IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 12 October
12-10-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom chief outlines how split would work | Enet defends the MANs
The Irish Times says that Microsoft Ireland has been granted planning permission for what would be one of the largest data centres in Europe. The plan for the site, at Grange Castle in Dublin, has yet to be approved by Microsoft's corporate headquarters. According to planning documents, the two-storey data centre would have a total gross floor area of 51,155 square metres and would employ up to 150 people.
The paper also says that Movidia, a new Dublin-based chip design firm headed by a former Parthus Technologies executive, is planning to raise millions of euro by the beginning of next year to fund its development. Founded by Sean Mitchell, the company designs chips for mobile phones.
The paper also reports that Eircom chief executive Rex Comb has given the clearest indication yet of how he thinks a separation of the telco's retail and network divisions could operate. In an interview, Comb said a separate network company, which would include the Government-owned metropolitan area networks (MANs), would be "highly regulated" but would have the freedom to "invest in the future longevity of the national asset". Comb also suggested that given the strategic importance of the network company it would make sense for the Government to be a shareholder. Eircom owner Babcock & Brown is planning to sell the retail division of the telco and retain the more lucrative wholesale division.
Separately, the paper reports that the Eircom chief also said that while it has put in place the infrastructure to support local loop unbundling, there has been no significant demand from other telecoms operators. Under a deal brokered by ComReg, Eircom committed to providing a fully automated LLU service by 24 September that would allow broadband users to easily switch between providers. However, BT Ireland, which has unbundled 14 exchanges to date, reacted angrily to Combs's assessment. "Eircom has stalled the introduction of LLU for over five years and now appears to blame the industry for lack of take-up," said a spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, the paper also reports that the Eircom head has admitted that the current quality of its broadband services can be less than ideal, but said this will be fixed with the current significant network upgrade. He added that the upgrade is badly needed to support the increasingly high-bandwidth web applications such as video that its customers are using. The company expects to announce the equipment vendor for the upgrade next week and the core of the network will be fully upgraded by June of next year.
The same paper says that Enet, the company that operates the Government's MANs, has rejected any suggestion that the infrastructure merely replicates Eircom's or that it is not commercially feasible. Conal Henry, chief executive of Enet, says the Limerick firm now has 26 customers including BT Ireland, Smart Telecom, UPC, Vodafone, O2, Digiweb and Irish Broadband. "Over 90 percent of all non-Eircom telecoms traffic touches our network," he said. The chief executive claimed that 33,000 jobs rely on IT infrastructure that uses the networks. Eircom has said it views the networks as duplication of its infrastructure and hinted that the Government's investment in them may constitute illegal State aid under EU regulations.
The paper also notes that Fujitsu Siemens Computers has said it will donate EUR10,000 to an environmental charity if it cannot demonstrate how to make 40 percent savings on any Irish organisation's data centre running costs, as noted by ENN.
The paper also notes that Nine Inch Nails is the latest major act to say it will begin selling directly to fans without using a record company, following Radiohead's release of its latest album online this week.
The same paper notes that Belfast technology services firm Kainos and its spin-out Meridio have agreed to extend their relationship in the area of enterprise document and records management, which will now cover the British market.
The Irish Examiner reports on a collaboration between Irish companies Avvio.com and Tierney's Office Automation to roll out a real-time accommodation service for hotels. Read the full story on ENN.
According to the Financial Times, Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei could acquire up to 21.5 percent of 3Com and hold three of the 11 board seats as part of a deal to take over the US technology group. However, Huawei will have "no ability to make decisions" for the company, a regulatory filing disclosed. The recently announced USD2.2 billion proposed bid for 3Com by Bain, a US private equity group, and Huawei, which will initially take a 16.5 percent minority stake, has come under scrutiny in Washington, where lawmakers have expressed alarm at Huawei's allegedly close ties to the Chinese government.
The paper also says that South Korea's Samsung Electronics has reported its first increase in profit in four quarters, helped by improving margins in its flat panel display and handset businesses. However, the strong performance of the LCD and handset divisions in the third quarter was offset by a steep decline in the price of memory chips. Samsung predicted that earnings would continue trending upward in the fourth quarter on stronger seasonal demand for mobile phones and LCD TVs.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Electronic Arts has sealed a deal with private-equity firm Elevation Partners to buy a videogame development company for USD860 million,. Elevation Partners will sell its VG Holdings, the parent company of game makers BioWare and Pandemic Studios, which has produced hit titles such as 'Destroy All Humans!'
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 