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AAPT Set To Be Sold Cheap To Australia’s Richest IT Exec

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Australia’s richest IT executive – the reclusive David Teoh, with a personal fortune estimated at $615 million – is hot favourite to acquire Telecom NZ’s Australian subsidiary AAPT, with many observers predicting a sale is close.

Teoh’s TPG Telecommunications is believed to have offered $350 million for AAPT, well below the $500 million Telecom has been seeking.
The only other pro-bable bidder, Amcom Telecommunications, would need difficult-to-get financing to complete the deal, according to industry newsletter Communications Day.
The ASX-listed Amcom, based in Perth, is a provider of fibre, digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband and Internet services to mainly business clients. Amcom reported revenue of $53 million for the year to December 31, 2009.
Teoh’s most recent coup was the acquisition of Pipe Networks in March for $373 million, giving it control of a dark fibre network across Australia’s eastern states, as well as Pipe’s Sydney-Guam international cable.
Telecom is believed to have turned down an offer of US$420 million by Pacnet in December 2008. Whatever price it receives will represent a major loss on the $2 billion-plus it is believed to have pumped into AAPT.
Final bids are due on Friday.

Chinese Telco To Launch iPad Look Alike In OZ

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Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei is planning to launch an iPad-lookalike tablet device in Australia, as it moves into enterprise and consumer markets.


Click to enlarge

The Android-powered tablet – pictured – was shown at the recent Computex show in Taipei and reportedly is based on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It has a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 800 by 480 pixel resolution, and comes with Google Apps preloaded

“Significantly it also came with 3G connectivity and telephony functions,” Corner comments.
Huawei plans a press conference in Australia on June 24 at which it will not only show the tablet, but also Android-powered smartphones and “a range of devices for the connected home.”

MYOB Move Into Web Hosting

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Accounting and small business software developer MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) has bought Australia’s second biggest Web hosting business, SmartyHost, for A$7 million.

It’s the second move into the hosting and Internet services arena by the ASX-listed MYOB this year, following its February acquisition of Perth-based Ilisys, and comes as the software company yesterday reported a 27 percent
rise in operating profit ­ but an overall loss, following sale of unprofitable European operations ­ for the half-year to June.

Said MYOB CEO Tim Reed: “Our research shows that 59 percent of Australian mall businesses don’t currently have a Web site. Increasingly a Web site is as essential to a business as are business cards and signs. Through the acquisition of SmartyHost we can now deliver a basic Web site and domain name package to Australian businesses, starting from under $100 per year.”

He said MYOB also planned to help business owners leverage the Net to “rewire their customer and supplier interactions and other core business processes.”

SmartyHost, founded by MD Anoosh Manzoori in 1999, claims to have more than 50,000 Australian customers, and to generate more than $3 million a year in revenue. MYOB has purchased the shares and existing debt ­ not enumerated ­ of SmartyHost for $7 million.

 

Separately yesterday, MYOB reported a 6 percent rise in operating revenue to $90.8 million for the latest half year. Net profit after tax from continuing operations was $9.8 million, up 27 percent from $7.7 million in the same
half of last year.

But the company sold its European operations for gross cash of $78.7 million, incurring a loss of $28.3 million ­ and turning the local outfit’s half-year result into a net loss after tax of $18.5 million. MYOB shares closed unchanged at $1.10 on the ASX yesterday.

Fuji Xerox Uses LED Technology To Chase SMB Printer Market

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Fuji Xerox – well known for its high-end solid-ink printers – is looking to go down-market with a new range of LED-based printers aimed for the first time at the small-medium business sector.Its new DocuPrint series of LED printers – priced in Australia at $149-399 – are claimed to be almost noiseless, compared with inkjets or laser printers; to deliver superior print quality, especially in colour models; and to deliver up to a 40 percent reduction in power consumption during the fusion process.

The new line-up – which includes one model shaped and sized like a toaster, and known by that name inside Fuji Xerox – was  introduced to media at a slap-up lunch at Sydney’s Aria restaurant (chef: Matt Moran) yesterday, and to resellers at Sydney Opera House last night.

