Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest Issue No. 486
08-10-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Phishers net thousands of e-mail details | Amazon's Kindle stokes e-reader market
Eircom facing increased pressure
Eircom, which is facing increasing competition from Vodafone, a new entrant to the residential broadband market through its recent deal with BT, was hit with a further blow this week when a proposal by ComReg to direct the former incumbent to lower its LLU pricing was cleared by the European Commission. The plan would see Eircom forced to reduced the prices it charges alternative operators to access its network to EUR12.24 per line per month for LLU and EUR10.38 per line per month for a partial local loop connecting to the subscriber, down from EUR17.89 and EUR15.63, respectively. The proposed price cuts follow moves made in June 2009 by ComReg which directed Eircom to lower the prices it charged for granting competitors access to its broadband network (line share). Also this week, the communications regulator 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 had asked Eircom to show that the charge was justified; however, on Tuesday the regulator decided the fee 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. No doubt the recent moves by ComReg, coupled with increased competition, have caused Eircom to consider its long-term prospects. It'll be interesting to see how new owners STT (Singapore Technologies Telemedia) approach this trying period in the Eircom story.
Phishers net thousands of web-mail details
This week we witnessed an industry-wide phishing attack that targeted users of web-mail programs such as Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail. The scam saw the account details and passwords of thousands of web-based e-mail users posted online on the website pastebin.com. In all, over 30,000 e-mail accounts across the popular web-mail services have been hit by the scam. Security experts are now warning consumers that the attack is self-propagating as infected e-mail accounts are being used by cybercriminals to send out personalised e-mails containing links to shopping websites on online videos. The links contained within the mails are fake, and instead are used to capture personal information about the recipient. Industry commentators have suggested that rapid spread of the attack points to the possibility that keylogging software, which can log information on keystrokes, was used. Microsoft et al have advised users of their e-mail systems to change their passwords and security questions if they are worried that their account has been compromised. Security experts have also advised users to make sure their passwords are 'strong'; analysis of the 10,000 Hotmail account details posted on pastebin.com shows that the most common password was '123456'. This has prompted those in the industry to go back on traditional advice which told consumers never to write down their passwords; now these experts are suggesting users chose complex passwords, write them down and keep them in a safe place.
To charge or not to charge: online news
The evolution of online news looks to be reaching a critical stage as publishers allude to and release new strategies whereby readers will have to pay for content. News International this week unveiled a new model for The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers as it launched a membership scheme that would see readers pay an annual fee of STG50 in return for special offers, access to exclusive events. The move, which News International is blaming on a weak advertising market and declines in print circulation, is widely seen as a sign that the firm is gearing up to charge for online content. Here in Ireland, the managing director of The Irish Times, Maeve O'Donovan, said in an interview this week that the company would continue to examine ways to boost earnings from its digital platforms, including the possibility of charging membership or subscription fees for some online content. "If you take this thing five years forward, it will be a mixture of payment forms," she said. These two moves follow Rupert Murdoch's announcement in early August that his company News Corp would begin charging for all its online content. At that time Murdoch declared that if the firm's strategy proved successful, "all media" would follow suit.
AT&T green-lights Skype for iPhone
AT&T has paved the way for applications such as Skype to appear on the iPhone as it announced it will open up its 3G networks to third-party internet telephony applications for Apple's iPhone. AT&T had previously blocked proposed iPhone internet telephony applications, which meant they could only be used in and around Wi-Fi hotspots. The telecoms firm had argued that the cheaper internet calls would undercut its rationale for subsidising customer iPhone purchases. This policy had drawn criticism from the US Federal Communications Commission, which was conducting a regulatory inquiry into the US wireless industry. All this means that Skype and other internet telephony firms can now submit their applications to Apple, which would then decide if it will approve the apps for the iPhone. For its part Apple has welcomed AT&T's decision: "We are very happy that AT&T is now supporting VoIP applications," said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. "We will be amending our developer agreements to get VoIP apps on the App Store and in customers' hands as soon as possible." This latest move by AT&T is separate to an ongoing quarrel between Apple and Google regarding the internet giant's Google Voice application. For now Apple says it is still studying the application but that it has concerns about how it places the Google brand on Apple's device.
Amazon stokes e-reader market with Kindle
Amazon is to let the Kindle loose in more than 100 countries around the world, including Ireland. From 19 October, the popular e-reader, which has been confined to the US since its launch in November 2007, will be available globally for USD279. Users will be able to download books wirelessly over 3G using AT&T's partner networks. It's not yet been announced exactly which operator will be providing the service in the individual countries. The Kindle has proven to be a real breakout product for Amazon. Although the e-tailer has not provided specific information about Kindle sales, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, said that Kindle titles were now 48 percent of total book sales in instances where Amazon sold both a digital and physical copy of a book. E-readers in general have had quite a year. In an upcoming report Forrester has revised its prediction for the industry. It now estimates that 3 million e-reading devices would be sold in 2009, up from its previous estimate of 2 million. Amazon is eager for a large slice of that market, and along with its global release of the Kindle, it has also announced a price cut on the Kindle 2 in the US from USD299 to USD259.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 