Thames Tech Wire - June 29, 2005

============================================
THAMES TECH WIRE - June 29, 2005
============================================
To Subscribe: http://www.techwiremedia.com/thames

Would you like to meet other members of the local technology
community? For details about our free networking event in London on
July 13, send an email to jim@europeantechwire.com and write "Tech
Wire Networking Event" in the subject header.

o U.K. Inward-Investment Surge Boosts Technology Sector
o IVCA: Irish VC Investment in Local Companies Falls Sharply
o London Deputy Mayor Launches £15-Million Technology Fund
o U.K.-Based Auctioning4u Secures £600,000 in First Round
o Report: EU Pursuing Antitrust Investigation of Chipmaker Intel
o Briefly Noted: Google Earth, British Library Digital Project, France
Telecom-Wanadoo-Orange, Vocera Communications-U.K. Office,
NTL-Universal Music Group
_____________________________________________

o U.K. Inward-Investment Surge Boosts Technology Sector

London -- A new report by the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) shows that the local technology sector has been the main
beneficiary of a record 31% surge in inward investment. The DTI
found that IT, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and R&D projects
accounted for nearly half of the 1,066 projects that created
approximately 40,000 jobs last year. U.K. Trade and Industry Secretary
Alan Johnson attributed the surge in inward investment to the United
Kingdom's economic performance, emphasis on research and
technology and skilled, flexible workforce. "We must ensure that we
maintain our momentum by adding value and exploiting technology,"
he said. "In an increasingly global market place, established economies
like the U.K. cannot compete on the basis of low labour costs."
http://www.ukinvest.gov.uk/investmentreport/index.cfm
_____________________________________________

o IVCA: Irish VC Investment in Local Companies Falls Sharply

Dublin -- A new report by the Irish Venture Capital Association
(IVCA) shows that the amount of money invested by Irish venture-
capital companies in local companies last year fell sharply from about
255 million euro in 2003 to just 61 million euro last year. "We estimate
that, at the end of 2004, we have enough capital to service investment
needs over the following 12 to 18 months," said IVCA Chairman
Desmond Fahey. "But the implication of this is that Irish VCs will
require significant funding in 2006 if the venture capital sector is to
continue to develop and support Irish entrepreneurs and industry." The
IVCA said the decrease was disappointing, but added that the local
technology sector was generally performing well, having received
about 87% of overall investments.
http://www.ivca.ie/
_____________________________________________

o London Deputy Mayor Launches £15-Million Technology Fund

London -- London Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron announced that the
English capitol has launched a £15-million venture-capital fund that
will focus on technology investments. Gavron said the new London
Technology Fund would be funded by the London Development
Agency and the European Regional Development Fund and that it
would support technology start-ups throughout the Greater London
area, "helping to turn world-class research into world-class business".
The deputy mayor said London decided to launch the fund in order to
bridge an "equity gap" for technology start-ups, "where traditional
venture capitalists are deterred from investing by the risks and
uncertainties relative to other opportunities".
http://www.lda.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.1155
_____________________________________________

o U.K.-Based Auctioning4u Secures £600,000 in First Round

London -- Auctioning4u, a U.K.-based online auction site, announced
that it has received £600,000 in first-round venture-capital financing.
Auctioning4u CEO Christian Braun said that a number of "significant
figures" from the venture capital and finance world, as well as private
investors, contributed to the funding. Investors included Patrick Folkes;
Jeffrey Pack, former Group Treasurer and Director Investor Relations
at Securicor Plc; Christopher Sharples, co-founder of derivatives broker
GNI; David Taylor, founder of Royal Blue; and David Yu, chief
operating officer and chief technology officer at Betfair.com. Under the
terms of the investment -- which Auctioning4u will use for the roll-out
of its retail network and to build its first warehouse -- Pack will join the
company's board of directors, Braun said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?H2391295B
_____________________________________________

o Report: EU Pursuing Antitrust Investigation of Chipmaker Intel

Brussels -- According to a report in the Financial Times, the European
Commission is pursuing its antitrust investigation of U.S.-based Intel,
currently the largest computer-chip maker in the world. "We are
actively pursuing our investigation into possible violations of EU
competition rules by Intel, particularly as regards its policies on
rebates," a Commission spokesperson told FT. The Commission has
been looking into a complaint filed by rival AMD -- which claims Intel
abused its dominant position by offering rebates that prevented rivals
from entering the market -- for the last five years. If EU antitrust
regulators ultimately determine that Intel has in fact abused its position,
the Commission could fine the company as much as 10% of its global
annual turnover.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L2951595B
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(London) Google, a U.S.-based search-engine giant, announced that it
has launched Google Earth, a free download that starts with a view
from earth as seen from space and allows users zoom down to detailed
street-level maps for virtually any location on the planet. 3D features
include actual representations for buildings in major U.S. cities, plus
video playback of driving directions. With the new service, users can
type in an address and "zoom right in"; search for schools, parks,
restaurants and hotels; get driving directions; tilt and rotate the view to
see 3D terrain and buildings; save and share searches and favourites;
and even add their own annotations.
http://earth.google.com/

(London) According to a new report by the British Library, nearly 90%
of newly published work in the U.K. will be available in digital form by
the year 2020. By comparison, only half of newly published work by
that same year will also be available in print form, with just 10% of
new titles available only in print, the report said. The British Library
said the new collection would include both digital-born works and
previous works that have been digitised. British Library Chief
Executive Lynne Brindley described the project as a "seismic shift" in
the publishing world.
http://www.bl.uk/news/2005/pressrelease20050629.html

(Paris) France Telecom, the France-based telecommunications
bellwether, announced that it has decided once again to rename
Wanadoo, its U.K.-based Internet service provider (ISP). Wanadoo,
which used to be known as Freeserve, will now become Orange, the
company said. Under the terms of the rebranding, Wanadoo will
become the umbrella brand for all mobile, broadband and other
converged telecommunications services. Once the change takes place
next year, Wanadoo customers will be able to get their mobile,
broadband, video-on-demand and fixed line services charged on the
same bill, France Telecom said.
http://www.wanadoo.co.uk/

(Reading, England) Vocera Communications, a U.S.-based wireless
communications firm, announced that it has opened a new office in
Reading. The Vocera system, which has been available in the U.S.
since 2002, allows mobile workers to communicate instantly with one
another using wearable Vocera communications badges. "Vocera is a
new paradigm in speech communication," said Vocera CEO Julie
Shimer. "We have researched the customer needs and technology
adoption for each region we expect to enter, and the (U.K.) was the
most natural choice for our first European market."
http://www.vocera.com/news/press062905.shtm 

(London) NTL, a U.K.-based cable TV and broadband provider,
announced that it has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group
to offer Universal music videos on its video-on-demand service. Music
video content will feature multi-platinum selling acts such as U2,
Scissor Sisters, Keane, Eminem, Nelly, Gwen Stefani, Ashanti, Ronan
Keating, Girls Aloud, Daniel Bedingfield, McFly and The Bravery.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. NTL currently has more
than 3 million cable TV and 1.4 million broadband subscribers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050628/285534.html 
http://www.ntl.com 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

> Receive THAMES TECH WIRE Every Day For Free

Please forward this edition of Thames Tech Wire to your colleagues
and suggest that they register on our Web site
( http://www.thamestechwire.co.uk ) to receive their own copy.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

===================================================

To subscribe, go to:
http://www.techwiremedia.com/thames 

Questions, comments, news tips, press releases. Send email to:
jim@europeantechwire.com 

Copyright: Tech Wire Media Group 2005