No iPhone for Ireland

A spokesman at O2 Ireland confirmed that the iPhone/O2 deal only applies to the UK and Northern Ireland. No Irish network has expressed an interest publicly, although 3 Ireland would be out of the running for technical reasons as it is solely 3G.

Irish users who want to make use of a recent hack announced by two Waterford-based programmers to get round the phone’s network lock should be careful – a recently released official firmware patch from Apple is now disabling phones that have been modified in this way.

The latest information warns users of an unlocked iPhone, not to apply Apple’s official patch update, or their pride and joy will become an expensive ornament – irrespective of the network it is on.

Meteor supports People in Need

Meteor is to be the official mobile supplier for the RTÉ People in Need Telethon 2007.
The network will supply the mobile requirements for all of the Telethon co-ordinators throughout the country, ensuring they can keep in touch with fundraisers.

All of Meteor’s 875,000 customers will have the opportunity to donate to the People in Need Trust by downloading the charity event’s logo to their handset. The logo is available as a wallpaper to purchase on the Meteor Stuff portal for €2.50 (£1.75) with all proceeds donated to the charity.

Meteor marketing director Michael Hayes commented: “Meteor is delighted to support such a commendable charitable organisation.”

The Telethon will be broadcast on Friday October 26.

Industry warning on Eircom break-up

Telecoms special interest group ALTO has expressed concern over the intended break-up of Eircom, the former Irish monopoly telecoms operator now owned by Australian group Babcock & Brown.

ALTO chairman Liam O’Halloran told members that both the Irish government and ComReg should be urged to intervene should Eircom attempt to sell off its Meteor mobile phone business or its retail arm.

“At present, the only motivation Eircom’s owners have for investing in its infrastructure is to enable its retail arm to sell more value-added services,” he said, adding that the break-up would mean prices to businesses and consumers would rise, while service standards would decline.

Nearly 17,000 hit with phone driving charges

It is now a year since the ban on driving while using a mobile handset was incorporated into the new driving licence ‘penalty points’ system, itself introduced earlier in 2006.

Figures released by the Department of Transport show that, in the past 12 months, around 1,400 drivers have been caught each month, making a total of 16,800 offences prosecuted.

One penalty point is the minimum tariff levied, but it can be as high as three, depending on the circumstances of the offence.

Xiam signs Vodafone revenue-share deal

Dublin technology firm Xiam Technologies has signed a deal to manage advertising on Vodafone Live! in Ireland.

A system developed by the company allows interactive advertising to be served directly to mobile users optimised for screen size and handset capability. The technology, dubbed MPOS, or My Personal Offers System, also provides an audit trail for advertisers.

No details on the cost of the deal have been announced, but it is understood it will be based on a revenue-share model.

Vodafone head of mobile internet and content Chris Handley said the network saw mobile advertising as a significant opportunity to augment revenues while improving the internet portal offering.

Getmobile figures

Irish-owned mobile services firm Getmobile Europe turned a loss into a profit in 2006.
Its latest half-year trading figures show pre-tax profits of €1.1 million (£765,000); an upturn after incurring €54.4 million in liabilities after buying Getmobile AG of Germany.

Getmobile chairman Pierce Casey said: “Despite the competitive landscape in our core business, a traditionally stronger second half should result in increased profitability for the full year.

"We also believe that our strategic initiatives, which are expanding the product and offering base of the company will put us in a significantly improved position in 2008.”

Alphyra merger

Alphyra, the Irish payment technology firm best known for its mobile top-up and ATM infrastructure, has merged with UK’s Cardpoint in a reverse-takeover deal understood to be worth €800 million.

The merger will create a new company, Payzone, which will be listed on AIM by the end of December 2007.