Amidst continuing coverage of the PPARS and FISP fiascos -- IT projects that have cost the State millions of euro more than intended -- the Irish Times reports that the government's project has already cost nearly double its original budget and is two years behind schedule. The paper says that more than EUR18 million has been paid to consultants for work on the project, which aims to provide an online portal for many government services. The project, which has been allotted EUR31 million in public funding since it began in 2000, has cost EUR26 million to date.
The Irish Independent reports that , the Australian private equity fund that has acquired a 12.5 percent stake in , has told the company that it is a long-term investor and is not linked to any potential bidder.
The same paper reports that and have teamed up to bid for the next round of Premier League TV rights ahead of a crucial European Commission ruling which is expected to break BskyB's grip on English football. The informal arrangement between NTL and ITV, according to a leaked document in the Guardian newspaper, sees the pair prepared to offer at least STG170 million for half of the Premier League games for seasons between 2007 and 2010. Meanwhile, Irish television group is expected to be gearing up to make its own approach to tap into top-flight football if the EC decides next week in favour of more competition.
Also in the Irish Independent is a story about outdoor advertising and how mobile operators are spending huge sums on billboard and poster ads. The paper says that , and have all stepped up their spending on outdoor ads in a bid to ward off competition from , the new 3G network.
In the Financial Times is a report which says that second quarter growth in mobile connections at slowed from the first, but Europe's largest mobile retailer said that interim pre-tax profits would still beat its own expectations as it bucked the trend of the larger retail sector. Total new mobile connections -- the group's key measure of trading -- rose 15.1 percent to 1.78 million, compared with a 19 percent rise in the first quarter. Monthly subscription connections rose 20.6 percent to 830,000, while lower-margin pre-pay connections rose 13.1 percent to 810,000.
The same newspaper reports that and US cable operator have teamed up for negotiations to take a joint minority stake in 's AOL internet portal unit. The approach by Google and Comcast pits them against Microsoft, which for several weeks has been in talks with Time Warner over a similar deal, and indicates that Time Warner is serious about selling a stake in AOL.
The Wall Street Journal says that the called on the music industry to create regionwide copyright licences for online music, saying this would boost demand for legal downloads. "These licences will make it easier for new European-based online services to take off," EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said, reiterating earlier statements on the matter. Music copyrights are currently collected by national agencies, but the emergence of online music services such as iTunes means there is growing demand for a single licence that covers all 25 EU nations.
The same paper reports that said it will bar chat rooms that promote sex between minors and adults and will restrict all chat rooms to users 18 and older. The internet portal will also pre-screen the names of all user-created chat rooms if and when it restores the ability to create them. The changes come under an agreement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. In June, while still in discussions with the attorneys general, Yahoo voluntarily removed or barred the use of about 70,000 user-created chat rooms following complaints that some had names suggesting they facilitated illegal conduct, including sex between adults and minors.
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