IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 30 June
30-06-2008
by
Tech giants unite against patent infringement | France Telecom abandons bid for TeliaSonera
The Irish Times reports on the launch of the newspaper's new website, www.irishtimes.com. The redesigned site is now free to access. Those who have subscribed to the Irish Times via Ireland.com will be offered a full refund for the remainder of their subscription period. Meanwhile, Ireland.com is being relaunched as a separate "lifestyle portal" site.
The paper also says that Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in south Dublin is to launch a facility for the charging up of electric cars. The council will be the first local authority in the country to introduce charging points for the environmentally-friendly vehicles. It is expected that a pilot programme will see charging points at four places in the area: Dundrum, Dun Laoghaire, Stillorgan and Blackrock. The details of the project have not yet been worked out, but it is understood that three supply companies are in talks with the council and will be tendering for the work.
The Irish Independent says that thousands of visitors are getting lost on the way to Newgrange every year, and technology is being blamed. The increasingly popular GPS devices in cars are directing visitors to the site of the tomb, rather than to the visitors' centre on the other side of the river where tourists must go to join a tour. "I am reliably told that in the last year alone, over 8,000 cars arrived directly at the front door of the site, only to be told that they are in the wrong place," said Meath Senator Dominic Hannigan. "They had to turn around and drive back several miles to get to the Bru na Boinne visitors' centre."
According to the Wall Street Journal, France Telecom has abandoned its approach to acquire TeliaSonera after failing to reach an agreement on financial terms. "France Telecom has today decided not to submit a firm offer to TeliaSonera's shareholders," the company said. "Notwithstanding the interest shown in the project, the dialogue opened with the board of directors of TeliaSonera was unable to reach agreement on its financial conditions." TeliaSonera issued its own statement, saying it "maintains its view that the proposal substantially undervalues the company". The retreat by France Telecom brings to an end the prospect of a deal that would have created Europe's largest telecoms operator by revenue.
The paper also says that several tech-industry heavyweights are grouping together to defend themselves against patent-infringement lawsuits. Verizon Communications, Google, Cisco Systems, Ericsson and Hewlett-Packard are among the firms that have joined a group calling itself the Allied Security Trust, according to sources. The group's plan is to buy up key intellectual property that others might use to bring infringement claims against its members. Companies will pay roughly USD250,000 to join the group and will each put about USD5 million into escrow with the organisation, to go toward future patent purchases.
The Financial Times says that Cable & Wireless has confirmed it is in discussions about raising its takeover offer for Thus to STG1.80 a share, valuing the alternative telecoms provider at STG329.5 million. A STG1.80 bid would be 9 percent higher than C&W's rejected potential offer of STG1.65, and a 65 percent premium on Thus' share price before discussions began in late May.
The Sunday Times writes that cable provider UPC is taking legal action against an alleged supplier of what the company says are illegal decoding boxes. The boxes allow subscription channels to be decoded and viewed free of charge, and UPC says the practice is costing it millions in lost revenue. The boxes can be bought from as little as EUR85, and despite UPC's attempts to change the codes regularly to boot the boxes off its subscription channels, the decoders are able to obtain the codes again within hours. The firm was last week granted a temporary injunction against a businessman it claims is selling the decoders.
The Sunday Business Post reports that Enterprise Ireland is to undertake a major review of the software sector in Ireland, in a bid to devise a strategy for the sector. Consultancy firm IDC has been awarded a EUR195,000 contract to study the international software sector and its developments, with Enterprise Ireland planning to use the study as a guide to the international software sector's developments and to see what is driving growth. The last strategy Enterprise Ireland published for the sector was formulated in 1999; the new strategy is expected to cover up to 2013 and should include a roadmap on how to push the sector towards Enterprise Ireland's goals.
The same paper says that e-government services in Ireland need to be developed further, with more "transactional services" being offered in a one-stop shop format. This is according to an expert in the field, Art Daniels, who helped reform Canada's public sector. He told the paper that a recent report from the OECD on the Irish public sector said greater integration of e-government services would lead to greater efficiencies. He said that although there were a couple of good e-government services available, the Irish government needs to develop more and to link them up.
Irish mobile solutions firm Insero has signed a six-figure deal with British construction firm Barratt Homes, the Sunday Business post also says. The Irish company develops mobile solutions for the construction industry and others and has installed its Siteintell product at some of the construction firm's sites. The solution uses handheld devices to collate information on-site, which is then sent back to a server where clients can access the data and generate reports from it. The company is anticipating revenue turnover of EUR1 million this year, as a result of its expansion in Britain.
The same paper reports that Supplierforce and Musgrave have signed a deal under which Supplierforce will provide Musgrave with technology to help manage its relationships with its suppliers. The value of the deal was not made public. Meanwhile, Supplierforce is set to take on extra funding, up to EUR3 million, to help fund research and development, build up its British market footprint and increase staff numbers.
University of Ulster spinout Sensor Technology and Devices has received STG400,000 from UK research charity the Wellcome Trust to commercialise a wireless device that allows remote monitoring of patients' vital signs, according to the same paper. The company has come up with a disposable adhesive patch that is connected to a wireless electronic unit, which sends data to doctors.
The paper also warns that the Office for Internet Safety and An Garda Siochana are considering the use of technology to prevent access to certain web pages from Ireland. However, discussions are at an exploratory stage and there would be legal and technical details to decide upon before any such blocking of content went ahead. The technology could be used to block child pornography, prevent abuse of intellectual property or look after the interests of national security.
The paper reports that Insurance firm Blue Insurances is to take on 25 new staff members as a result of new investment in an online service for brokers and other intermediaries. The new online service will be aimed at agents in Ireland and Britain, allowing brokers to buy insurance products online or book directly for customers.
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