IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 18 June
18-06-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Broadband per capita rate grows to 33.9pc | Digicel revenues jump 12 percent
The Irish Times reports that total internet subscriptions increased this quarter to 1.6 million, while 1.5 million of these were broadband subscriptions, according to ComReg's latest quarterly report. The total broadband per capita penetration rate in the first quarter reached 33.9 percent. Excluding mobile broadband, the penetration rate was 22.4 percent. Mobile broadband is the fastest growing type of broadband, increasing by 9.7 percent in the first quarter to more than 500,000 subscriptions, while fixed broadband increased 2.2 percent and now stands at just short of 1 million subscriptions.
The paper also says that revenue grew by 12 percent to USD2.2 billion (EUR1.78 billion) at Denis O'Brien's Digicel telecoms group last year, as operating profits increased by 4 percent to USD465 million in the year to the end of March. At the end of March, the group's cash balances amounted to USD416 million, while net debt came to USD2.8 billion. Over coming months Digicel will look to launch in Tahiti, and is also considering opportunities in Costa Rica and East Timor.
The same paper reports that over 2 million genealogy records such as church, baptism and marriage records for counties Kerry, Cork, Dublin and Carlow can now be accessed online at irishgenealogy.ie. A spokeswoman for Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin said it is expected that a further 1 million records will be added to the genealogy website by the end of the year.
The paper also writes that 10CMS, which develops interactive e-commerce software, is closing an investment round of EUR600,000 and plans to add further jobs at the company before the end of the year. It currently employs 16 people, including contractors, between a product support and operations office in Cork and a London facility where product development and sales are managed. Based on growth to date, co-founder Fergal O'Mullane said the company plans to have 20 staff or more by the end of the year.
The Irish Times reports that the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) has predicted that bonus points for maths will drive up the entry requirements for courses such as medicine, pharmacy and law. Figures seen by the paper reveal the majority of CAO applicants who get an honour in maths enrol in courses where they don't need them. Of the 6,000 students with grade C or better on higher-level maths last year, only 2,500 enrolled on honours degree courses in science, engineering and technology. IGC president Eilis Coakley said she believed not enough thought had been given to the proposal to introduce bonus points, which could create more problems than it would appear, at first glance, to solve.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Motorola is planning to funnel billions of dollars to its money-losing mobile phone business when it is split off into a separate company -- Motorola Mobility -- next year. Under the new structure, Motorola is planning to buy back most of its debt and give the bulk of its remaining cash -- between USD3 billion and USD4 billion -- to the new company, according to people familiar with the matter. Motorola also plans to free the mobile phone company of pension liabilities and most other obligations. The remaining company, Motorola Solutions, would be given the rest of the cash and take on pension obligations and most other liabilities. The goal is to leave two smaller companies with clean balance sheets that could make acquisitions or themselves be acquired.
The Financial Times reports that the Federal Communications Commission has taken its first formal step towards the adoption of new regulations for the broadband industry. In a 3-2 vote, Democrats at the FCC agreed to begin formal consideration to adopt new rules for high-speed internet companies such as AT&T and Comcast, which have until now operated virtually free of the FCC's oversight. The move represents a difficult political situation for the White House, as a large number of the Democrats in Congress have voiced opposition to the FCC's plan. It will also test the lobbying prowess of Google and other technology groups that strongly favour greater regulation of broadband companies but have less experience in Washington than the communications industry.
The paper also says that Jason Hirschhorn, co-president of News Corp-owned MySpace, is to leave the social networking company just five months after a reorganisation forced out the previous chief executive, Owen Van Natt. Mike Jones, currently the other co-president of MySpace, will run the unit. MySpace is not expected to bring in additional management. Hirschhorn, who was recruited from Sling Media, is expected to return to entrepreneurial pursuits.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 