IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 13 October
13-10-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
ChipSensors acquired by US firm | Intel posts surge in profit, revenue
The Irish Times reports that the majority of O2 Ireland's domestic customers have been switched to online billing, and that Vodafone is also in the process of switching to paperless billing. O2 says over 70 percent of its post-paid customers have been switched to online billing, with the rest having opted out by telling the company they want to keep receiving paper bills in the post. Vodafone has made online billing the default option for all new domestic customers, who now have to pay EUR2 for each paper bill.
The same paper says that Paul Donovan, CEO of Eircom, has been confirmed as the new chairman of IBEC's Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF). Speaking at the group's annual conference on Tuesday, Donovan told delegates the Government has a key role in facilitating next-generation access (NGA) and urged it to be more specific on the details of its smart economy strategy. "While most telecommunications providers are supportive of the general concept of the smart economy . . . we need much more tangible, and much more ambitious objectives if we are to deliver on the smart economy aspiration," he said.
Staying with the TIF conference, the Irish Independent reports that European Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes, who is responsible for the EU's Digital Agenda, told attendees the Government should continue to manage the economic difficulties by stimulating services such as e-government, e-learning and e-health. This strategy, she said, would bring "great benefits" to Irish citizens by making smart use of limited public resources. Kroes added that the Digital Agenda intended to bring basic broadband to all Europeans by 2013 and to ensure that by 2020, all Europeans have access to high-speed broadband internet services.
According to the same paper, U2 manager Paul McGuinness has warned that Ireland has an extremely bad reputation for protecting artists' work after a judge ruled Irish laws do not permit the courts to block illegal downloading and file sharing of copyrighted material. "Though the court ruling is a major blow to the recorded music and movie industries, there are many other Irish-based businesses and industries threatened by copyright theft. The Government must, as a matter of urgency, implement the required EU legislation without delay."
The Irish Examiner says that ChipSensors, a University of Limerick campus company, has been acquired by Austin-based Silicon Laboratories in a deal valued at EUR10 million. ChipSensors develops single-chip sensors and its products are used to detect temperature, humidity and gases. Silicon Labs said it will retain ChipSensors' Limerick office and all its full-time employees. It also said there are plans to add to staff to "build up the capability".
The paper also reports that Ryanair began legal proceedings in the High Court on Tuesday against Dublin-based Bravofly, a company which operates websites offering search and booking facilities for low-cost flights. Ryanair alleges Bravofly is "screenscraping" information from the airline’s websites for use on the other company's sites. It claims Bravofly, without permission from Ryanair, has offered detailed information on Ryanair flight services and had also used the airline’s name and harp logo in presenting that information. Michael Howard, counsel for Bravofly, submitted they were not guilty of any wrongful acts or omissions as alleged. The hearing continues on Wednesday.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google, along with investment firm Good Energies and Japanese trading company Marubeni, have pledged to invest tens of millions of dollars in a new offshore wind-energy project that, if completed, could allow 1.9 million households to obtain energy from turbines off the US's east coast. The Atlantic Wind Connection, projected to take a decade to complete, would serve as a transmission line for wind-generated energy, collecting power from offshore wind turbines and delivering it to electricity users onshore. The investments the companies announced will only allow project leaders to prepare for construction of the first phase, which is estimated to cost USD1.3 billion to complete. Once the first phase is ready to be built, in about three years, Google, Good Energies and Marubeni will decide whether they want to continue to invest in the project.
The Financial Times reports that Intel reassured markets at the start of the earnings season with third-quarter results ahead of its reduced expectations and a forecast of “healthy worldwide demand” for products for the rest of the year. The chip giant posted revenue of USD11.1 billion, up 18 percent on the same period last year. Net profit soared 59 percent to USD3 billion, while earnings per share came in at USD0.52, an increase of 58 percent on the year-ago period. The firm's fourth-quarter predictions of about USD11.4 billion in sales is slightly ahead of an analyst consensus of USD11.3 billion.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 