AMTA Snapshot Edition 154

Fast-track mobile spectrum allocations to meet surging demand and boost economy The Australian Government needs to fast-track spectrum allocation decisions to ensure the mobile telecommunications industry can meet surging demand. Despite the economic slowdown, mobile broadband new subscribers tripled in the first half of this financial year

Productivity, connectivity and mobility Mobile broadband is rapidly proving its value to the community and business by allowing Australians to communicate anywhere, anytime on any device across any network. The video clip attached shows examples of the rapidly expanding range of applications and services delivered via mobile broadband.

Spectrum is key national asset, says Minister Wireless spectrum is an important national infrastructure asset. It is of vital importance as we plan and build the foundations for our future communications sector and the economy as a whole, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, told the RadComms09 Conference this week.

ACMA calls for comment on Five-Year Spectrum Outlook at RadComms09 The Australian Communications and Media Authority has invited industry feedback on its Five Year Spectrum Outlook 2009-2013, as part of its commitment to keep the five-year snapshot of radiocommunications priority issues current.

MCF Comments on the Future of Victoria?s Planning System The Mobile Carriers Forum (MCF) has welcomed the review of Victoria?s Planning System and the 1987 Planning and Environment Act, which comes after more than 21 years of operation.

Mobile phones and cancer claims ? What does the World Health Organization say? The claims of a neurosurgeon that there has been an ?exponential rise? in brain cancer associated with the widespread use of mobile phones is at odds with the weight of scientific evidence of independent expert bodies.

AMTA wants 120MHz of 'Digital Dividend' spectrum, says IT Wire Australia's mobile telecommunications industry has staked its claim to a large chunk of the spectrum between 520MHz and 820MHz that will be freed up when analogue TV broadcast services are closed down, saying that optimal economic benefit will be gained by allocating at least 120MHz of the available spectrum to mobile services and the rest to broadcasting, says IT Wire.

COAG agrees to establish national emergency warning system The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) today agreed to develop a national telephone emergency warning system.

Californian woman gets 6 years for fatal texting crash A woman who crashed into a line of stopped vehicles while text-messaging on her cell phone has been sentenced to six years in a California prison for killing a woman in one of the vehicles, Associated Press reports.

European Parliament supports science-based EMF policy The GSMA Health and Environment Newsletter says that on 2 April 2009, the European Parliament voted for science-based exposure limits for electromagnetic fields based on reviews by the SCENIHR.