UK Labour Party accused of cyber-squatting, and other brief reports ...

[red]*[/red] The ICT empowerment charter working group has said that it will be postponing the handing over of the charter to the Communications Minister, reports Finance24. The new date – possibly early October – will be announced soon after consultation with Nedlac. Full I-Net Bridge report on the Finance24 site [red]*[/red] A survey, published by US telecoms group AT&T and the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit, shows that 43% of companies are using, testing or planning to implement VoIP within the next two years. Another 18% plan to implement VoIP in the longer term. The results tie in with research from Gartner Dataquest and others that suggests a fundamental shift is under way in the telecoms industry with far reaching implications for traditional telecoms providers. Full Financial Times report

Nearly 25 million people around the world have downloaded Skype software, which allows for voice calls over a peer-to-peer network, reports The Age. The service makes phone calls virtually free and unlimited as calls between computers equipped with Skype are free, while calls to conventional telephones, fixed or mobile, incur modest charges. The registration fee to activate a Skye account is €10. Full report in The Age [red]*[/red] Swiss authorities have hailed a success what they claim was the world’s first binding Internet vote in a national referendum. About 2720 people in four Geneva suburbs cast their ballots online. It took officials 13 minutes and five seconds to count the contents of the ‘virtual ballot box’, according to The Age. Full report in The Age [red]*[/red] Ireland is to block direct dial telephone calls to 13 countries in an effort to crack down on Internet scams, reports The Age. The move aims to tackle rogue autodialler programs and modem hijacking that the Commission for Communications Regulation claims are affecting a growing number of people. As from October 4, Internet service providers and telecommunications operators will have to implement the blocking. Full report in The Age