IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 21 September
21-09-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Inchydoney hotel in legal spat with TripAdvisor | Nokia delays N8 smartphone again
The Irish Times reports that Eircom and other dominant telcos will be compelled under new rules from the European Commission to provide competitors with access to their ultra-fast broadband networks. Digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes unveiled the plan, saying there would be no "regulatory holidays" for next generation access (NGA) networks. "Although telecom operators have to realise huge investments to deploy next generation fibre networks, we cannot take the risk that this fundamental transition may lead to a re-monopolisation of telecom networks, losing the benefits that competition has brought so far," she said. "We must therefore take a balanced approach, because we need both incumbent operators and new market entrants to attain such important goals."
The Irish Independent says that a government group charged with winding down the failed e-voting system has met just five times since it was established. The Interdepartmental Task Force has yet to receive a formal proposal on how the e-voting machines will be disposed of. The task force was set up in April 2009 after an announcement by Environment Minister John Gormley that the e-voting project would be scrapped. To date, the development and rollout of the unused system has cost the taxpayer EUR54.61 million.
The paper also notes that shares in Norkom Technologies rose after the financial software company signed a supply deal with VTB Bank in Russia, as reported by ENN last week. The Dublin-based firm will provide anti-money laundering software to VTB Bank in a joint venture with IBM. The announcement was welcomed by the markets, with Norkom's share price jumping 11 percent.
The Irish Examiner reports that the four-star Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa has threatened legal action against travel review site TripAdvisor after "untrue" comments were posted on the site. Des O'Dowd, proprietor, said the letter was sent after allegedly incorrect information was published on the website, which allows the public to post reviews of restaurants and hotels they have visited. TripAdvisor is also facing a class action suit in Britain after more than 100 businesses claimed they are being damaged by malicious, inaccurate and defamatory comments.
According to the Financial Times, Microsoft is to join Sony and Apple in offering a "three-screen" music and movie service, bringing together its games console, PCs and mobile phones. On each, consumers will be able to buy and rent movies, download tracks as MP3s or access an "unlimited" music streaming service, all under Microsoft's Zune entertainment brand. Earlier this month, Sony united music and film in Qriocity, a cross-platform service available on its PlayStation 3 console, Bravia TVs and Vaio PCs. At the same time, Apple cut the price of its AppleTV box, offering lower-priced film rentals from its iTunes service, which also offers music and videos for Mac computers and the iPhone.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Nokia has delayed delivery of its new flagship smartphone by another few weeks, saying it needs time to make final adjustments. The delay is the latest setback for the launch of the N8. "In some markets, we had planned to start delivering the Nokia N8s to our pre-order customers by the end of September," Nokia said in a statement. "To ensure a great user experience, we have decided to hold the shipments for a few weeks to do some final amends." The company did not specify the cause of the delay.
The paper also notes that Germany plans to strengthen its privacy laws after controversy around Google's Street View and similar applications, the government said. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the government would introduce a new privacy code in December at a government IT summit, in order to balance citizens' privacy concerns with internet companies' freedom to provide services. The government asked internet firms to submit suggestions for self-regulation between now and the summit.
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