Welcome to This Week in Mobile, the only easy to read FREE weekly summary of the top news stories on wireless communications in Australia and New Zealand. This Week in Mobile is updated daily with stories drawn from the popular press, regulatory bodies, vendors and operators.

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

Telstra Art Award now on Twitter

8 March 2010

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) and sponsor Telstra are using Twitter to promote the inaugural Telstra New Media Award for the 27th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA).

Premium SMS gets barred

8 March 2010

As of July 1 mobile phone customers will be able to request the barring of premium SMS to their phones.

Government to negotiate renewal of spectrum licences

4 March 2010

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has indicated that he will negotiate with spectrum licence holders over the renewal of their spectrum rather than put them to a fresh auction. The Minister's address to the AMTA Member Networking Forum stated that the Government will offer license renewal to the major telecommunications providers – Telstra, Optus, Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) and Unwired (Vividwireless Australia).

Unwired sells off some spectrum

3 March 2010

Unwired has sold off 7 MHz of 2.3 GHz spectrum in Sydney and Newcastle to power utility Energy Australia to enable the latter to deploy a smart metering solution to its customers.

Industry hoses down spectrum price expectations

3 March 2010

The mobile phone industry is trying to talk down the price that may be achieved by the Government through the auction of additional 3G spectrum.

New Zealand

Plus SMS gets fined by NZX

9 March, 2010

Plus SMS Holdings Ltd, the mobile phone content provider suspended by the NZX last June, has been further reprimanded for improper reporting to the stock exchange with a $50,000 fine for rule breaches.

2degrees gets boost from Telecom

5 March, 2010

Telecom has provided some of its corporate customers with its competitor 2degrees' SIM cards in case its XT network should fail. At least three health boards had taken up Telecom's offer of alternative services which include the use of pagers, Telecom's old CDMA network and 2degrees alternative network.

Mount's parting shot ignores XT

4 March, 2010

Frank Mount, Telecom's CTO, has avoided mentioning any of the XT problems in his final communication to staff instead he has praised the company as one of the best run telco's in the world.

Corporates nervous over XT outages

4 March, 2010

Corporate customers of Telecom have begun investigating whether they should stay with the troubled XT network, or move back to Telecom's older network, or leave the carrier altogether.

What's New

New Atoll Projects in Japan

February 1, 2010 - Forsk has announced that a number of new Atoll installations have been completed in Japan, in cooperation with its Japanese distributor Couei Corporation. In 2009, Forsk consolidated its leading position with new 4G projects (WiMAX and LTE) for existing customers and for new customers, especially LTE vendors and services providers. Atoll sales in Japan have jumped by 91% in 2009 compared to 2008. This progress comes from Forks continuous effort in 4G R&D, and from Forks and Couei Corporation’s joint commitment in supporting their Japanese customers.

EDX SignalPro Version 7.2 released

January 27, 2010 – EDX Wireless, a recognized leader for RF planning tools, docannounced EDX® SignalPro® v7.2 and its related add-on modules are now available. The Network Design Add-On Module for EDX SignalPro includes a new section dedicated to LTE Systems. These specialized capabilities enable professional and efficient design, reconfiguration, and optimization of LTE (3GPP E-UTRA) wireless networks. With built-in support for LTE-specific profiles and band plans, setting up an LTE system is easier than ever. Further, specialized system engineering capabilities, such as automatic Cell Group ID assignment are included.

US Mobile Virtual Network Operators 2010

January 21, 2010 - Mobile Commerce have released another of their reports on MVNOs. US MVNO Virtual Network Operators 2010 report provides competitive analysis, market evaluation and current market data for the US MVNO marketplace. This report provides an in-depth critical analysis of the US MVNO landscape today. The report is aimed at investors, consultants, integrators and analysts in the mobile space, suppliers of MVNO equipment and software, and network operators and other service providers. The Competitive Analysis report focuses on a telecom sector that has experienced a billion-dollar wave of new investment over the last decade, and also reports on the recent consolidation and acquisitions involving companies such as Helio, Virgin Mobile and Sprint

TeleResources gets COPS on the team

January 12, 2010 - TeleResources is pleased to announce that it has concluded an agreement with Celcite Management Solutions LLC to distribute their innovative Customised Optimisation and Self Performing Solution (COPS). Multiple overlaid technologies present significant challenges to mobile operators substantially increasing the effort and time needed to effectively maintain and operate national networks. COPS is able to leverage network data recording from multiple sources using Mathematical Modelling and Intelligent Correlation (AIC™) to create a paradigm shift from labour intensive data analysis to 'automatic centric' maintenance and operation.

Events

Mobile Backhaul Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
08-10 Mar 2010

This conference will show mobile operators how to upgrade their backhaul networks to cope with the increased data volumes generated by next generation mobile broadband (3G/HSPA/LTE) enabled multimedia services and applications, showcasing the latest technologies to optimise mobile backhaul networks.

Mobile Marketing Forum
Singapore
14-15 April 2010

The 2010 MMA Forum Singapore brings together attendees from agencies, brands, carriers and other members of the global mobile marketing ecosystem. The annual event features a wide variety of keynotes, panels and presentations discussing the latest technology developments, case studies, and innovative ways of using the mobile channel to extend the reach and effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Brands and agencies recognize and agree that the mobile channel is a highly effective way to reach consumers but the most successful campaigns are built on the understanding that the mobile channel isn't homogeneous. Learn more about the diverse set of options mobile presents, each with its own strengths and considerations that must be factored in to ensure a maximally effective campaign. Register today to make the most of your networking experience and celebrate successful innovations with the industry’s leaders at this year’s MMA Forum in Singapore.