A roundup of today's other stories in brief:
OECD urges states, industry to fight spam
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has urged governments and industry to work together more to combat spam.
The organisation called on countries to set out clear national anti-spam policies and give enforcement authorities more power and resources. It also recommended greater international co-operation on the issue and a stronger emphasis on education.
The OECD is offering a package of concrete regulatory approaches, technical solutions and industry initiatives to fight spam, with its anti-spam toolkit available from www.oecd-antispam.org.
The site also includes a guide to best practice for internet service providers (ISPs) and other network operators for e-mail marketing.
Colt Telecom sales rise to €20m
Colt Telecom Ireland produced a profit from its day-to-day operations for the first time last year as sales rose by nearly 60 per cent to more than €20 million.
The company reported operating profits of €1.1 million. The equivalent figure for 2004 was €2.9 million but this was distorted by an exceptional gain offsetting previously overestimated impairment charges. That restatement amounted to €3.6 million, indicating that Colt was losing about €700,000 in operating terms in 2004.
The business telco is sitting on accumulated losses of more than €60 million since it entered the Irish market in 2000.
The company said it grew customer numbers by more than a quarter during the year as well as investing more than €1 million in expanding its network to include areas such as the extensive Sandyford Business Park in south Dublin.
Chief executive Gary Keogh said provision of quality services was being hampered by the unavailability of "cost effective symmetrical DSL".
Health sector to be advised by iReach
Consultants iReach has said there is a significant gap between the availability of technology and its use within the domestic health sector.
The company is launching a new Smartcare practice to "provide the knowledge and best practices to deliver healthcare in a smart and efficient way to all stakeholders in the Irish marketplace".
Managing director Oisín Byrne pointed out that, despite spending above the European average on health, the Irish health service ranked poorly in terms of quality and availability of care across Europe.
"We hope to assist Irish health sector specialists maximise the investment in delivering healthcare through the efficient use of technologies, and place Ireland at the forefront of healthcare delivery in Europe," he said.
Quarterly profit down 3% at eBay
Web auctioneer eBay has posted a 3 per cent drop in quarterly net profit due to stock compensation costs, and stuck to a 2006 revenue forecast at the low end of Wall Street's targets, sending its shares down 5 per cent.
But analysts said eBay's cautious outlook for the second quarter and rest of 2006 reflected a conservative stance rather than an indication that revenue growth will slow substantially, which has been a fear of investors.
Net income for the first quarter dipped to $248.3 million (€201 million), or 17 cents per share, compared with $256.3 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. The latest quarter's net profit was one cent a share better than expected.
Excluding one-time items, the first-quarter profit was 24 cents a share - matching Wall Street's expectation.
Net revenue rose 35 per cent to $1.39 billion, in line with forecasts but marking a deceleration in year-over- year revenue growth.
