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

Strong 3G growth for Telstra

2 November, 2007

Telstra now has 1.5 million customers on its $1.2 billion Next G mobile network and 2.5 million 3G customers overall but keeps quiet on its fixed broadband plans.

Telstra plans CDMA Xmas cheer

2 November, 2007

Telstra is planning to launch a barrage of advertising over the Xmas period to inform customers of the impending closure of its CDMA network

Country Phone to improve NextG reception

1 November, 2007

Telstra has launched a new, super receptive, mobile phone - the Country Phone - with a pullout antenna and ruggedized construction

Skype mobile launched

30 October, 2007

In what has to be one of the worst kept secrets in the industry, .Skype has finally unveiled its first mobile phone in partnership with Hutchison's 3 Mobile.

Funding the same coverage

30 October, 2007

The $98 million in funding given to Telstra by the Government to switch on 211 rural ADSL exchanges is money wasted considering that most of them will be covered by the OPEL Broadband Connect roll out anyway.

Top-heavy Telstra

29 October, 2007

On the eve of Sol Trujillo's annual "dog and pony show" criticism is again rife about nepotism and salary packages within senior management at Telstra.

New Zealand

Competition hits Telecom mobile revenues

2 November, 2007

Telecom has reported that its total mobile revenues have declined 1.5 per cent to $199 million in the quarter ended September 30 although mobile connection growth continued which, according to the company, reflected intense price competition and competitor activity.

Vodafone gets up nose of rival

1 November, 2007

CallPlus has complained to the Commerce Commission that Vodafone is unfairly cross subsidizing its fixed line service from its cellular earnings

RFID in hospitals

29 October, 2007

With the aim of identifying bottlenecks in the hospital system and helping it better manage beds and roster staff, the Hawke's Bay District Health Board is the first to tag patients with RFID chips so their movements can be automatically monitored by wireless scanners.

Call for more transparency

27 October, 2007

In response to a number of consumer complaints about ongoing subscription costs and a lack of clear cancellation instructions for mobile content such as music downloads and games, mobile companies and advertisers are cooperating together to create an industry code to regulate such "premium" 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

Upcoming Events

Australasian Media & Broadcasting Congress 2007

28-30 November 2007
Sydney

The conference will draw on key industry leaders that can share their vision and practical strategies for the development of the media sector.

The focus of the conference will be a strategic examination of the new media structure, business models and paradigms. It will be all about opportunity - to make money and change the media landscape.

For more information and to register please visit: www.terrapinn.com be sure to quote TELERE15 for your 15% registration discount

OPEX & CAPEX Asia 2007-Strategies for Optimising Telecoms

28-29 November 2007
Bangkok, Thailand

OPEX & CAPEX Asia 2007 organised by Informa Telecoms & Media will address issues related to the outsourcing trend in Asia, it’s value to the operator and how business optimization can be realised through these services.

For more information, visit website : www.iir-events.com or contact Informa Telecoms & Media at Email: register@informa.com, Tel: (65) 6514-3180, Fax: (65) 6733-5087.

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