Welcome to This Week, the only easy to read FREE weekly summary of the top news stories on wireless communications in Australia and New Zealand. This Week is updated daily with stories drawn from the popular press, regulatory bodies, vendors and operators. To receive a free copy of This Week delivered to your mailbox each Friday, please REGISTER here. 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

NFC finding its feet

18 January, 2008

There is growing interest in Near Field Communication (NFC) short range wireless technology now being trialled by Australian banks and telcos for contactless payments.

Labor inherits OPEL court proceedings

18 January, 2008

Telstra is pursuing its court proceedings initiated against the previous Coalition government over last year's OPEL funding decision, which means that Labor's new Communications Minister Stephen Conroy must now fight a legal battle he never started.

Telstra preempts CDMA closure

18 January, 2008

Even though there is still the possibility that it will be ordered to maintain its CDMA network, Telstra is already preventing its CDMA customers from temporarily reactivating their service if they lose or break their CDMA handsets.

CDMA decision looms

18 January, 2008

The timing of the federal elections has meant that the newly appointed Labor Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy has quickly been confronted with the significant task of determining whether the current performance of the NextG network justifies closing the CDMA network on January 28.

20% of companies using wireless Internet

17 January, 2008

From a survey conducted in South East Asian countries, Australian companies and educational institutions are leading the way in wireless Internet usage.

Telstra feeling the mobile broadband squeeze

17 January, 2008

With coverage a non-issue in the dominant markets of Sydney and Melbourne, Telstra is experiencing significant pressure to its mobile broadband service with competitors such as Hutchison and Vodafone offering entry-level packages priced up to 80 per cent below those being pushed by the incumbent.

A third of surveyed farmers against CDMA closure

17 January, 2008

Almost one third of 1,200 farmers surveyed by the NSW Farmers' Association responded that Next G is not as reliable as the CDMA network.

Crazy John's in ACCC strife

17 January, 2008

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken action in the Federal Court against the Crazy John's mobile phone company for advertising that allegedly misleads customers about "free" phone plans that nevertheless attract higher usage rates to compensate the company.

Hutchison ups the mobile data ante

15 January, 2008

Hutchison Australia is moving to double the amount of data downloads at the same fee schedule and sends a clear signal that competition is set to intensify in the mobile broadband space this year.

From the horses' mouths

12 January, 2008

Farmers across Australia are united in demanding a guarantee from the federal Government that mobile coverage and service will not be compromised when Telstra gets the authority to replace its regional CDMA mobile phone network with NextG.

New Zealand

Blog on driving ban

18 January, 2008

Readers contribute their views on whether a ban on mobile phone use in cars would help prevent an increasing number of road deaths attributable to the dangerous practice.

VoIP to threaten incumbent voice revenue

17 January, 2008

Industry analysts believe that start up VoIP service providers will increasingly turn to the broadband technology to challenge the dominance of Telecom in the voice market.

Canadians are coming

17 January, 2008

Canadian wireless operator Craig Wireless has announced plans to roll out a broadband wireless network in New Zealand following the purchase of WiMAX spectrum rights in the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz bands last month.

Telecom's man of innovation

15 January, 2008

Telecom's research and prototype manager Neil Forster shares his thoughts and experience on what makes innovations successful.

The telecoms world according to Wylie

11 January, 2008

CallPlus's chief executive Martin Wylie answers some questions posed to him at the start of 2008.

What's new on our site?

TeleResources to run 4G Design Workshop at upcoming "Australian Broadband" Conference
29 April-1 May, Sydney

With almost 3 billion mobile phones in use around the world the wireless industry is a dominant force in the global economy. In almost every country existing wireless networks are being expanded in coverage, capacity and speed while issues such as network quality become increasing important for the delivery of multimedia content. Underlying the ability of the networks to meet this demand is the network design, a vital task that balances capital investment against the challenges of topography, building density and traffic.
This workshop will provide attendees with a basic understanding of how leading edge radio planning tools take into account these factors to deliver reliable networks.
The workshop will be based around Atoll, the world’s leading independent radio planning tool used by Vodafone Group as its tool of choice and chosen by Telstra for all its radio planning needs.

For more information and to register please CLICK HERE

Start the New Year with a Top Job

TeleResources has been approached to use our extensive network of experienced industry contacts and recruit for numerous permanent positions, suitably qualified personnel seeking a new challenge.

These positions include;

• Service Delivery Manager
• Project Manager
• Product Manager, Mobile Network (GSM/GSM-R/GPRS/3G) - three positions available
• Technical Support Engineer (CDMA/GSM/UMTS BSS Engineer) - six positions available
• Senior RF Engineer

Upcoming Events

Adtech Sydney

12-13 March 2008
Sydney

Australia's #1 interactive event

Learn from the sharpest minds in the industry, register for the ad:tech conference program. Learn from the experts and take away tools and techniques to help shape, streamline and enhance your marketing strategy. Strategies encompassing social media, digital integration, email and search will all be discussed, plus new workshops on word of mouth marketing, video marketing, and digital PR. This is your chance to learn first hand how to improve the reach and efficiency of your marketing campaigns

For more information and to register please CLICK HERE

WiMax World Asia

18-20 March 2008
Bangkok, Thailand

15% discount for TeleResources members to join WiMAX World Asia 2008

Beacon Events and Trendsmedia have joined forces to organize WiMAX World Asia Conference and Exposition on 18-20 March 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. This event will gather all the top key telecom players in Asia’s WiMAX ecosystem to share their strategic business and technical insights.

Over 80 speakers across multi-track conference will be featured, together with senior level plenary sessions, operator case studies, technical workshops, business planning and more! WiMAX World Asia will showcase the very latest applications and devices – come and meet the entire ecosystem only at WiMAX World Asia 2008!

Please quote 487TELERESEL to enjoy 15% discount when you register.

For more information and to register please visit: www.WiMAXWorldAsia.com or email info@BeaconEvents.com