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Nokia is planning to cut about 900 jobs globally from its networks division, in an effort to adjust to the continuing slump in demand for wireless network equipment. Approximately 4.7 percent of Nokia's 19,000 staff at its networks division will lose their jobs, mostly those involved with network delivery and maintenance services. A Nokia spokeswoman declined to say whether the company would take a charge against earnings for the layoffs. The company also declined offer a geographic breakdown of where the cuts would take place.
Ousted Tyco Chief Executive Officer Dennis Kozlowski reportedly received some USD135 million in interest-free or forgiven loans and other payments from the company over five years, according to the Wall Street Journal. One of the payments was reportedly an interest-free, USD19 million loan granted to Kozlowski in 1998 to pay for a mansion in Florida. Kozlowski resigned under pressure in June, shortly before he was indicted in New York on tax evasion charges. Tyco is facing an SEC probe, and the payments could face scrutiny, especially if they were not disclosed.
Japanese wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo has retained the top spot in user growth in July for the second month in a row, according to industry data. DoCoMo, whose popularity was boosted by the release of a series of new camera phones, saw its customer numbers grow by 299,000 in July. KDDI had 113,900 new subscribers for its "au" service, while J-Phone and its parent Vodafone Group gained 125,000 new users. DoCoMo's subscriber base was also enhanced by the continuing popularity of its feature-packed 504 series handsets.
Xiam Limited, a mobile messaging applications company with headquarters in Dublin, has announced a strategic alliance with e-business solutions provider Intranesis Communications Pte Ltd (IntraComm). Under the agreement, IntraComm has been appointed as a Xiam distributor for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. IntraComm will distribute Xiam's Information Routing software, which allows mobile phone users to access, update and respond to enterprise information held on internal corporate networks.
Earthport, an on-line and off-line payment infrastructure company, has signed a major agreement with bookmaker Ladbrokes. Earthport has agreed to provide its on-line payment system to Ladbrokes' global e-gaming and telebetting business. Earthport believes there is a need for global corporates such as Ladbrokes to have real and workable alternatives to credit and debit card on-line transactions, particularly in countries with a low credit-card penetration.
Profits from pornographic material transmitted to mobile phones will reach an annual USD4 billion by 2006, according to a report by IT research company Visiongain. The report estimates that 72.1 percent of Web users look at porn sites, and Visiongain predicts that the arrival of high-resolution picture transmission, video streaming and high-quality sound and graphics will mean demand for porn via mobiles will rocket. Mobile operators Hutchison Whampoa and Virgin have agreed deals with Playboy to provide soft porn content for mobiles, while London-based One World Telecom will give mobile subscribers access to adult content from Private Media Group, a producer of so-called "hardcore" pornography.
The US Justice Department has accused law enforcement groups of suffering from "a lack of accountability" with regard to missing laptops, according to CNETNews.com. The FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Marshals Service are among the organisations that are responsible for 400 laptops that are missing, lost or stolen. Because the agencies kept shoddy records, the Justice Department said, it was difficult to know what information was compromised, but a report for the department speculated that "national security or sensitive law enforcement information" was at risk.
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