Optus has followed network partner Vodafone in announcing it plans to switch on HSPA coverage across Australia by the end of next year -- some 18 months earlier than planned.
Ericsson Australia's financial picture grew a little bleaker last financial year, with revenues falling $200 million to $805 million roughly $600 million less than its Telstra Next G boon year of 2006, which netted it $1.4 billion.
Hutchison Telecommunications Australia yesterday said it had so far "weathered the storm" of the economic downturn, and remained confident its merger with Vodafone Australia would go ahead.
Vodafone Australia's acquisition of Crazy John's has paid off, according to CEO Russell Hewitt, as the company recorded a net increase of around 110,000 new customers in the last quarter to 31 December 2008, but its average revenue per user has continued to fall.
Hutchison's shareholders have agreed to the company's plan to merge with Vodafone's Australian operations.
It has been a busy year in telecoms, whether because of the increasingly bitter relationship between Telstra and the government; the awarding of the contentious but (finally) progressive broadband contract to OPEL; the pivotal election that led to a change of government; or the move of 3G mobile technology into the mainstream at last.
Sure, better 3G coverage is good for competition, but it's what you do with the 3G that will ultimately make the difference. As Vodafone expands its network footprint, the practice of selling 3G-enabled netbooks like mobile phones should really resonate with end users.
As Christmas roars in upon us and the Rudds, Trujillos, and Conroys of the world hang their Christmas stockings, everybody is casting an eye to 2008 and the changes it will bring.
So we have answers. The iPhone is coming to Oz, it's 3G, it's cheaper, and it's available via multiple carriers.
Most mobile services which are peddled as the "next big thing" have been around for donkey's years, while operators and handset manufacturers try to find a reason to convince consumers to actually pay for them. GPS looks to be going down the same road.
Singapore Telecommunications last week shed light on the difficult industry dynamics that lay ahead of VHA, the mobile phone business being formed from the merger of Vodafone Australia and Hutchison Telecommunications.
Cutting costs by deploying Linux is a well-established strategy on the server and even the desktop, but what effect could it have on the cost of mobile computing?
Boss of internet service provider Exetel, John Linton, says the National Broadband Network should be handed to the only company that can build it Telstra and he's not impressed by NBN Co chief Mike Quigley.
In the everlasting war to win your dollar, Optus has again recalculated its capped contract plans, calling these new plans Monster Caps. But as with the announcement of its prepaid broadband plans late in 2008, the devil is in the details, or monster as the case may be.
2008 was a cracker year for telco in Australia, with so many huge events happening that those at the beginning of the year have been drowned by the importance of those at the end.
We wanted a "Baby Bold" but instead we got the "Bold lite". Not having 3G seriously cripples an otherwise excellent BlackBerry.
Seeing or using the i560 is hardly a pulse-racing experience. People looking for a solid phone with navigation will find what they are looking for in the i560. Fashionistas should look elsewhere.
The Bold is what BlackBerry fans have been waiting for. It's feature-rich and sharply designed, let down in small measure by some cumbersome software.
Fancy a 1.3Mbps broadband pipeline direct to your notebook, without a cable in sight? The new BigPond wireless data card makes good on Telstra's lofty promises for its Next G network.
Users of Telstra's Mobile Loop service will be unable to roam to other countries in five years, with most carriers opting for a rival mobile standard, according to the GSM Association's Ron Conway.
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Having problems with complex data center? Simplify your data center now.
Has New Zealand's smiling assassin delivered?
The long-awaited separation of Telstra
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