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Google
proposes real time auction of radio waves Internet major Google
has made a proposal before the US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission,
to permit real-time auction of radio waves. In its proposal Google has argued
that permitting companies to resell the airwaves in a real-time auction would
make it possible to improve spectrum use and thereby better the quality of service
being offered to consumers. In real-time auction, operators would be able to keep
track of each others' spectrum usage across the country through an online portal
and a company could buy spectrum from another operator, which may have unused
spectrum during off-peak hours.
If
there are multiple operators wanting to buy the chunk of excess spectrum then
an online auction will take place where the highest bidder will get to use the
radio frequency for a year or even two seconds depending on the need.
The
process is similar to the way advertisement spots are
taken up on Google's online search engine.
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ExxonMobil,
ConocoPhillips to exit Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has forced six
global oil giants to transfer equity stakes of 60 per
cent or more in four key heavy-oil ventures to state oil
company Petróleos de Venezuela. The four companies
Chevron, BP, France's Total, and Norway's Statoil signed
agreements with Energy & Oil Minister Rafael Ramírez.
However, two big players, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips
have decided to exit the South American country-a move
likely to hit Venezuela's oil output.
ExxonMobil's
and ConocoPhillip's exit comes at time when Venezuela
is hoping to attract more than $21 billion in investment
from foreign oil companies. The goal: to boost daily oil
output to 5.2 million barrels per day by 2012, up from
its current 2.4 million. Venezuela, currently OPEC's fourth-largest
producer, plans to spend $77 billion overall in the next
five years. But with the shakeup in the industry, many
analysts doubt Chávez will achieve his goals.
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Oracle
posts better than expected results
Enterprise software giant Oracle announced a better than
expected 23 per cent rise in fourth-quarter earnings at
the close on Tuesday. Oracle's net earnings rose to $1.6
billion, or 31 cents per share, from $1.3 billion, or
24 cents per share, in the corresponding period a year
earlier. Fourth-quarter revenues were up 20 per cent to
$5.8 billion. Annual revenue increased $3.6 billion to
$18 billion, operating income increased $1.2 billion to
$6 billion, and cash flow from operations increased $1
billion to $5.5 billion.
The
strong fourth quarter was on the back of several large
acquisitions by Oracle such as that of Hyperion Solutions
for $3.3 billion and Agile Software for $495 million,
or $8.10 a share. The transaction is expected to close
in July.
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