IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 20 August
20-08-2007
by Jonathan Farrelly
ComReg investigates Eircom complaints | Irish firms progressing well in space tech sector
The Irish Times reports that Irish firms are generating annual spin-off sales of EUR25 million from space-related technology developed under contracts with the European Space Agency, according to Enterprise Ireland. Some 19 of Enterprise Ireland's client companies won contracts worth a total of EUR5.7 million with ESA last year. Irish firms' involvement in the space sector will expand this year and will be driven by partnerships between optoelectronics companies and large European space companies, according to Tony McDonald, head of the ESA programme at Enterprise Ireland.
The Irish Independent reports that Skype's internet phone service is back to normal after a software bug left many users unable to log on for two days. The company said it would explain what caused the problem in more detail on Monday.
The paper also says that many consumers have been hit with bills for Eircom internet services up to 15 months after they switched to another provider. Communications regulator ComReg has received over 100 complaints from angry internet customers who are being charged for services they no longer receive -- and BT Ireland confirmed they have had an upsurge of complaints on this in the last week. ComReg said it was trying to resolve the issue by holding joint discussions with Eircom and other internet providers to sort out who was liable.
Separately, the paper reports that a pensioner who has been repeatedly overcharged by BT warned there could be many more like him who are not being credited for their social welfare telephone allowance. Retired school principal Peter Murphy said he has been overcharged by up to EUR39 by BT every two months since he moved to them for telephone and broadband in early 2006. The problem appeared to be that his pensioner's telephone allowance of EUR20 a month paid to BT directly from the Department of Social and Family Affairs was subsequently being added to rather than subtracted from his bill.
The Financial Times reports that AOL's recent lower-than-expected growth in advertising revenues was a "hiccup" and did not indicate any "radical disruption" to its business, according to Randy Falco, head of AOL. Falco's comments come amid concerns among some analysts and investors that AOL will do worse than anticipated well into next year, and reduce the potential for increases in the share price of its parent, Time Warner. Falco said the recent decline in display advertising growth and search revenues reflected AOL's focus on improving content in areas such as news, finance, health and music.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nokia has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission aimed at banning the import of certain Qualcomm chipsets into the US that allegedly infringe technology patents. Nokia has accused Qualcomm of engaging in unfair trade practices by infringing five Nokia patents and using them in its CDMA and WCDMA/GSM chipsets.
The Sunday Business Post reports that by the end of this year, both Vodafone and O2 will have launched landline DSL broadband in the Irish market. Their targets are Eircom, BT, Magnet, Irish Broadband, Digiweb and the other fixed-line broadband providers. Their modus operandi for the broadband products will be in the shape of 'service bundles', made up of mobile contracts and fixed line broadband. "The earlier we get into it the better," said Gerry McQuaid, commercial director of O2 Ireland.
The same paper says that Limerick software firm Tango Telecom has opened an office in Mexico and plans to open an office in the Middle East before the end of this year. Turnover is expected to reach EUR6 million this year on the back of new business. The company also plans to expand its Irish-based workforce by 30 percent by the end of the year. Mobile operators use Tango Telecom's software to charge for services such as text and media-messaging systems.
The paper also says that Irish businesses could be losing hundreds of millions of euro each year due to poor service by telecoms suppliers, according to a new study. The study, which was carried out in Ireland and Britain by Professor Merlin Stone on behalf of telecommunications firm Cable & Wireless, identified key failings in the industry in terms of service delivery. Recent research in Britain found that failed telecoms projects are costing up to STG1.8 billion (EUR2.7 billion) per year. ''I'd estimate that the cost of poor telco service in Ireland runs into hundreds of millions of euro per year,'' Stone said.
The same paper also reveals that Fotonation, which provides imaging and communication solutions for the digital camera industry, plans to double its Irish workforce in the next two to three years, fuelled by strong growth in its Japanese sales and a move into the cameraphone market. The company was founded in the US in 1997 by Eran Steinberg and Yury Prilutsky. It employs about 80 people, with some 32 of these located at its Irish operation in Galway, which is home to the company's research and development activities.
The same paper also says that mobile software firm Arantech had turnover of EUR3.7 million in 2005, but its pre-tax loss widened to EUR3.8 million. Accounts just filed by the Dublin company show that its turnover rose by almost 90 percent from EUR2 million in 2004, but its losses more than doubled from EUR1.5 million. At the end of 2005, Arantech had an accumulated loss of almost EUR14.5 million. However, the firm still had shareholders' funds of EUR4.2 million after raising more than EUR8 million in fresh investment during 2005. The investment was led by Trident Capital, an American venture capital firm.
The paper also reports that Kedington, an Irish-owned IT solutions company, made a pre-tax profit of almost EUR1.4 million last year, on the back of a surge in turnover. The company's profit was up sharply from just over EUR293,000 in 2005, as turnover rose to about EUR17 million last year. As a result, Kedington made a gross profit of EUR4.6 million last year, up from EUR2.6 million in 2005. At the end of last year, Kedington had more than EUR1.2 million in accumulated profits and almost EUR2.9 million in shareholders' funds. The company employs about 130 people at offices in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
The Sunday Tribune reports that newly released figures from the 2006 census show a glaring divide between rural and urban Ireland in terms of access to the global knowledge economy. Only one in five homes in the Republic had a broadband connection last year, and statistics show the vast majority of the State's broadband-enabled homes are in urban areas.
The same paper also says that Rescon owners Nessa Butler and Bryan McSharry stand to make up to EUR10 million from the sale of their IT recruitment firm to UK consultancy Harvey Nash. The pair will be paid an initial cash consideration of EUR3.7 million and earn-out of EUR4 million should profit targets be met between 2008 and 2010. A further consideration of EUR2.3 million will be payable should these targets be exceeded.
The Sunday Independent says that Eircom has delayed refinancing more of its EUR3.8 billion debt mountain until fears over a global credit crunch subside. It is understood that the telecoms company had held exploratory discussions with bankers about tweaking its borrowings. In recent weeks, a number of major global companies have pulled out of proposed debt offerings, with multi-billion euro deals involving Virgin, Alliance Boots and pub chain Mitchell & Butlers all falling foul of the uncertainty in the markets. Eircom has been involved in two major refinancing deals since new owners Babcock & Brown bought the company last year.
Finally, the Sunday Times reports that Sendit.com, the online retailer of DVDs and computer games owned by DCC, saw sales drop 8.1 percent in its most recent reporting period as more consumers chose to download films and TV shows from the internet and as competition intensified. Sales at the Belfast-based company, formerly known as Blackstar, fell to STG9.07 million (EUR13.37 million) in the 14 months ended 31 March 2006, from STG9.87 million in the previous 12 months, according to accounts filed with the Companies Office.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 