IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 17 September
17-09-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
Broadband take-up in Ireland still behind EU average | SolarWinds to create 75 jobs in Cork
The Irish Examiner reports that members of Team Ireland, who will compete in the World Cyber Games in the US in the coming weeks, were announced on Sunday after a weekend of gaming in Dublin. The gamers, all men aged between 18 and 24, beat off competition from more than 100 gamers. The team of seven now face a fortnight of intense practice before flying to Seattle for the games, which run over five days from 3 October. Ireland's cyber gamers are Gavin Devine and Eugene O'Beirne from Leixlip, Co Kildare; Patrick Lucy from Cork; Paul Madigan from Letterkenny, Co Donegal; Stephen Walsh and Mark Kenny from Dublin and Mike Traynor from Bray, Co Wicklow.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Paetec Holdings has signed a deal to purchase telecom provider McLeodUSA for USD492 million. Under the terms of the deal, Paetec will swap 1.3 of its shares for each McLeod share. The combination will create one of the largest rivals to AT&T and Verizon Communications for business-telephony services. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Paetec and McLeod reported combined revenue of USD1.6 billion.
The same paper says that Nokia has agreed to acquire a Boston company that displays ads on mobile phones. This marks another step in Nokia's push into software and services, and is the latest buyout in the mobile-marketing industry. The Finnish mobile-device maker expects to complete the purchase of Enpocket in October, according to a person familiar with the matter. The value of the deal is unclear.
According to the Sunday Business Post, question service AQA (Any Question Answered) is hoping to expand to include a business service that could see clients outsource some of their customer support to the firm behind AQA. The text-based service, which was set up in Britain in 2004 and launched in Ireland a year ago, could answer customer queries by SMS.
The same paper also reports that Irish software engineering research centre Lero has received EUR7.3 million in funding from the Higher Education Authority. The money is earmarked to help the centre develop a software engineering research PhD research education programme, and also to establish a headquarters for the centre at the University of Limerick. The course, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, will help students to further their research skills.
The same paper reports that the take-up of broadband in Ireland is still trailing the EU average, according to a recent report from the European Competitive Telecommunications Association. Broadband penetration in Ireland only stands at 14 percent, according to the report, compared to the 21 percent EU average.
The Sunday Business Post also reports on a new virtual assistant service, Val.ie, that is helping put businesses in touch with professionals willing to take on short or long term projects, from administration to IT. The service helps businesses avoid the costs associated with taking on full-time staff or hiring through an agency.
The same paper says that early stage financial software firm Koelo Communications is hoping to hit profitability next year, after raising EUR500,000 since it was set up in 2005. The firm, which is based in Ireland, is set to break even this year.
The Sunday Business Post goes on to say that new Irish photo-sharing website Pix.ie is planning an assault on the market. Users will get 500 megabytes of storage space, and a subscription-based model for professional photographers is also in the pipeline.
The paper also reports that US network management software firm SolarWinds is to locate its EMEA headquarters in Cork, creating up to 75 jobs over the next three years.
The Sunday Tribune says that technology firms are becoming a safe bet for investors due to their low debt level, and their presence in emerging markets. This time around, however, it is the established multinationals that are the focus of the money men, rather than the more risky start ups. SAP, Microsoft, and Ericsson are all being mooted as good stock choices for investors, while big names such as Dell, IBM and Hewlett-Packard are trading at up to 20 percent below their value.
The paper says that Apple has decided to exclude the iTunes music store from a USD100 rebate offer it has extended to early buyers of its iPhone device. The company decided to offer the rebate, which must be claimed by the end of November, after dropping the price of the handset by USD200. The decision could lead to iPhone owners spending up to 50 percent more on Apple's gadgets.
The same paper warns that Monday's ruling on Microsoft's appeal against a EUR479 million fine imposed by the EU in its antitrust case against the firm may have a knock-on effect for investigations into Intel, Rambus and Qualcomm. Microsoft is fighting the record fine, claiming that the regulators shouldn't be able to force them to keep their competitors happy by changing the design of their programs or handing over proprietary information. Should Microsoft lose its appeal, it could also cause headaches for Google, and make the EU a "global regulator" against what it deems dominant firms.
The Sunday Times reports on the same appeal case, which is the culmination of a nine-year fight between the EU and Microsoft.
The same newspaper also reports that Dublin-based credit card security firm Orbiscom has landed a major deal with Mastercard, which could result in the top banks in the world using its technology by 2009. Once rated as "worthless" by Goodbody Stockbrokers, Orbiscom struck an agreement with Mastercard to create the Mastercard inControl platform, which will introduce new features to credit cards.
The same paper reports that satellite navigation devices now account for 25 percent of thefts from cars in Dublin, with the highest risk in Dublin suburbs. The thefts are nudging crime figures up 3 percent, and are expected to have a significant impact on crime figures in 2007.
According to the Sunday Independent, Cork-based organisation it@cork is to host a series of talks on software testing. The talks begin on 25 September, in association with Insight Test Services.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 