Negotiations are under way to have some of the new models on the shelves at Harvey-Norman stores, among many other retailers, said Derek Pohlmann, channel marketing manager.

According to Pohlmann, LED technology has sometimes been criticised for fuzzy halftones and type, along with uneven colour density, but Fuji Xerox’s new self-scanning LED (SLED) technology has overcome this. Colour images delivered noiselessly during lunch from the flagship CM205 model  certainly looked the goods.

Since LED printheads do not require a polygon mirror or a motor to rotate the mirror, as do lasers, the SLED machines are small, noise-free, have reduced power consumption and never need a drum replacement, Fuji says.

The mono “toaster”  model, the P205b will sell in Australia for $149, while a multi-function version, the M205b goes for $199.

Colour versions start with the small-footprint 105b at $269; the single-function CP105b costs $269. The two flagship models – single function CP205 and multi-function CM205b – go for $329 and $399 respectively.


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Technology Shares Soar As Markets Roar Back

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Technology stocks soared across the board as US stockmarkets rebounded overnight. The Nasdaq composite index leapt almost 12 percent, or 194.74 points, to close at 1844.25 at 7am, Sydney time. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 936 points, or 11 percent at 9387.61. All stocks in CDN’s page 4 listing carry a plus mark. Big gainers included Apple, up $13.46, or almost 14 percent, to $110.26, after a week below $100; and Google, which jumped $49.02, or 14.7pc, to close at $381.02.

Technology stocks soared across the board as US stockmarkets rebounded overnight. The Nasdaq composite index leapt almost 12 percent, or 194.74 points, to close at 1844.25 at 7am, Sydney time. The Dow Jones industrial average was up  936 points, or 11 percent at 9387.61. All stocks in CDN’s page 4 listing carry a plus mark. Big gainers included Apple, up $13.46, or almost 14 percent, to $110.26, after a week below $100; and Google, which jumped $49.02, or 14.7pc, to close at $381.02.

Industry bellwethers Hewlett Packard (up 12pc), Intel (11.8pc), Microsoft (18.6pc) and Oracle (13pc) all had heroic rises. Canada’s Research In Motion was up 15.5pc.

The US resurgence followed a good day for most Australian tech stocks on the ASX. Telstra was up 4.6pc at $4.09; while Oakton, Bravura and Technology One all recorded good rises.

 Intel kicks off earnings reports from technology companies today, US time. The microchip maker has seldom looked stronger ­ but fears about what could happen to technology demand have seldom loomed larger.

The Silicon Valley giant is riding one of its strongest product lineups in years. Intel microprocessors serve as the calculating engines for most PCs.
Now Intel is trying to expand by promoting netbooks and new pocket-sized devices.

The Wall Street meltdown has cut Intel’s market capitalisation by US$43 billion, or about one third, since the beginning of September. Intel’s numbers for the quarter ended September 30 might not be hurt but there is intense interest in what the chipmaker and other tech companies will say about the prospects for the current quarter ­ traditionally the busiest for electronics makers.

Apple Overtakes Microsoft To Take Top IT Slot

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On the day that they launch their iPad in Australia Apple has finally toppled Microsoft as the No. 1 ICT company, after its market capitalisation surpassed the software giant’s market cap yesterday. Apple’s market cap hit US$221 billion, as Microsoft’s slipped to $219 billion – less than half the $556 billion Microsoft was worth in 2000.

That not only made Apple the world’s most valuable technology company in the world. It also made it the second-largest US stock by market value, behind oil company Exxon Mobil, worth $$278.6 billion.
Apple’s shares closed at $244.11 as the company prepared for today’s international launch of its iPad tablet, which should add more billions to its annual revenue. The shares have more than doubled in the past year.
They have come a long, long way since they slipped below $10 in 1997 shortly before Steve Jobs returned to the company and transformed it with a strong line of innovative products, including the first iMac (1998), the iPod music player (2001), the iPhone (2007) and now the iPad tablet
Analysts note Apple has also almost caught up with Microsoft in terms of revenue. In fiscal 2000, Microsoft’s revenue of US$22.9 billion was roughly three times Apple’s. This fiscal year, Microsoft is expected to generate revenue of $61.65 billion and Apple $59 billion.
CEO Jobs last month said second-quarter profit almost doubled and sales soared 49 percent on demand for the iPhone. The results don’t yet include the iPad, launched in April.
Microsoft shares closed at $25.01 yesterday, down 4 percent. It was the seventh straight day of declines for Microsoft, its longest streak of losses since February 2007.
Current market caps of some other IT industry leaders include Hewlett-Packard, $107 billion; Intel, $115 billion; Google, $157 billion; and IBM, $158 billion.

