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Sarah Falson

Telstra To Appeal ‘Victimising’ Next G Court Ruling

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Telecommunications giant Telstra will appeal yesterday’s ruling by the Federal Court against its Next G mobile network regarding misleading advertising, claiming it has been “punished” by the ACCC for being forward-thinking with its superior mobile service, and hopes it competitors, including Optus, will also be caught by the government agency.

The Australian Comsumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) brought proceedings against Telstra in September for advertising pertaining to its new Next G network which claimed that it provided “coverage anywhere you need it” — a statement that ACCC and the Federal Court believe is misleading.

Yesterday the Federal Court ruled that Telstrs was breaching sections 52, 53(aa) and 53(c) of the Trade Practices Act 1974, by providing misleading or deceptive conduct by advertising its service in such a way.

“We intend to appeal this very disappointing decision. We stand behind our advertising and the network because we know that Telstra’s Next G network is the largest mobile network in Australia that provides coverage in more places in Australia than any other mobile network including the old CDMA network,” said Telstra spokesperson, Peter Taylor.

“Telstra has the handsets and the network that give our customers the best handheld coverage available in this country.”

The ACCC also nobbled Telstra for its Blue Tick program which rated mobile handsets on their performance, including Telstra’s Country Phone. According to ACCC, Telstra was not forethcoming with information to its customers that depending on the handset they use, they may or may not get better coverage on the Next G network.

“The ACCC’s case was based on evidence from just three out of more than 1.5 million Next G customers. In fact, one customer was singing the praises of the Next G network from the witness box,” said Taylor.

 

Telstra claims its customers are not silly — they understand advertising and do not expect Telstra Next G to provide access in every corner of the country. The company also compares its advertising to that of Vegemite, which has become an AUstralian advertising icon.

“Telstra gives its customers credit for understanding advertising. Do people really believe that Vegemite puts a rose in every cheek? By the same token, we never said the Next G network covered every square inch of Australia. The facts are that Telstra’s Next G network is 100 times larger than our competitors’ 3G networks, provides coverage to 400,000 more square kilometres of Australia than CDMA and is the fastest national mobile network in the country. That’s what our advertising says,” said Taylor.

“Most of the advertisements in question have not been used for months.

“This decision will not stop us telling customers just how good the network is and the benefits it brings to Australia.”

Taylor goes so far as to say he hopes the ACCC will also investigate the telco’s competitors for similar advertising of their 3G networks.

“We hope the ACCC is now investigating Singtel Optus, Vodafone and Hutchison ‘3’ for the way they promote their 3G services, given consumers will actually only get 3G coverage in less than 1% of Australia’s land mass,” he said.

“Telstra has introduced the first and only program in Australia that helps consumers select the best handset for their needs. It seems that we are being punished by the ACCC for having the best coverage and breaking new ground to help customers make informed choices.”

Content Aggregation Key To Faster Broadband

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A leading business application service provider has warned that Australia needs to aggregate its websites if it hopes to be able to keep its broadband infrastructure working to expectations.Building an online infrastructure that groups together content – such as MySpace with music and YouTube for video – is paramount for the new government if it hopes to compete in the worldwide internet economy, says the provider.

Hostworks, an Australian service provider for large corporations such as Network Ten, Seek and Ticketek, says that while the majority of internet content accessed by Australians comes from overseas, we need to start building a local structure that better manages websites and content.

“The critical issue is not how fast [broadband] goes into people’s houses: It is how fast it runs across the country and the speed of backbone data links for commercial service providers like Hostworks,” said Hostworks managing director, Marty Gauvin.

“This year, I spent three months trying to get a 10-gigabit data link from either Telstra or Optus. They’d say ‘sure you can have it’, but when I asked for a price, they’d say, ‘it’s not quite ready yet’.

 

“As a nation, we need to think about broadband more comprehensively than just the end points. If the incoming Government succeeds in fulfilling its broadband vision, it will create a massive online gridlock.”

According to Gauvin, we don’t have a backbone locally to handle the capacity of broadband content demand in the future.
Gauvin’s warning follows a recent OECD report which shows that Australia’s broadband performance is improving – and Australia is rated fourth among developed countries in per capita broadband take-up at June 2007.

“If Australia wants to succeed internationally as the online economy evolves, we need to start thinking much more innovatively. As well as building the infrastructure to support the online population we want, we need strategies to aggregate our online content to make it much more accessible and compelling,” said Gauvin.

“The new government has an opportunity here to demonstrate real leadership.

“On the other hand, we are at the balance point: Australia’s ability to produce a content industry that is internationally effective is quite good at the moment. That said, this potential is being seriously hampered because we can’t get the bytes out there fast enough.”

