AMTA Snapshot Edition 45

Texting – young drivers fail to get the message, new study finds The study by the George Institute found that more than 30% of young drivers have written and sent text messages while driving. The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, concluded that phone use while driving was prevalent and called for increased enforcement and media campaigns to raise drivers’ awareness about the ban on text messaging.

Mobile telecommunications industry partners the community for the safe and responsible use of phones The mobile telecommunications industry is committed to promoting the responsible and safe use of mobile phones for young people and seeks partnerships with parents and schools to meet its commitment, AMTA Chief Executive Officer, Chris Althaus, told Business Community Intelligence.

MobileMuster reaches a gift-wrapped Christmas milestone MobileMuster is celebrating its first anniversary this month with a 67% increase in the number of batteries and handsets collected for recycling.

Truckers, plumbers, electricians and builders targeted for AMTA’s “Safety is Your Most Important Call” tips The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has distributed AMTA’s driving tips to its members to help them in making informed choices about the safe and responsible use of mobile phones.

Conference highlights importance of smart spectrum regulation to Australia’s communications future The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s inaugural conference on spectrum issues has reinforced the growing importance of ‘leading edge’ radiocommunications regulation to the converging communications industry, according to ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman.

ACMA seeks comments on allocation of new digital TV channels The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking comments on the allocation and licence parameters for two licences for new digital television services following the recent passing of legislation in October 2006 to allow the allocation of spectrum for the new services.

Senator Stephen Conroy retains communications portfolio in new-look Labor team Senator Stephen Conroy retains the shadow communications and information technology portfolio in Labor’s new Shadow Ministry. New Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd announced his new team on Sunday.

More teeth for regulators to open European telecoms markets to competition, says report Europe must arm national telecoms regulators with far more teeth than they currently have if it hopes to make the industry globally competitive by 2010, a report released Monday by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association and Brussels law firm Jones Day said.

iAwards spotlight ICT excellence - 2007 Nominations now open Each year the iAwards encourage the ICT industry of Australia to come together to place ICT excellence and innovation in the spotlight. Since 1994, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has staged the iAwards program to provide local companies and ICT students with a platform on which to showcase, and in many cases launch, Australia's ICT success stories.