Welcome to your personal issue of This Week, Australia's only easy to read FREE weekly summary of the the top news stories on wireless communications in Australia and New Zealand. Don't forget if you can't wait for the latest information you can always visit our web site where This Week is updated daily. You can also visit our archive where you can see stories posted since mid-2003. Our search engine is an easy way to locate a specific topic. For those that want to know more, click through hyperlinks are embedded in each story enabling you to view the source information. Note some of these links may require you to subscribe to the publication that provides the source material.

Australia

Stoked about Unwired

27 September, 2007

Kerry Stoke's Seven Network has acquired wireless Internet service provider Unwired for the potential that WiMax has a mobile broadband solution in a deal worth $127 million.

NextG put into overdrive

25 September, 2007

Telstra claims it can now offer the more than one million subscribers on its NextG network double the speed to access wireless data services with the launch of new hardware capable of a theoretical maximum downlink of 7.2Mbps.

Telstra voting for Labor?

24 September, 2007

Telstra is looking carefully at what the opposition Labor Party is offering as election promises due to the possibility that the telco could end up building a $8 billion broadband network should Labor win office.

Vodafone follows Telstra lead on GPS

24 September, 2007

By subscribing to Vodafone's Compass service users will be able to access free satellite navigation for one year as part of an industry-wide strategy to reduce reliance on phone call revenues already undertaken by Telstra to customers who buy new handsets with in-built satellite receivers.

New Zealand

TeamTalk acquires broadband backbone

25 September, 2007

TeamTalk has expanded its range of wireless and microwave offerings with a range of new licensed band services, including New Zealand's first gigabit (1000mbps) wireless links, through the acquisition of last-mile infrastructure builder Araneo.

Regulation must broaden to keep up with technology

24 September, 2007

In order to remain relevant in the face of rapid technological change, the Broadcasting Standards Authority is likely to be overhauled to promote the self-regulation of Internet and mobile television content as viewers gain access to a vast range of new medium material.

Moral scorn for mobile porn

24 September, 2007

The Salvation Army has attacked Vodafone's decision to launch an adult TV channel through its mobile portal, Vodafone Live despite the fact that the telco limits access to owners of a credit card over the age of 18 by disabling the prepay credit cards available to minors.

Wireless arm of the law

24 September, 2007

There is currently some discussion going on about NZ Police establishing their own wireless broadband network in the 5-gigahertz band to possibly serve as a resource for other emergency services.

What's new on our site?

NetEyes™, Cellint's groundbreaking RF optimisation solution was deployed nationwide by Cellcom Israel

Cellint's NetEyes (www.cellint.com) has announced today that Cellcom Israel Ltd. (www.cellcom.co.il), the largest cellular operator in Israel, has deployed the latest release of NetEyes over its entire GSM network in Israel, following significant contribution of NetEyes in solving persistent dropped calls problems.

Baruch Bar, Cellcom Israel's RF Dept Manager commented: "NetEyes" analyses and findings were highly useful and provided a significant data required to pinpoint and fix problems. With the standard optimiser and drive tests, it might take months to collect such critical and accurate data. NetEyes delivers great value in network management and enhances significantly the quality of service".

CLICK HERE for more information

Italian mobile entertainment leader, Buongiorno, selects Vidiator Xenon streamer and encoders as its technology

With this announcement comes an industry first -- Buongiorno will use Xenon's server-side playlist feature to allow subscribers to sample WAP-based ring tones before they buy. Using Xenon Streamer, customers can also dynamically create personal server-side music playlists from their preferred ring tones, or mix and match music clips through Buongiorno's Internet website and immediately, seamlessly listen to their streamed playlist using the standard 3GPP streaming player on their handsets, offering an alternative to mp3 players and music downloads.

CLICK HERE for more information

Upcoming Events

Mobile Payments Asia 2007

2-4 October 2007
Bangkok, Thailand

Informa’s Mobile Payments Asia 2007 is back and promises to be bigger and even more focused this year with a comprehensive 3 day programme that will look at all the key issues pertaining to market adoption and technology advancement. Mobile Payments Asia 2007 is a uniquely valuable opportunity for participants to put across their vision of how to meet challenges and maximise opportunities faced by players and stakeholders eyeing the rich potential of the Asian mobile payments market!

For more information and to register please visit: www.informatm.com

Transport Networks for Mobile Operators Asia Pacific

8-11 October 2007
Hong Kong

Transport Networks for Mobile Operators will be led by senior transport professionals from the Asia Pacific region, who are driving network evolution and rolling out new deployments. Themed sessions include optical core evolution, 3G & HSPA deployment, 3G transport & backhaul optimisation, IP transport evolution, Ethernet RAN and MW backhaul

For more information and to register please visit: www.iir-events.com

HSPa towards LTE Asia 2007

9-10 October 2007
Hong Kong

This established event, endorsed by 3GPP, GSA and UMTS Forum, will provide current updates on the industry progress from implementation, deployment and commercialization of HSxPA networks and services as well as evaluate the future evolutions of this technology towards LTE.

For more information and to register please visit: www.informatm.com

WiMax Summit Australia 2007

22-25 October 2007
Sydney

WiMax Summit Australia 2007 is the first in the region that will bring together international and domestic service providers to evaluate best practice, assess business models and discuss the projected impact of WiMAX on the Australasian broadband market.

CLICK HERE for registration details and to receive your 15% off be sure to quote TELERE15

IPTV Australasia 2007

22-24 October 2007
Sydney, Australia

IPTV Australasia is the leading destination for the converging ecosystems of broadband and entertainment. Covering IPTV, video on demand and webTV, this event delivers the most comprehensive examination of the convergence of communications and entertainment and its impact on service providers.

For more information and to register please visit: www.terrapinn.com

IIR’s Billing & Revenue Management Asia Pacific

22-26 October 2007
Hong Kong

IIR's forthcoming Billing & Revenue Management (RM) event will provide you with the unique opportunity to hear exclusive Pan-Asian and European telecom operator case studies. Leading operator speakers will be sharing their valuable and hard won experiences on optimising Billing and RM processes for meeting the requirements of next generation services and capturing maximum revenues.

For more information and to register please visit: www.iir-events.com

Mobile Entertainment Markets (MEM) Asia

6-7 December 2007
Singapore

The mobile and entertainment industries are increasingly merging, so why not have an event which brings together the leaders of both industries. Creating ONE Market-Place for both the mobile and media spheres.

The longest standing and most established event in the global mobile content industry. With market-leading speakers representing: mobile music, games, social networking and advertising, it will be an event not to be missed.
3 days, 6 events, unrivalled networking and a multitude of opportunities to do business!

For more information and to register please visit: www.memasia.com