IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 20 July
20-07-2007
by Deirdre McArdle
Eircom to sell off retail and mobile divisions | Ticket Text signs exclusive deal with Ryanair
The Irish Times reports that an 'unused' vote on the NUI panel in the Seanad elections has been offered for sale on auction site eBay at a starting price of EUR1.62. The item was displayed on the site for nine hours before being removed by eBay, but there were no bidders.
The same paper reports that while Vodafone's customer figures were up by 10,000 during the second quarter of the year, average revenue per user (ARPU) dropped 6.9 percent. Read the full results on ENN.
The paper also reports that Iona Technologies posted second-quarter revenues of USD19.8 million (EUR14.3 million), up 12 percent year on year, as noted by ENN.
UK-based telecoms group Cable & Wireless (C&W) has dismissed as "without foundation" a claim for damages from Digicel, Denis O'Brien's Caribbean mobile group, according to the Irish Times. In a statement on Thursday Digicel accused C&W of hampering competition in the Caribbean, saying it had issued a claim in the English High Court seeking several hundreds of millions of pounds in damages. Read the story as reported by ENN.
The paper also says that Irish technology start-up Ticket Text has signed an exclusive deal with Ryanair, which will see the budget airline promote the ticket service on its homepage, booking pages and in customers' confirmation e-mails. Ticket Text works by sending tickets as text messages to mobile phones. Purchased tickets are delivered as 2D barcodes that can then be scanned at the venue.
The Irish Independent reports that Eircom is poised to sell off its retail division, as well as its mobile phone arm Meteor. The deal could reportedly net owners Babcock & Brown up to EUR1.8 billion. Eircom is planning on retaining its valuable wholesale division, which includes its phone network. Sources close to the company reportedly told the Irish Independent that the company would be split into two divisions ahead of the sale. It's understood Eircom has spoken to a number of potential buyers in the past few months.
In more news of Eircom, the same paper reports that workers at the telco have formally accepted a deal to end a pay dispute and avert strike action. The Communications Workers' Union confirmed it will accept the settlement terms proposed at the Labour Relations Commission earlier this week.
The paper also says that Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants in Ireland and a number of executives at Irish software firm SmartForce have made a settlement of over EUR3 million with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US for breaking US accountancy rules. The SEC brought proceedings against Ernst & Young and the lead partner on the SmartForce engagement Denis O'Hogan for engaging in improper professional conduct in connection with multiple audits and reviews of SmartForce's financial statements. The company was censured and agreed to pay USD725,000.
Still in the Irish Independent, irishspeedtraps.com, a website providing an interactive map of the locations of speed cameras around the country has been dismissed as 'irrelevant' by the Road Safety Authority. The site claims to pinpoint fixed and mobile cameras in the Republic, and asks users to add details of speed camera locations not already included.
The paper also says that Aodhan Cullen, a 24-year-old Dubliner and founder of Irish headquartered StatCounter, has been named as the Businessweek Young European Entrepreneur of the Year. Read the full story as reported by ENN.
The Wall Street Journal reports that chipmaker AMD posted a USD600 million net loss for its second quarter. However, the firm raised revenue more than analysts expected, and reported a 38 percent sequential increase in unit shipments of microprocessors. AMD executives claimed it had won back share in the market for microprocessors after several quarters of gains by Intel.
The same paper says that telecoms-equipment maker Motorola posted a loss for the second quarter as sales of its key mobile-device business fell by 40 percent from the year-earlier period. The company also declined to say how long it may take to get its mobile phone business back on track. The results marked the second quarter in a row the company posted a loss and the third quarter its results fell short of Wall Street expectations.
The Financial Times reports that mobile carrier Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are teaming up to roll out a nationwide wireless broadband network based on WiMax in the US. The partnership will enable the two companies to accelerate their existing WiMax network plans. Under the deal, the companies will build their respective portions of the nationwide network, and enable roaming between the respective territories.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 