IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 6 August
06-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Google to liberalise ad trademark policy | CAI criticises O2 online billing plan
The Irish Times reports that the ESB has launched home-based car charging points for electric vehicles. Sweeping aside concerns relating to "range anxiety", the availability of lithium for batteries, the price of electric vehicles and the safety implications of the absence of engine noise, the ESB said electric vehicles were continually being "mainstreamed". The power company has plans to install 2,000 home-based charging points across the country by next year. The State's first home-charging pilot project will see 12 people driving an electric vehicle for four months each, while the ESB and Trinity College Dublin assess the suitability of the charging systems.
The same paper reports that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has ruled out introducing commercial digital terrestrial television (DTT) until after analogue television services are switched off at the end of 2012. The BAI said it would review possible dates for the launch of commercial DTT at the end of 2011, at which point it might seek fresh expressions of interest. A competition could be held in 2012 with a view to commercial DTT coming on stream in 2013, it said. In a statement, the BAI also indicated that it intends to ask the Department of Communications to give it the power to mediate between future commercial DTT operators and RTE NL, which controls the transmission network.
The paper also says that Science Foundation Ireland's annual report shows there are now more than 300 partnerships and collaborations between SFI-funded researchers and industry, a 25 percent increase on 2008. Researchers were also successful in winning nearly EUR70 million in matched funding from non-government sources to accompany SFI grants. The report also reveals that SFI pays its 54 staff an average of EUR77,481 per annum. A spokesman said this was because the organisation employs "high-end" staff with PhD qualifications and a minimum of five years of previous experience in industry or academia.
The same paper says that a new report from the World Economic Forum shows the benefits of cloud computing have only begun to be realised. Whereas early benefits such as reducing costs and improving business processes are well understood, the report said these are "just scratching the surface of cloud's potential". A survey in the WEF report found 86 percent of respondents said the cloud's main benefit was its potential for enabling new services or products. Cost-reduction came second, along with enabling collaboration and information-sharing between professionals.
The paper also reports that Google will liberalise its trademark policy in Ireland next month, allowing businesses to use brand names they do not own in online adverts. Google's trademark policy for Ireland, Britain and Canada will be adjusted on 14 September to mirror changes implemented in the US last year. Under the updated policy, Google will permit certain Irish advertisers -- such as resellers and informational sites -- to use the trademark of other businesses in the text of their online advert, even if they don't own that trademark or have explicit approval from the brand owner to use it. In a separate development, European companies from 14 September will be able to pay to select trademarks as keywords through Google's AdWords online advertising system. The move toward "brand name bidding" will not affect Ireland, as this policy was implemented here several years ago.
The paper also notes that smartphones running Google's Android software were the top seller among consumers in the US in the second quarter, according to tracker NPD. Android accounted for one-third of all smartphones purchased in the April-June period, with Research in Motion's BlackBerry sliding to second place for the first time since 2007. Apple's iPhone was in third place with a 22 percent market share.
The same paper notes that wireless network operator AirSpeed Telecom has been awarded a contract worth EUR32,000 to provide the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies with a 500Mbps licensed wireless link from its Merrion Square office to Dunsink Observatory.
The paper also says that web developer Strata3 won contracts worth more than EUR350,000 during the second quarter of 2010. Clients include the National Consumer Agency, Convention Centre Dublin, Bord Gais and the RDS.
The paper also says that the Mayor of Midleton has defended the east Cork town in the wake of a Facebook page linking it to anti-Semitic comments. The page, titled "the Invasion of Jews in Midleton", was created after the arrival of a number of Orthodox Satmar Jews in the town for a two-week holiday. The existence of the page and comments posted on it were noted in the Jerusalem Post , among other Jewish newspapers worldwide, before the page was removed from the social networking site. Mayor of Midleton Niall O'Neill said the comments posted on the page were in no way representative of the local people.
The Irish Independent reports that the Consumers' Association of Ireland (CAI) has hit out at mobile operator O2 over its plans to introduce online billing for its customers. The company plans for customers to receive their monthly bill online instead of receiving it by post following a trial it conducted earlier this year. The CAI branded the process as "unfair" and says it is forcing customers to go through a process of opting out if they want to continue receiving their bills through the post.
The paper also says that Communications Minister Eamon Ryan told the chief executive of Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT), the majority owner of Eircom, that industry players would have to "give up something good in order to get something better" so that Ireland's telecoms infrastructure could be further developed. In a meeting held last year between Ryan and Lee Theng Kiat just as the STT acquisition of Eircom was being finalised, the minister told the STT boss that there was a need for collaborative approaches between industry, the government and the regulator.
The Irish Examiner says that Irish nanoscientist Jonathan Coleman has been awarded a prestigious European Research Commission starter grant of EUR1.5 million. He is principal investigator at CRANN, the TCD and UCC based nanoscience research institute, and professor at the School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin. The awards are given to 300 scientists across Europe. The grant will support his research group for the next five years.
The Financial Times reports that Google and US telecommunications firm Verizon have agreed on the outline of a plan covering key aspects of how internet services are carried over communications networks, establishing what could become a financial and operational blueprint for the next phase of the web's development. The arrangement would put some restrictions on Verizon's ability to block or degrade specific internet services, but still leave it free to charge more to give some services priority on its network, according to sources. The reverberations from the agreement, which has yet to be unveiled formally, appeared to spread quickly on Thursday, with the US Federal Communications Commission calling off industry-wide talks on the same issues. The agency said it had failed to reach agreement on a "robust framework to preserve the openness and freedom of the internet".
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