in Las Vegas, having come third in the Best Contact Centre category. The awards, which are held every year, are the culmination of a three-day conference for Contact Centre professionals from around the world. Just three weeks ago Maria O'Donoghue of Meteor was named 'Best Team Leader' in the Irish Contact Centre awards.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 