IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 1 September
01-09-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom revenues down 8.5pc | DCC proposes sewer-based broadband
The Irish Times reports the details of Eircom's yearly financial results, which were released on Tuesday. Revenues fell 8.5 percent to just over EUR1.8 billion. Operating costs were reduced by 11.5 percent, helping Eircom keep the decline in EBITDA to just 3.3 percent, at EUR669 million. Eircom lost 70,000 fixed-line customers during the year, while fixed-line revenues fell 8.5 percent to EUR1.4 billion. Revenues at mobile unit Meteor were also down, falling 7.7 percent to EUR458 million. Eircom said it wants to reduce labour costs by EUR90 million over the next three years. The company also warned it could breach its debt covenants, as noted on Tuesday.
The paper also reports that Ireland could become an international player in nanotechnology research, according to a new study by Forfas and international consultants Lux Research. The report examines ways to exploit the high level of investment in the sector in order to attract more foreign direct investment and encourage indigenous enterprise. A special committee is being set up to implement the report's findings. The report says the existing funding levels for nanotechnology research, which has seen EUR282 million put into the sector between 2000 and 2009, should be maintained. It recommends the sector should target four areas of nanotechnology application: advanced electronics, medical and diagnostic devices, environmental applications, and industrial process improvements.
The same paper says that Dublin City Council wants to use Dublin's sewers to provide high-speed broadband access to businesses and homes. The council is in talks with two companies regarding the feasibility of running "rat resistant" fibre optic cables through the sewerage system to transform the speed, accessibility and cost of broadband in the city. The sewer line system could provide super-fast broadband speeds of 100 Mbps.
The paper also notes that a student who scored seven As and 580 points in the Leaving Certificate has made almost EUR3,000 by selling his study notes online. Cillian Fahy, who attended Gort Community School in Galway, sold his Leaving Cert notes on eBay.ie in order to help finance his third-level education.
The Irish Examiner says that 20 jobs have been created at a Kerry-based property management software firm. Aspen Grove is hiring 20 staff for its development and networking teams. The graduate-level positions include project managers, software developers and designers. The firm provides web-based management solutions for the real estate market.
According to the Financial Times, Sony will on Wednesday unveil a new music and video subscription service for a range of its devices. The announcement is expected to be made in Berlin at the IFA technology show, just hours before an Apple music-themed press conference in California, which is expected to include updates to its iPod, iTunes and Apple TV products. Sources told the newspaper that Sony would use its PlayStation games consoles as the starting point for a new service users will be able to use across a range of other internet-connected devices, possibly including Walkman music players, Vaio computers, Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players and Sony Ericsson mobile phones. The service is not expected to be available to consumers until next year.
The Wall Street Journal reports that research house Gartner has cut its 2010 projections for global PC shipments, saying the second half won't be a strong as it previously expected. Gartner now predicts shipments of 367.8 million units in 2010, a 19 percent increase over 2009. In May, Gartner forecast that shipments would total 376.6 million.
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