Mobile Consumers Confused

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Most consumers don’t know how much mobile broadband data they need, with many spending more than they need, according to a broadband comparison site.

Some 1700 visitors to www.broadbandexpert.com.au were asked how much data they use each month – the majority (54 percent) admitted that they did not know.

Most mobile broadband contract users have a monthly data cap, which is typically between 1GB and 12GB.

Rob Webber, commercial director of Broadband Expert, says it is likely that many customers are spending much more than they need to on their monthly cap.

“The current range of mobile broadband plans is from around $20 per month for 1GB rising to $90 per month for 10GB+. Occasional users or those likely to keep to a very low monthly download (just sending e-mail and browsing the Web) would be better off with a prepaid plan so they aren’t paying for data they don’t need,” he says.

Tablets To Hurt Notebook Sales

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Tablet sales are beginning to make major inroads into the notebook PC market, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

Analyst Bill Shope predicts 19.1 million notebook sales will to be lost to tablets globally in 2011, and 26.1 million will be lost in 2012.

Shope believes total tablet unit shipments will jump to 54.7 million in 2011, with 35 percent PC unit cannibalisation, and to 79.2 million in 2012, with 33 percent cannibalisation

Like a number of analysts, he has taken serious note of Apple’s claim in its last earnings call that more than 65 percent of the Fortune 100 have either deployed or are piloting the iPad.

Internet Costs To Slump With New Cable

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ISP iiNet says its quick move to secure capacity on Pipe Networks’ planned new $200 million, 6900km Sydney-Guam undersea cable will help lower Internet pricing.

Australia’s third biggest ISP says it will switch up to half its international capacity on the cable when it lights up in 18 months, after signing a 15-year international “foundation customer” agreement.

“This agreement will provide iiNet with long-term supply certainty and significant cost savings,” said iiNet MD Michael Malone, checking in from Hawaii.

Company spokesman Greg Bader said the deal should allow the ISP to keep its download pricing in reach of consumers. International bandwidth accounts for around 15 per cent of the company’s costs.

Pipe and iiNet say the new cable will jolt “the effective duopoly on international traffic” by the Southern Cross Cable (SXC) and Australia-Japan Cable (AJC), which are dominated by Optus and Telstra. AJC has already announced a plan to increase its capacity by 50 percent to 240Gbps by April.

 

The Pipe cable should light up in mid- to late-2009 with potential capacity of 1.92 terabits a second.

Guam is the junction for other cables to North America, Japan and China (see Verizon report, next story, page 2).

“Foundation customers want a change from the overpriced bandwidth product available for the past eight years,” said Pipe CEO Bevan Slattery. “We all realised that this is the last chance to break the stranglehold on international capacity pricing into Australia.”

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy got in on the act, officially announcing the Pipe project. Drawing something of a long bow, Conroy said the cable is critical to the success of the Federal Government’s plans to spend $4.7 billion on a new national FttN broadband access network.

Cisco Buys Navini Implications For Unwired

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In a deal which has implications for the Australian market, Cisco has agreed to buy broadband wireless kit maker Navini Networks for US$330 million in cash and options.

Navini has been supplying equipment to Australia’s Unwired group, which is planning a major WiMax network in Australian capital cities, backed by a $35 million Intel investment. Regional operator Austar has also been testing Navini gear.

Navini, based in Texas, sells gear said to improve the data transmission speed and range of WiMax networks.

Cisco plans to integrate Navini into its wireless networking business unit, which also includes Wi-Fi gear maker Linksys. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco’s 2008 fiscal year.