AMTA Snapshot Edition 96

Minister and Shadow Minister attend AMTA marquee at PM’s XI cricket match It may have been a one-sided game on the playing field at the PM’s XI cricket match in Canberra, however, inside the AMTA marquee Members were enjoying the opportunity to talk to both major parties with the attendance of the Minister and Shadow Minister for Communications.

Mobile, friend or foe? ACMA urges parents to talk about phones The Australian Communications and Media Authority is urging parents to check mobile phones are kid safe before they go back to school by using a safety checklist to assist them.

New Rules for Age-restricted Internet and Mobile Content The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced new rules that implement a uniformed approach for restricting access to MA15+ and R18+ content accessed through the internet or by mobile phones.

Canadians seek AMTA’s industry views on merged regulators The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association met this week with a delegation of Canadian regulators in Australia to view the operations of Australian Communications and Media Athority.

ANZ set to become the first bank in Australia to launch mobile phone banking service and its competitors expected to follow suit ANZ took the first step and its competitors can't afford to give it much of a lead. ANZ is understood to be trialling a mobile phone banking service among a small group of customers and plans to roll out commercially in the next couple of weeks, Australian IT reports this week.

Rapid uptake of wireless devices leads to increased health research agenda The rapid increase in the use of wireless communication devices in recent years has been accompanied by a significant amount of research into potential health effects from high exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy emitted by these devices. A new National Research Council report, requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, identifies research that could further extend understanding of long-term low exposure to these devices.

Small and medium enterprises and the farming sector ‘keen adopters’ of communications technology Research released today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority shows that Australia’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the rural sector are reasonably connected online and on the phone, with 92 per cent of SMEs and 74 per cent of farms having an internet connection, and 93 per cent and 85 per cent respectively reporting the use of a mobile phone.