Some 420 jobs were announced today at a US health insurance firm, the opening of a high speed fibre optic network and expansion at a long-standing Irish IT business.

ANGLO Irish Bank is seeking judgment orders for €26 million arising from personal loans made to insolvent well-known businessman Brendan Murtagh, whose total liabilities are estimated at €353m.

SMART Telecom has been granted a new lease of life by being acquired from examinership by fellow Dublin-based telecommunications provider, Digiweb.

Digiweb is to acquire the entire customer service base and assets of Smart Telecom in a move that will create Ireland's largest independently-owned telecommunications firm, the companies announced this afternoon.

Communications firm Smart Telecom today announced that it has entered into an examinership process.

HIGH Court proceedings over a repossession order on former Smart Telecom chief executive Oisín Fanning’s luxury home were adjourned indefinitely yesterday after a judge was told it should not trouble the court again.

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning yesterday lost a bid to stop a bank taking possession of his luxury home because of an alleged failure to keep up payments on an €8 million loan.

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning is opposing a bid by a bank to take possession of his home because of an alleged failure to keep up payments on an €8 million loan, the High Court heard yesterday.

A NUMBER of legal actions involving former Smart Telecom chief executive Oisín Fanning arising from the October 2006 buyout of Smart by Smart YuRoE Broadband — a company controlled by businessman Brendan Murtagh — have come before the Commercial Court.

FORMER Smart Telecom boss Oisin Fanning is not a credible person to challenge the October 2006 buyout of the company by businessman Brendan Murtagh, the High Court was told yesterday, as Mr Fanning himself both voted for and benefited from the deal.

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning has claimed at the High Court that businessman Brendan Murtagh threatened in October 2006 to put the company into liquidation unless all the directors not loyal to Mr Murtagh resigned and signed irrevocable proxies supporting his takeover of the company.

KINGSPAN co-founder Brendan Murtagh has sold part of his stake in the Cavan-based building materials firm for €6 million.

Smart Telecom has acquired the assets of media company Envi Communications.

Smart YuRoE Broadband Limited (SYB - formerly Calally) today announced that it has completed a refinancing package of the Smart Telecom group ahead of taking the company private on June 29, 2007.

CONSUMERS are wary of switching phone companies to get cheaper calls after Smart Telecom last year pulled the plug on 40,000 subscribers.

COMREG has told the High Court it will be seeking legal costs at the highest level against Smart Telecom following Smart’s unsuccessful court bid to overturn ComReg’s refusal to grant it the lucrative 3G mobile phone licence.

THOUSANDS of customers who enjoyed cheap phone calls with Smart Telecom have until tomorrow to find a new telephone company — or their service will be cut off.

It has been a dramatic day for Smart Telecom after the High Court has turned down its claim for a 3G mobile phone licence and the company was then bought by one of its shareholders for €1.

Smart Telecom shareholders are due to vote today on a proposed takeover by businessman Brendan Murtagh.

THE prospective new owner of Smart Telecom has ruled out a return for the company to the home phone business and said that the troubled telecommunications firm will be back on the growth path by the middle of next year.

THE 45,000 customers of Smart Telecom are the latest casualties of the crazy decision to privatise Telecom Éireann.

ALL-IRELAND ladies football champions Cork are owed a substantial five-figure sum by their main sponsors, Smart Telecom.

Around 45,000 telephone users disconnected over a dispute between rival telecoms companies are to have their service restored, it emerged tonight.

Smart Telecom and eircom have failed to resolve their dispute over unpaid bills during talks overseen by the Communications Regulator this morning.

Irish firm Smart Telecom is to cut its staff by 250 following a review of its business, it was confirmed today.

Smart Telecom has announced that it's to focus its business on the corporate and residential broadband sector.

Smart Telecom has announced it is to cut 76 jobs in their sales department as part of a plan to re-focus the company strategy, in a bid to save money.

SMART TELECOM has joined forces with Exponential-e, a provider of network technology, Ethernet networks for enterprises in Britain.

EIRCOM has gone into the red, suffering an after-tax loss of 10 cents a share — €108 million in the three months ending June 30 last.

THE hearing of Smart Telecom’s bid to overturn the decision of the Commission for Communications Regulation not to grant it the lucrative multi-million euro 3G mobile phone licence ended in the High Court yesterday.

QUINN Life has introduced a range of convenient services on its website which enable its customers to securely and quickly administer their policies online.

THE High Court has fixed July 6 for the hearing of Smart Telecom’s claim that it is entitled to be awarded the lucrative 3G mobile phone licence.

THE High Court has granted an interim injunction to Smart Telecom restraining the Communications Regulator from awarding the 3G licence to another firm.

Communications regulator ComReg has withdrawn the offer of the country's fourth 3G licence, awarded last November to Smart Telecom.

Smart Telecom is to boost its Irish sales team to win over new customers from rival telephone and internet firms.

FERMANAGH entrepreneur Sean Quinn yesterday jumped on Smart Telecom’s mobile bandwagon as he joined forces with Kingspan director Brendan Murtagh to provide €56 million to fund the company’s plans for a new 3G network.

THE McCartney sisters, whose brother was stabbed to death outside a bar in Belfast almost a year ago, received the top accolade in the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards last night.

EIRCOM suffered a double dose of bad news yesterday as it lost out in the race for the country’s final third generation (3G) mobile phone licence and potential buyer Swisscom fuelled doubts over its proposed takeover.

SMART TELECOM has raised €55.2 million in new funding.

The latest wireless and mobile innovations will be showcased at an event in Cork tomorrow, aimed at businesspeople.

THE ISEQ index recovered slightly yesterday following its sharp fall on Wednesday, closing up 13.93 to 6487.73.

Smart Telecom is set to roll out wireless internet access to more areas in Cork following the success of its network in the city centre.