Morning Edition: Still Blu, Autonomy boost and Cyber village in crisis

Blu controversially brought the Italian 3G licence auction to an abrupt halt when shareholder infighting saw the company withdraw from the bidding. The sudden end kept the money raised by the auction to a relatively meagre £7bn and as such the government has now declared it intends to keep Blu's £1.2bn deposit.

The government claims its action is part of an ongoing investigation into irregular behaviour in the bidding process and cited suspected corruption. Cynics may also say that spite plays a part as the government will clearly hold Blu responsible for the auction raising £15bn and £23bn less than the UK and German auctions respectively.

The Guardian takes a slightly different angle on the story, returning to the aforementioned infighting. Autostrade - one of the key Blu shareholders and controlled by the Benetton family - reportedly turned on BT yesterday in the wake of the failed bid and gave the UK telco a pay up or push off ultimatum over demands BT increases its stake in Blu...

The Guardian brings good news for investors in Cambridge-based software firm Autonomy.

Less than a week before Autonomy's £3.8bn flotation on the London Stock Exchange, Japanese company NTT Software has announced a distribution deal with the company.

The access the deal will provide to the vast Japanese market will give Autonomy sales a massive lift and for investors in the company the news could not have come at a better time...

Less impressed with their luck are residents of the Acorn Televillage near Crickhowell in Wales. The Times reports that the Cyber village has fallen upon hard times and the project is now is jeopardy.

Homes in the village cost £369,000 each and residents were promised houses that would be kitted out to meet all the demands of the high-tech home-worker.

Unfortunately, while the houses and basic infrastructure are in place and the residents have moved in, the money dried up before any of the houses could be wired up with the necessary fibre-optic cables. A promised server that would be capable to handle all of the residents electronic needs, to be installed in a farmhouse, has also failed to materialise.

These less than fulfilling developments leave the pioneering occupants living in houses with no distinguishing features in a small Welsh village with an empty farmhouse and a pretty bad name. Not a great return on £369,000...