Telstra Lied About Next G Coverage: Federal Court

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Telstra has been busted by the Federal Court for misleading consumers and the press about the coverage range of its new wizz-bang Next G mobile network, with the Australian Comsumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) claiming the advertising slogan “coverage everywhere you need it” is bogus.

The ACCC originally brought proceedings against Telstra in September, alleging that the telco has engaged in “misleading or deceptive conduct” by representing its wireless service in such a way.

Not only this, but the ACCC also claimed that Telstra has mislead by claiming that consumers would get the same or better coverage using Next G as they has previously on the CDMA network.

Yesterday, evidence provided by Telstra’s technical experts revealed that coverage on the Next G network was limited by a variety of factors including terrain, physical structures and handset selection, says the ACCC. 

Though Telstra did not disclose information that these circumstances could limit Next G coverage, the ACCC says it also didn’t make the information redily available, and customers could not have inferred the truth from Telstra’s marketing.

 

Bad Blue Tick

Telstra’s ‘Blue Tick’ program, introduced in July 2007, which rates handset performance, was also cained by the authorities.

The Blur Tick program identified handsets with superior performance and range, including Telstra’s Country Phone.

Justice Gordon said the program was “inconsistent with and demonstrates the misleading and deceptive character” of the earlier advertisements. In addition, Telstra continued to run advertisements for Next G without explaining to consumers the differences between handsets, even after the Blue Tick program was launched.

“[The Blue Tick program conveyed] the representation that a person [could] use the Next G network regardless of where the person was, what handset that person was using and whether that handset had an external antenna attached,” said Justice Gordon yesterday.

“In fact, whether a user could obtain coverage depended in part upon where that person was, what handset that person was using and in some cases whether that handset had an external antenna attached.”

Telstra has been caught with breaching sections 52, 53(aa) and 53(c) of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

 

ACCC Warning

ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, is now warning all telecommunications companies should ensure, when promoting the coverage of their services, that claims reflect “real-world” experience.

“In light of today’s judgment, the ACCC urges consumers to raise any concerns about poor Next G coverage performance or unsuitable handsets with Telstra. The ACCC considers that it is incumbent on Telstra to provide relief to consumers who have been misled into purchasing Next G handsets and services which do not deliver the promised coverage performance,” he said.

Telstra will now be forced to provide corrective advertising, says the ACCC, and the government body will crack down on other telcos making further similar representations.

The case was part of the Federal Court’s new fast track list which allows rulings to be handed down quickly — in this case less than three months after proceedings were instituted.

LG Markets With Cricket and Gaming

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LG has created a free online cricket game for consumers in a bid to raise brand awareness in the lead-up to the popular cricket season.

Users need to register on ‘Fantasy Cricket’ website www.lgfantasy.com.au to play – simply registering will put players in the draw the win either an LG Digital Entertainment System Package or an LG 42-inch plasma TV.

The game was developed in partnership with game specialists, SilentManager, and will run alongside LG’s latest HD TV marketing campaign which includes print and TV ads with a cricket theme.

The game allows players to choose their ultimate dream team of players and challenge their friends via the web in a private mini-league.

The game website is linked to LG’s Australian website and is a means to gain traffic and awareness.

“The LG Fantasy Cricket game is great way to drive consumers to the LG website. It will keep them coming back over a period of time and give them a reason to tell their friends and colleagues about our site. We are conscious that these types of mechanics are a great way to attract customers and functions as a unique platform to communicate with the public,” said LG Australia webmaster, Andy Cho.

 

LG is one of the first brands within Australia to use this sort of marketing campaign, it says.

“Dream Team sport games have proved to be a huge success in Europe and North America. Given the immense popularity of cricket amongst Australians, LG Fantasy Cricket will certainly draw new customers to the LG site,” said SilentManager managing director, Jon Trigg.

Dream Team games, otherwise known as fantasy games, have over 20 million consumers playing globally, with the most successful games in Australia attracting in excess of 180,000 registered users, said LG.

Top 10 Ways We Ruin Our Gadgets Revealed

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Australians do strange things to their technology, often in an effort to act as Mr Fixit, with a leading data recovery company revealing a list of the 10 deadliest sins performed on computers this year.

According to data recovery company OnTrack, 2007 saw more reports than ever of ‘whacky’ computer problems caused by water, ant infestations and spilt acid, to name a few.

Most sins were reported by users of mobile technology, with an increased number of people reporting dropping phones and cameras in the sea, in toilets or even in a bowl of baby food.

OnTrack kept a list of data recovery service calls it received throughout the year and provided its favourites for publication:

10. A woman called Ontrack Data Recovery engineers complaining she had ‘washed all her data away’. Her USB stick had been through a cycle in her washing machine and unsurprisingly she couldn’t retrieve any data from it.

