IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 7 October
07-10-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom probes alleged kickbacks: sources | RoboDoc comes to Irish hospitals
The Irish Times says that online retailer Amazon is to introduce a free delivery service for customers in Ireland. The service is eligible for goods costing STG25 (EUR27) or more.
The paper also reports that Adobe Software Trading Company, the main Irish unit of US software group Adobe Systems, took a USD312 million charge in 2007 after a tax examination of some of its affairs, according to filings with the Companies Office. The documents state that the tax examination centred on inter-company agreements made by the business, whose operating profit rose last year to USD702.33 million from USD229.87 million. Its latest annual accounts also show that its directors proposed paying a USD100 million dividend to its California-based parent last February.
The same paper says that Eircom is conducting an internal inquiry into allegations that a manager sought substantial cash kickbacks from contractors. Eircom is investigating complaints that the manager was seeking a percentage of the value of contracts issued to contractors, in cash, and was indicating that failure to make the payments would see contractors not getting any future contracts. The amounts allegedly sought by the Eircom employee are said to have been five-figure sums. An Eircom spokesman did not comment but a number of sources have spoken to the newspaper.
The paper also reports on Innovation Dublin, a week-long festival of events taking place from 14-20 October, which will highlight and promote innovation in the city. Read more on this story as reported by ENN last week.
In more news of Innovation Dublin, the Irish Independent focuses on one technology that will be unveiled during the festival: RoboDoc, a robot doctor that allows a real doctor to make a diagnosis in patients located up to 100km away. Essentially a video camera, microphone and television screen on wheels, RoboDoc will be used in the accident and emergency department to allow stroke specialists to examine patients from a remote location. Tallaght, Mullingar, Naas and Tullamore hospitals will be the first in the country to get a RoboDoc.
The paper also says that ComReg has ordered Eircom to remove a EUR47 fee it charges other operators to migrate a customer to a local loop unbundled (LLU) service from Eircom's Bitstream product. The decision will effectively halve the cost for operators of transferring customers from one Eircom wholesale product to another. Last year ComReg asked Eircom to demonstrate that the charge it imposed on competitors was justified. The watchdog said on Tuesday that it had decided the additional migration charge was not warranted. Alternative operators will now only have to pay the physical LLU connection charge of EUR48.50 when migrating their customers to the platform.
The Irish Examiner reports that Hotmail and Gmail e-mail systems have been compromised in a phishing attack, as noted by ENN.
According to the Financial Times, Amazon is to begin selling an international version of its e-reader that will work in more than 100 countries on 19 October. The international version of the Kindle will cost USD279 and uses AT&T's global data network to deliver digital books, magazines and newspapers. Current versions of the Kindle use Sprint's network, which does not work well outside the US. The online retailer also said it was lowering the price of the Kindle 2 in the US from USD299 to USD259.
The paper also says that AT&T has agreed to allow inexpensive internet phone calls to be placed through its networks from Apple's iPhones. AT&T had blocked proposed iPhone internet telephony applications from its wireless networks, arguing that the cheaper calls would undercut AT&T's rationale for subsidising customer iPhone purchases. However, the policy, which meant that Skype and other iPhone applications could be used only in locations with Wi-Fi connections, drew criticism from the US Federal Communications Commission.
The Wall Street Journal says that Microsoft and Google are intensifying their efforts to supply mobile phone software, as both companies look to tackle the challenges posed by Apple's iPhone. On Tuesday, Microsoft said that by the end of the year more than 30 new handsets will use the latest version of its Windows software for mobile phones. Meanwhile, Google announced it had struck an agreement with Verizon Wireless to work together to create wireless devices that use Google's Android software.
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