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

iPhone launch creates 250K new customers by year end

11 July, 2008

Analysts predict that a quarter of a million Australian consumers will be iPhone users by the end of this year. Telsyte’s latest research into Australian mobile market suggest that today’s iPhone launch will be the catalyst for a surge in revenue for 3G device vendors, with nearly one in 10 Australians expressing a strong purchase intention for such handsets.

BigPond restructures as media director departs

11 July, 2008

BigPond has shaken up its management structure in a bid to flatten the executive ranks and ramp up activity to meet the carrier’s “ambitious targets” for the new financial year.

CIOs pass their verdict on the 3G iPhone

11 July, 2008

CIOs of top Australian organisations spilled the beans on what they think of the 3G iPhone, and whether they will let the device , launched early this morning, into their enterprise.

iPhone demand buckles Optus network?

11 July, 2008

Optus has confirmed its retail stores are experiencing problems signing up customers of Apple's much-anticipated iPhone handset due to difficulties with its internal computer network.

Hutchison iPhone support unclear

11 July, 2008

Hutchison is unable to say whether customers would be able to use unlocked iPhone handsets on its "3" network.

Hark, the heralded iPhones ring at last

11 July, 2008

THE 3G version of Apple's touchy-feely iPhone, the first official version of the gadget to work on Australian phone networks the first official version of the gadget to work on Australian phone networks, finally went on sale here today after hype worthy of the second coming.

Aussie iPhone partners in full swing

11 July, 2008

MEDIA and marketing companies, banks and brokers have wasted no time tapping into the potential of the iPhone, which launched at special midnight store openings overnight.

iPhone: Telstra can't beat Optus

10 July, 2008

TELSTRA will only offer a paltry 5MB of download allowance when it reveals its iPhone 3G pricing plans tomorrow. According to a preliminary report from financial analyst outfit Citi Smith Barney, the telco’s pricing will mirror its existing mobile phone plans

Sexting: fears as teens targeted

10 July, 2008

An explosion of teenage sex texting is alarming teachers, police and youth counsellors. The new mobile phone phenomenon, dubbed "sexting", led to 32 Victorian teenagers being charged with child pornography offences last year.

iPhone could spur growth of mobile ads

10 July, 2008

THE mobile advertising market is set to expand by 300 per cent this year and next although it will remain a tiny pocket of less than $30 million because of an advertising sector which remains cautious about the emerging medium.

Telstra gears up for ad blitzkrieg

10 July, 2008

TELSTRA'S outgoing brand chief and Sol Trujillo import, Bill Obermeier, will remain in Australia for at least two years to spearhead a "world leading" digital marketing venture to commercialise Telstra's 10 million customer base with the French-controlled advertising group Publicis Mojo.

Vodafone officially confirms iPhone price leak

9 July, 2008

Mobile carrier Vodafone Australia has confirmed portions of an advance leak of pricing information, for its local iPhone 3G launch on Friday morning are accurate.

Telstra restricts iphone supply

9 July, 2008

The nation's biggest telco Telstra today said it would sell Apple's 3G iPhone in just 15 stores nationwide from Friday morning, including only one store in Sydney.

Midnight rush to buy first iPhone

8 July, 2008

Optus will be the first Australian mobile carrier to distribute the iPhone at midnight on Thursday, followed by Telstra and Vodafone early on Friday morning.

Watchdog to probe charges on roaming

8 July, 2008

THE competition watchdog has been asked to investigate prices Australians are charged for using their mobile phones when travelling overseas. A spokesman for a parliamentary communications committee said the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission had been invited to lodge a submission on the international roaming charges of local mobile carriers.

Telco separation: more than meets the eye

7 July, 2008

Regulatory submissions to the federal government's AU$4.7 billion national broadband network mostly only paid lip service to the complications and risks of separation in the telecommunications industry, analyst firm Ovum said today.

New Zealand

Telecom may have breached separation undertakings

11 July, 2008

Telecom has apparently breached its separation undertakings for the first time, the Commerce Commission says. The breach appeared to be unintentional. It related to a failure by Telecom to consult and provide information to Telecommunications Minister David Cunliffe and the commission before the end of June about the method by which Telecom classified customer service addresses.

Vodafone defends against iPhone fury

8 July, 2008

The consumer response to Vodafone's iPhone 3G pricing plans has been swift and brutal - but the company has defended the data costs.

Telecom prices 200 million Swiss franc bond

8 July, 2008

Telecom has priced a 200 million Swiss franc ($NZ258 million) to refinance existing debt and for general purposes.

Interest in iPhone crashes website

8 July, 2008

The hype surrounding the launch of Apple's 3G iPhone has crashed Vodafone New Zealand's website and details released today show the new gadget might cost much more than originally thought.

iPhone price shocks Apple fan

8 July, 2008

The much-anticipated announcement of pricing plans for the 3G iPhone, has disappointed many potential customers. Anyone wanting to pick up an iPhone - set to be sold in New Zealand for the first time by Vodafone on Friday – for $199 has to sign up to a $250 per month plan on a two-year contract.

iPhone on sale from this Friday

7 July, 2008

New Zealand customers will be among the first in the world to get their hands on Apple’s new iPhone 3G this Friday, with the Vodafone online shop and stores in the three main centres selling them from 00:01am.

TR's Latest

Forsk Announces the Atoll LTE Module

TeleResources long time technology partner Forsk has announced that it has completed the first version of the Atoll LTE module.

This new module is the result of a strong R&D program in 4G technologies which Forsk is conducting with strategic partners including Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Motorola, and Nortel Networks.

For more details Click Here

Upcoming Events

Advertising and Marketing Summit

21-22 July 2008
Sydney

The 7th annual summit in this highly successful series of events continues to examine the challenges of Australia’s evolving advertising & marketing landscape.

Join the leading minds who will share their authoritative predictions in vibrant discussion and leading insight in addition to the celebration of exemplary practice, giving you the insights to unlock excellence.

Get the advantage and avoid the rhetoric to the questions you have not considered and the answers you need to have.

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

South East Asia Com

23-24 July 2008
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Harnessing The Opportunity Of Regional Scale By Developing Partnerships And Deploying Strong Value Propositions In Each South East Asian Countries.

SE AsiaCom is the number 1 meeting place for the communications value chain in the region. It gathers thought leaders and purchasing decision makers from across SE Asia and the wider international community to learn, network and to do business

Untapping The Opportunities Of Key South East Asia Markets Including:
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore

For details and registration, please visit: www.comworldseries.com

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

Submarine Network World

18 - 20 August 2008
Singapore

The amazing race (Submarine Network edition) - Final Destination Australia. In this final segment, key cable owners and operators in Australia and the surrounding regions share with us their perspectives on ‘Impact of increasing competition and the entrance of new players into the market’, ‘Perth to Singapore’ cable project, ‘Project Runway’ and more!

For details and registration, please visit: www.terrapinn.com or email email karin.lee@terrapinn.com

14th India Telecoms International Summit

23 - 25 September 2008
New Delhi, India

Supported and endorsed by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, it’s a must-attend summit addressing the strategic, financial and technical challenges facing India’s operators. Delegates will hear:

• What are the latest updates on spectrum availability and allocation?
• What incentives and subsidies are available for operators and technology providers?
• What are the current licensing issues affecting key players?
• What market opportunities exist for new entrants?