IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 26 September
26-09-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Integrated ticketing system to cost nearly EUR50m | Sprint Nextel defeats Vonage in patent case
The Irish Times says that the new Comptroller and Auditor General's report reveals that the long-planned integrated ticketing system for public transport is set to cost nearly EUR50 million. The Department of Transport told the comptroller that the increase from the original estimated capital cost of EUR29.6 million was due to factors including the extension of the implementation period for the project, associated price inflation, and increased contributions to transport operators to reflect the cost of integration and to stimulate the involvement of private bus operators.
Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner reports that the C&AG report also found that the Department of Social and Family Affairs failed to deduct tax from nearly 1,000 non-resident landlords receiving rent supplements due to IT and staff problems. Despite legislation requiring tax be deducted from rent paid to non-resident landlords, the Department of Social and Family Affairs failed to do so. "Considerable development work" would have to be carried out on its computer system, the department said.
Separately, the paper reports that the C&AG also discovered that the Health Service Executive exceeded its sanctioned budget and spent almost EUR11 million more on ICT last year than the Government had permitted. The HSE also broke government rules stipulating that ICT expenditure be sanctioned on a case-by-case basis by seeking tenders for a number of projects without permission.
The Financial Times reports that PC maker Lenovo would still like to acquire Packard Bell, despite Taiwanese rival Acer's move to take control of the European PC vendor as part its USD710 million takeover of Gateway. Lenovo is widely thought to have been thwarted in its attempt to buy Packard Bell after Acer announced last month it would purchase Gateway, which has first refusal over shares in Packard Bell's holding company. Nonetheless, Lenovo CEO Bill Amelio told Reuters that "Packard Bell is a great fit, and we're still very interested."
The paper also says that Virgin Mobile USA expects to raise USD375.6 million after expenses from its planned initial public offering. In a regulatory filing, the joint venture between Sprint Nextel and Virgin Group set a price range of USD15 to USD17 per share and expects to price 27.5 million Class A common shares, raising up to USD467.5 million. The offering would float 42.8 percent of the company and is aimed at raising money to pay off debt.
The Wall Street Journal says that TJX, owner of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls discount chains, failed to upgrade its data encryption system in time to thwart one of the largest credit card data thefts in North America, a Canadian government investigation has found. Investigators also found that the retailer was holding on to its customers' personal information unnecessarily and for too long, exposing data on at least 45.7 million credit card numbers to hackers. As a result of their findings, the privacy commissioners of Canada and the province of Alberta recommended a number of corrective actions by TJX, including the use of a sophisticated coding system to protect driver's licence information and the deletion of all credit card data after 18 months.
According to the same paper, Vonage Holdings' legal woes continue to mount, with the internet phone company suffering a defeat at the hands of Sprint Nextel on Tuesday. A jury in US District Court in Kansas City found that Vonage had illegally used Sprint patents relating to connecting internet phone calls. The jury found that Vonage would have to pay Sprint USD69.5 million in damages, which was the equivalent of 5 percent of the revenue it derived during the period in which it used the technology. In March, a federal jury found that Vonage had illegally used Verizon Communications' patents and ordered it to pay USD66 million to Verizon.
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