IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 8 July
08-07-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Oireachtas considers SMS alert system | Job losses expected at Vodafone
The Irish Times says that the Joint Committee on Communications has unveiled details of proposals to use text messages as an early warning system to alert people about natural disasters, extreme weather events and unpredictable catastrophes. The report is a response to the extensive flooding which caused millions of euro worth of damage last November. The report says the installation of such a system would cost between EUR4 million and EUR5 million in capital costs and would also entail ongoing costs. Simon Coveney of Fine Gael noted that the cost could be levied on network operators and insurance companies and should not be borne by the taxpayer. The report says that the existing mobile network does not have the capacity to allow cell broadcasts, which would allow thousands of text messages be sent to subscribers in a particular area.
The paper also reports that job losses are thought to be on the cards at Vodafone, following the resolution of a pay claim brought to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) by the Communication Workers Union (CWU). The LRC recommended that Vodafone pay the 20 percent of its staff who are on collective contracts a 2 percent pay increase from 1 January 2011 and again from 1 January 2012. A pay freeze, which has been in place since last year, will remain in operation until the end of this year. In exchange for the pay increase, the CWU must agree to engage with the company on a "change agenda". According to the firm, this change process will involve a review of the way the company works, but is as yet at an early stage.
The Irish Independent reports that Google may face closer scrutiny as EU regulators scrutinise allegations of antitrust breaches in relation to internet searches. The European Commission is "examining some allegations of anti-competitive conduct", Joaquin Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, said in a speech on Wednesday, without specifically mentioning Google. "The work is at an early stage," said Almunia. "But given the importance of searches to a competitive online marketplace, I am looking at the allegations very carefully." The comments come five months after UK price-comparison site Foundem, French legal search engine Ejustice.fr and Microsoft service Ciao filed an antitrust complaint against Google.
According to the Financial Times, Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo is to launch an Apple-style application platform for its i-mode handsets. DoCoMo will allow third-party providers to independently develop handset applications which the company will help to sell through a 'DoCoMo market'. The plan marks a shift away from DoCoMo's practice of strictly controlling which applications and services are offered to its 50 million i-mode subscribers.
The paper also says that US online retail giant Amazon has announced it is to begin selling groceries in the UK. The company said it would carry a range of more than 22,000 lines from companies such as Kraft, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble. The move comes in the same week that UK firm Ocado, which sells Waitrose food online, unveiled plans to launch an IPO that could value the business at up to STG1.1 billion. It hopes to complete the flotation later this month.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Spanish telco Telefonica has received a boost in its bid to control Brazilian mobile operator Vivo from Europe's highest court, which confirmed that the Portuguese government's golden share in Portugal Telecom is illegal. The Portuguese state's holding of golden shares in PT "constitutes an unjustified restriction" in the free movement of capital, said the European Court of Justice. Portugal used its golden share to block Telefonica's EUR7.15 billion bid to acquire Portugal Telecom's stake in Vivo, the companies' Brazilian mobile joint venture, even though PT shareholders had voted in favour of a deal.
The same paper notes that US telco AT&T has said a software defect is slowing down the mobile connection for more than 1 million customers who want to send data from smartphones or laptops. AT&T and supplier Alcatel-Lucent found a problem with Alcatel equipment that is preventing some subscribers from reaching their peak data transmission speed. The companies said the issue affects less than 2 percent of AT&T's mobile customers. Alcatel-Lucent said it was working to fix the software glitch.
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