NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 23 December
23-12-2008
by Emmet Cole
ComReg extends Eircom deadline | Video conferencing solution for Donegal
The Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, has announced that the deadline for Eircom to make representations or remedy the non-compliance with its non-discrimination obligation in relation to 'Sync Checker' has been extended to 9 January 2009. The move followed a request from Eircom for more time. The non-compliance relates to Eircom's obligation to provide broadband metrics to other authorised operators (OAOs). ComReg investigated the Sync Checker business support tool used by Eircom between August and October and found that it made available various broadband metrics relating to individual broadband services -- metrics that were used in the diagnosis of customer broadband issues. However, ComReg found that while Eircom Retail had direct access to Sync Checker for the purposes of the diagnosis of customer issues relating to Eircom retail broadband services, an OAO did not have access to Sync Checker.
Meanwhile, BT has welcomed consultations published by ComReg on Tuesday for Local Loop Unbundling (LLU). The telecoms firm said that if ComReg's proposals are implemented they could form a "turning point for competition in broadband services in Ireland" and offer the consumer "state of the art services with variety and choice". BT explained that two of the proposals from ComReg would remove significant pricing barriers to LLU, while the third would tighten regulations to ensure an open market. "Many other countries have seen significant benefits from LLU and these proposals could at last unlock these in Ireland," said BT Ireland head Chris Clark in a statement.
Tyrone Donegal Partnership, the cross-border development company, has secured funding from the International Fund for Ireland's Building Foundations Programme to deliver a video conferencing initiative called CORE Digital Network. CORE Digital Network will extend the World Bank's Global Development Learning Network that's currently available on a cross-border basis from Omagh to five community learning centres in Donegal. The new video conferencing suites will be based in Ballyshannon, Clonmany, Dungloe, Kilcar and St Johnston. The video conferencing facilities will be used to provide training and education, but will also be available to local rural businesses to hire.
The US government has criticised plans to offer hundreds of new web addresses as alternatives to dot-com (.com). The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees net addresses, has floated plans for changes to the existing domain system that would see ICANN offering between 200 and 800 new addresses for sale at USD185,000 per domain and a yearly cost of USD60,000. Examples of the type of domains being offered are .nyc, .bank or .hotel. The US Commerce department has questioned both the benefits and the costs of such a scheme and raised concerns about whether the plans will destabilise the current system.
iPhone aficionados can now print their photos and pictures wirelessly, thanks to a new application from Hewlett Packard. iPrint Photo, which is available to download as an application through Apple's App Store, lets users print a photo simply by touching it on their screen. When the image is pressed a print instruction is wirelessly delivered to an inkjet printer. iPrint Photo uses Apple's Bonjour tools to search for and identify printers, and supports Wi-Fi networks including Apple Airport, Linksys, D-Link and Netgear.
Finally, if Santa disappoints you this year and you end up with unwanted Christmas gifts, you might want to visit a new website specially designed for that purpose. Launched Tuesday, Recycleagift.com is offering to sell unwanted entertainment presents -- books, CDs and DVDs -- free of charge from Saint Stephen's Day until the end of January. As part of the offer, your first 10 sales are free of any fees or charges. The website, which is powered by auction site PlayTrade, is expecting to handle thousands of transactions on 26 December.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 