News archived on this page occurred prior to the launch of our news letter This Week

Feds refuse call to block mobile phones in prisons

12 July, 2003

The Minister for Communications Senator Alston has rejected a call from the NSW government to block mobile phone signals in State prisons. The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) has recommended to the government that the current ban on the use, possession and supply of mobile phone jammers should remain in place. The ACA report revealed that only the ACT, Queensland and Western Australia currently have legislation in place to prohibit the carriage of mobile phones or mobile phone components into prisons with appropriate penalties for offenders.

Virgin benefits from Vodafone fee increase

10 July, 2003

Virgin is claiming that they are seeing 50% more customer churning from Vodafone since the carrier introduced a flagfall to their popular No Plans tariff. Vodafone is claiming that the additional tariff was necessary to offset the low revenue from short calls but consumers believe that they are being shafted again.

Amex gets Rich

10 July, 2003

Jodee Rich, One.Tel's co-founder has failed in his bid to foil American Express from collecting $333,000 from his personal estate. Amex had claimed that Rich was personally liable for the money spent on his account rather than the failed telco One.Tel despite more than 95% of the charges being made by One.Tel employees.

People power pulls down 3 tower

9 July, 2003

The NSW Court of Appeal has reversed a decision by the Land and Environment Court and will require Hutchison to pull down a mobile phone tower erected on council land. The decision is being hailed as a victory for the community which had previously fought to halt the erection of the tower close to a school. Hutchison, which said it was "disappointed and perplexed by the judgment", was considering seeking leave to appeal to the High Court.

Queensland secures more mobile phone coverage

July 7, 2003

The Queensland Government has announced a deal with Telstra and Optus that will secure enhanced mobile phone coverage throughout the State. In return for a share of the State's $54 million in mobile phone spending over the next three years, Telstra has committed to provide CDMA mobile coverage to nine new rural and remote Queensland locations. Optus is to build up to 80 GSM base stations. The company recently announced plans to build 23 sites and will now commit to a further 17 throughout the State this year. In addition, Optus will roll-out a further 40 sites linked to the Government's use of their services. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has claimed that he was forced to take action because of Canberra's failure to provide adequate rural coverage.

Locking up mobile phone calls

July 4, 2003

Prison administrations around the country are calling for the use of mobile phones to be blocked from use within prisons. The issue reached public attention when photos of Renee Rivkin transmitted by a mobile phone ended up on the front pages of national newspapers. However according to Prison Ministers the problem is more a matter of preventing criminals from carrying on their illegal activities after they have been jailed. While technically possible to allow jamming of phones it is contrary to the policy of the Australian Communications Authority and would require changes to Federal legislation. In a concession to the pressure being exerted the ACA has agreed to take another look at the issue.

Phone sales soar but business struggles to utilise new functionality

July 1, 2003

While mobile phone sales continue to support the retail sector corporations are struggling to make use of PDAs because of the degree of customisation involved in integating with their work practices. However NEC Australia is confident that their investment in local R&D, and 3G in particular, will reap benefits for Australia.

3 loved and hated

June 30, 2003

Critics of 3, Australia's only WCDMA network, are pointing to the numerous drop outs that some users are experiencing but those posting on www.aussie3g.com love the carrier for its cheap phone calls. Optus is also determined to make life tough and has taken 3 to court alleging that 3 has run misleading advertising over its coverage. From July 1 3 will expand its service to cover three additional States.

Government buys votes for T3 sale

In an effort to push through the sale of the last tranche of Telstra shares the Government is offering sweetners to rural communities including filling more 'black spots' and expanding the satellite phone subsidy program. A further $181 million is being offered in addition to more than $1 billion in funding in previous years. This includes $16 million to extend mobile phone coverage to small communities and another $4 million for satellite phone subsdies. However Telstra's competitors are angry that much of the money has flowed back into Telstra's coffers. Some mobile phone users are also upset that they need to buy new phones if they want to take advantage of the extended coverage.

Crazy naming deals highlight sport sponsorship

June 26, 2003

Telstra obviously believes that sports sponsorship pay dividends after backing Crazy John's $5.5 million pitch to name Perth's Subiaco Oval. However Optus is anything but thrilled over the deal and has threatened to withdraw its sponsorship of the West Coast Eagles if it goes ahead.

Defence sits on its spectrum

June 24, 2003

The Australian Department of Defence has once again come down strongly on suggestions that it could release any of the spectrum reserved for its use. Whilst its attack this time was directed at corporate users it has previously even used the Prime Minister to warn off the public safety community from considering using any of its sensitive bands.

Carriers look to increase profits

June 20, 2003

In the space of a day Vodafone hiked its flagfall from zero to 25 cents, Telstra got caned over misleading customers with its discount structure and Optus announced revenue growth of 20 per cent. Its any wonder that the Australian public feels that competition is rewarding the carriers and not consumers.

SMS spammers risk $10 million fine

June 19, 2003

A new telecommunications industry code designed to protect mobile phone users from ‘junk’ or ‘spam’ SMS messages has been registered by the Australian Communications Authority (ACA). The Australian Direct Marketing Association has also released a code of practice on the issue. Consumers who want to ensure that they don't receive SMS spam can opt out by registering on www.yourprivacy.com.au

Coke goes blue

June 18, 2003

Coca-Cola Amatil have adopted the personal WLAN Bluetooth as a means of improving the productivity of their local salesforce by linking their mobile phones to their laptops. Bluetooth is now becoming so useful consumers are being urged to buy mobile phones or laptops that incorporate the technology

Photo Messaging to drive MMS

June 17, 2003

A study by A.T.Kearney has identified that MMS usage will be driven by youth wanting to send a photo message to their friends. However interconnection between the carriers is still a key hurdle.

3 struggles to make the numbers add up

June 12, 2003

Australia's newest carrier is finding it difficult to convince analysts that video conferencing will be a significant market while remaining tight-lipped over customer numbers.

Camera phones boost sales

June 10, 2003

The introduction of mobile phones incorporating cameras is stimulating sales with in excess of five million handsets expected to be sold this calendar year. However both the users and the public at large are finding the combination of instant gratification a handful with mobiles likely to be banned from changing rooms.

Vodafone confirms commitment to Asia-Pacific

May 29, 2003

Vodafone's MD Grahame Maher has once again denied reports that the world's largest global carrier is considering selling out in Australia and New Zealand. The carrier's latest results show that the New Zealand business has now edged out the incumbent, Telecom New Zealand, from its previous dominance of the mobile market. However Vodafone's nemisis in Australia, Telstra, is reported to be considering a move across the Tasman in its own right.

Strathfield's founder bails out the company

May 27, 2003

The founder of the Strathfield Group, Andrew Kelly, has had to step in this week to bail out the company after it reported that it was facing losses for the year to June 30 of AUD25 million. Kelly will underwrite a capital raising of more than AUD10 million. The announcement resulted in the company's shares falling to an all-time low of just 10 cents.