9. Rushing home from work to feed his baby daughter, an over-enthusiastic father forgot about the USB stick in his top pocket. As he lent over the high-chair, the device fell in a dish of sticky apple puree.

8. A fisherman thought that he would take his laptop along to play a few games whilst waiting for a bite in his rowing boat. As he stood up, both he and the laptop went overboard, taking all his data to the bottom of the lake.

 

7. A wedding photographer faced the potential wrath of a new bride when he discovered he had overwritten her photos with ones from another event.

6. A scientist spilt acid on an external hard drive during an experiment. Thinking all the data had been burnt, he called in the experts, who were able to successfully recover the data on the drive.

5. In the heat of an argument, an Australian businessman threw a USB stick at his partner. Containing valuable company plans, the stick ended up in several pieces on the floor.

4. A fire destroyed the majority of the contents of an office, only leaving a few CDs. The sticking point was they had melted to the inside of their cases – a unique job for the engineers.

3. A British scientist was fed up with his hard drive squeaking, so he drilled a hole through the casing and poured oil into the mechanics. The squeaking stopped, and so did the hard drive.

2. In an effort to test the functionality of a parachute, a camera (acting as the cargo) was dropped from a plane. Unfortunately, the parachute failed its test and the fragile cargo shattered into several pieces.

1. Discovering ants had taken up residence in his external hard drive, a photographer in Thailand took the cover off and sprayed the interior with insect repellent.

Gotalk Attacks Engin With VoIP Package

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Aussie VoIP provider, Gotalk, is launching a “direct Engin VoIP attack” in an attempt to cash-in on struggling VoIP provider Engin’s continuing bad luck.

With Engin poised to lose market share following a particularly gruesome year in which the company lost two CEOs, culled 29 staff, discontinued its plans to offer ADSL2+ and was forced to sell wireless internet provider Unwired after the acquisition proved too costly, Gotalk is ramping up its marketing and offering more call convenience from its Aussie Pack and World Pack VoIP plans.

The World Pack now allows customers to call 110 destinations which includes 30 countries for free, 30 countries for 20c per call, and 50 countries for 50c per call, for $9.95 per month when combined with the Aussie Pack or $14.95 per month alone.

“With Engin announcing drastic staff cuts and its abandoning of broadband ADSL, we believe their 77,000 customer base in particular is vulnerable and ready to move to a more attractive service provider – and we believe that with the plans we are announcing – plus the fact that gotalk already has one of the most cost effective ADSL service in Australia, we are confident gotalk is the one they will choose,” said Gotalk CEO, Steve Picton.  

When combined with Gotalk’s ‘goVoIP Aussie Pack’, the World Pack allows customers to make 100 calls, or talk for 3000 minutes each month. 

Gotalk has also launched the ‘Biz World Pack’, which includes all the same countries but comes with 200 calls, or 5000 minutes each month for $19.95 – pitched at business users.

Thin Clients Now In Notebook Form

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Wyse Technology is launching two new thin notebooks – the X90 and X90e – which are the first thin client notebooks to offer multimedia video playback, Bluetooth 2.0 and build-in smart card support, according to the manufacturer.


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Sporting a 12.1-inch LCD wide screen, Wi-Fi and optional 3G wireless capabilities, the new Wyse notebooks offer all the flexibility and applications needed by business users on-the-go.

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Unlike traditional notebooks, the Wyse X90e displays applications housed on VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Citrix Application Delivery and Microsoft Windows Terminal Server data centres, storing data on the user’s office network server instead of a hard drive (the unit doesn’t have a hard drive), meaning users don’t need to worry about security.

The thin client notebooks reflect the growing number of professionals who require broadband access when on-the-go, according to the company.

“Given the shift to notebooks on the PC side, it’s critical for thin client vendors to come up with solid offerings and it finally seems as if those efforts are starting to bear fruit,” said IDC vice president of research, Bob O’Donnell.

“For the first half of 2007, mobile thin client shipments only represented 1.6 percent of the market. However, we expect that percentage to grow strongly over time.”

 

Wyse Technology currently owns 75 per cent of the thin client market in Australia, according to the company, and has supplied to large corporations including Harvey World Travel.

The two new notebooks however, team the convenience and security of a thin client box with the portability of a PC.

With no hard drive or fan, the Wyse X90 and X90e thin client notebooks have no moving parts, and therefore operates silently, says Wyse.

Other features include 512MB of flash, 512MB of RAM, an overall weight of 1.76kgs with battery, capability for Ethernet, USB, built-in Wi-Fi, or cellular connections.

The Wyse X90 thin notebook complements existing Wyse thin client lines and comes in two configurations — X90 and X90e. The X90 retails for $1083 including GST while the X90e with built-in Bluetooth and smart card support retails for $1208 including GST. Both models support Wyse’s zero client computing vision, says Wyse.