IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 10 August
10-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Skype plans USD100m IPO | Google, Verizon criticised over net neutrality
The Irish Times reports that Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has appointed independent consultants to examine his proposals to designate certain sport fixtures as free-to-air. Indecon International Economic Consultants has been chosen to study the proposal and prepare a report by early October. The Minister's proposal to make competitions such as the Six Nations and Heineken Cup available on terrestrial TV has resulted in conflict with the Irish Rugby Football Union, while the Football Association of Ireland and the GAA have also expressed concern at elements of the proposals. Ryan said the consultants would evaluate the economic, financial and social impact of designating sports of major public interest as free-to-air.
The paper also says that HP's share price plunged in early trading on Monday, three days after CEO Mark Hurd resigned following an investigation into his relationship with a contractor. HP shares, which had doubled since Hurd took over five years ago, were trading at about USD42.58 on Monday morning, down 8 percent from their NYSE close of USD46.30 on Friday. They had fallen 10 percent in extended trade on Friday. Some analysts said the shares looked cheap after the sell-off, but investors were not entirely convinced, given uncertainty over whether Hurd's successor could lead HP against competitors like IBM, Apple and Cisco Systems.
The Irish Examiner reports that health specialists have discovered a possible early-warning system for the onset of a flu pandemic by examining the logs of patient phone calls to GP out-of-hours services. Using software, health surveillance experts combed the call records for mentions of influenza-like illness and discovered that the number of calls to out-of-hours services peaked a week ahead of a national peak of the pandemic. This advance surge occurred in five out of six flu seasons analysed (2003-2008) and led those who carried out the research to conclude that the data extracted from the phone records had "the potential to be utilised as an early alert system for seasonal and pandemic influenza". The researchers included Dr Elaine Brabazon, Health Service Executive surveillance scientist, and Dr Declan Bedford, public health doctor.
According to the Financial Times, internet telephony company Skype has filed for an initial public offering, in what could be one of the biggest technology IPOs of the year. Shares will be listed on the Nasdaq later this year, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Skype's document says it plans to raise up to USD100 million in the offering. But the final sum, which could be much higher, will depend on the offer price and amount of equity.
The paper also says that Google and Verizon are facing a barrage of opposition from public interest groups in the US following their announcement of a joint proposal for how traffic on the internet should be regulated. The two companies said their plan would ensure all services on the internet were treated equally – "net neutrality" -- and the web would remain a fully open medium. But they said network operators should be able to charge more for certain services that travel over a higher-quality connection , for example, high-bandwidth content in areas such as healthcare and education and entertainment such as 3D video. They also proposed that mobile operators should be free to block individual internet services. The greater freedoms proposed by Google and Verizon drew condemnation from public interest groups that have supported the Obama administration's push for net neutrality. Google chief Eric Schmidt said his company would not pay to be carried on the new "fast lanes" it was proposing, but would use the existing public internet for all its services, including YouTube.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Arabia's telecommunications regulator has decided against banning BlackBerry messenger services, as phone companies operating in the kingdom have met some of its regulatory requirements. The country's Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) did not specify what these requirements were, according to a statement. CITC had delayed the start of a ban on the BlackBerry's instant-messaging service until the end of Monday, instead of Friday, giving mobile operators and Research In Motion time to test unspecified proposed solutions.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 