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November 21st, 2008
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Tech & Telecom Headlines

May 23rd, 2007 | Current Issue

Plug in or perish
With little broadband use, rural regions risk obsolescence

BRIEFS


DIGITAL TV The Interior Ministry has prepared an amendment to speed up the launch of digital TV broadcasting, the ministry announced May 18. The proposal would grant temporary broadcasting licenses to six digital channels whose launch has been stymied by inadequate legislation. The proposal also includes incentives for top channels Prima TV and TV Nova to free up their analog space after digitalization.

PIRACY Software piracy in the Czech Republic dropped 1 percent last year, according to a study released by the Business Software Alliance. Some 39 percent of software is illegal, closing in on the EU average of 36 percent. Piracy caused total losses of 2.5 billion Kč ($120 million) to software companies, the report said.
ROAMING The member states approved the EU’s plan to limit mobile-phone roaming rates on May 18. The plan would cap outgoing roaming calls at 0.49 euro cents per minute and calls received while abroad at 0.24 euro cents. Mobile operators continue to attack the plan, though it is more lenient than previous proposals. The regulation still requires full European Parliament approval, expected this month.
RESEARCH Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek came out against increases to the R&D budgets of universities and businesses on May 17, saying he could not support such advances unless there is systematic reform of how research is conducted in the country. Funding for R&D, now scattered between 22 different agencies, must be simplified, with young scientists in particular encouraged in their research, he said.
MOBILE The newest entry to the Czech mobile phone market, MobilKom, launched their U:Fon network on May 14. U:Fon is offering mobile Internet access through its CDMA network from 237 Kč a month, far lower than other mobile providers, the company said. By the middle of the year, U:Fon plans to offer full mobile services to half the country.
NANO The Liberec-based nanofiber production company Elmarco has announced it will build a new R&D facility in its home town, said owner Ladislav Mareš. The company, which is expected to invest 750 million Kč in R&D over the next three years, holds a worldwide patent on its “Nanospider” production process.

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