Today's other stories in brief
Irish firms win at top wireless show in Vegas
Two Irish firms – Openet and FeedHenry – have picked up awards at the CTIA Wireless show held in Las Vegas.
Openet, which provides software that monitors and manages events on telecoms networks, won the 4G Service Management category of the Emerging Technology Awards. The Dublin firm, which hired over 100 staff last year, was recognised for its Fair Usage product, which helps operators to bill for data services on next-generation networks.
FeedHenry, which was spun out of the Telecommunications Software and Systems Group at Waterford Institute of Technology, placed third in the Mobile Applications and Widgets category for mobile marketing and mobile advertising. FeedHenry’s software, used by Eircom and the Munster Express, allows telcos and other businesses to provide capabilities such as voice, presence and location services as well as web advertising.
CTIA Wireless is the sector’s largest show.
High-tech praise for Budget steps
ICT Ireland, the lobby group for the high-tech sector, has praised the Government’s “commitment to the knowledge economy” in this week’s Budget.
This included investment and incentives to encourage spending on research and development to hit 2.5 per cent of Gross National Product by 2013.
The group also welcomed tax reliefs for the acquisition of intangible assets, including intellectual property, as a way to support its Smart Economy strategy. However, ICT Ireland said the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund for indigenous companies was “nowhere near” enough.
NovaUCD scheme attracts start-ups
Sixteen new technology and knowledge-focused start-ups, involving 35 researchers, are taking part in NovaUCD’s 2009 Campus Company Development Programme which has just commenced. They are commercialising research in areas such as agriculture and bioinformatics.
NovaUCD is the incubation centre responsible for the commercialisation of research carried out in University College Dublin.
Blast-off of Solaris Mobile satellite
Solaris Mobile, the Dublin joint venture between satellite operators Eutelsat Communications and SES Astra, has successfully launched its first satellite.
Sent into space from Kazakhstan, the S-band satellite will enable Solaris to begin offering fully digital mobile video, navigation and emergency assistance services. IDA Ireland supported Solaris Mobile in setting up their European headquarters in Dublin in June last year
