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

GPS up a dark alley

30 May, 2008

Victoria Police are being forced to rescue motorists ending up on out-of-the-way country tracks after being led astray by hi-tech GPS devices.

Critical mass needed for mobile media uptake

29 May, 2008

BBC Worldwide Mobile head Peter Mercier has told the Mobile Content World conference that commercial television, music and videos for mobile will not take off in the Australian market until there are significant numbers of users.

3G iPhone preview

29 May, 2008

Apple's flagship store in Sydney is expected to start selling the new 3G iPhone when it opens its doors for business around the same time Steve Jobs launches the handset at the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco on June 9.

The fear factor

29 May, 2008

A mobile media content conference in Sydney has been told that current pricing for mobile phone content and people's fear of bill shock was impeding the uptake of wireless Internet and advertising.

4 million milestone for Vodafone

28 May, 2008

Despite being overtaken by Optus in the mobile pecking order, Vodafone Australia says it is well placed and prepared for the 2008 fiscal year after bolstering its customer base by 9.6 per cent to over 4 million subscribers.

Optus opens dedicated shop for businesses

28 May, 2008

Optus has opened its first Business Solutions Centre which is designed to showcase to small to medium sized businesses the full suite of tailored products and services and to allow business owners to get a hands on experience.

Vodafone slips back to third place

28 May, 2008

While a bumper Christmas period helped Vodafone overtake Optus in the December quarter, it has again moved back into third position with Optus signing 135,000 new customers in the three months to March 31 compared with 117,000 new customers for Vodafone.

Businesses complain of bogus telco fees

27 May, 2008

According to a growing list of businesses, telco companies are overcharging customers who spend millions of dollars a year on voice and data services in some cases by up to 20 per cent of their bill.

Covers coming off Apple Sydney store

26 May, 2008

At a rumoured cost of $23 million, Apple is getting ready to open its first store in the southern hemisphere located on the corner of George Street between King and Market Streets in Sydney's CBD.

New Zealand

Taking it up to Telecom

29 May, 2008

With 52 per cent of all mobile subscribers Vodafone is expected to increase competition against Telecom this financial year with added features letting home phones be used on its mobile network at competitive prices.

Vodafone unlocks porting fee

29 May, 2008

In response to public criticism and pressure from the Commerce Commission, Vodafone has backed off from a controversial decision to lock its handsets and require those customers wanting to port or roam on a different network to pay a $50 fee.

Only incremental increase for Vodafone

27 May, 2008

Vodafone New Zealand added a net 57,000 customers in the three months ended March to 2.37 million mobile customers.

Virgin Mobile name registered in New Zealand

26 May, 2008

Local entrepreneur, property investor and "wealth coach" Stu Dunn has registered the Virgin Mobile New Zealand company name but without any rights or licenses to the Virgin Mobile brand which is owned by Sir Richard's Virgin Group.

TSO becomes cheaper without mobile

26 May, 2008

The exclusion of mobile technologies from the TSO costing process has reduced by $14 million the amount Telecom and other telephone companies are obliged to pay to provide residential services to rural districts.

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Upcoming Events

Mobile Content World Australasia 2008

27-30 May 2008
Sydney

Mobile Content World Australasia 2008 is a high-quality conference that will feature international and local keynote presentations from world leading authorities, best practice case studies, interactive panel sessions featuring key stakeholders and facilitated workshops.

With keynote presentations from Google, BBC Worldwide, BigPond and Telecom Italia and the inclusion of our Mobile Advertising Day- a new addition for 2008- the conference looks set to be even bigger and better than last year.

To register visit www.terrapinn.com or contact their friendly customer service team on +61 2 9021 8808

Vietnam International Telecoms Summit 2008

11-13 June 2008
Hanoi, Vietnam

Endorsed by: Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Supported by: VNPT, Viettel, EVN Telecom, Saigon Postel, Hanoi Telecom, VTC, FPT

As Vietnam closes in on the 2010 WTO deadline, the Vietnam telecoms market offers enormous opportunities for all industry players. However, few telecoms conferences in Vietnam address the challenges and opportunities during this exciting time.

This summit will reveal the Vietnamese government’s plans to develop all aspects of their telecoms infrastructure – mobile and broadband. It will also detail the numerous investment and business opportunities for foreign operators and manufacturers in Vietnam. Attendees will gain a better grasp of regulatory and investment procedures to better facilitate the impending partnerships between foreign and local operators.

For details and registration, please visit: www.Vietnam-Telecoms.com

Oceania Com

7-8 July 2008
Sydney

Building profitable, world-class telecoms businesses in the Pacific.

The newest member of the Com World Series, Oceania Com conference and exhibition is designed to gather operators and vendors from Australia, New Zealand and the island nations and territories of the Pacific.

Discuss, debate and gather best practice on:

• Policies to Stimulate Growth, Innovation and Competitiveness
• Operator Growth and Profitability Strategies
• Profitable Deployment of Wireless Broadband Technologies
• Extending the Availability of Broadband Services

17th Annual Wireless & Mobile Comms Conference

23-25 July 2008
Melbourne

Raise the security, reliability and responsiveness of your mobile communications to enable your team to make quick, smart decisions and ensure officer and public safety. IWCE in Association with 17th Wireless & Mobile Comms Conference is your unrivalled means of accessing the latest knowledge and meeting the leading professionals within the integrated communications sector.

If you are responsible for planning and implementing your organisation's wireless and mobile communications technology then note 23-25 July in your diary.

By attending the Conference you can learn from practical case studies presented by peers plus draw upon the expertise of international industry practitioners to help solve your wireless and mobile communications issues.

For details and registration, please visit: www.iir.com.au