AMTA Snapshot Edition 166

AMTA responds to television handset safety claims The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) this week responded to claims about safety and testing procedures on Today Tonight in Adelaide. The program made a number of claims about mobile phone handset safety and broadcast the views of Canberra neurosurgeon Dr Vini Khurana, who likens mobile phone use to the dangers of ?asbestos or smoking?.

Rapid mobile broadband growth puts spotlight on spectrum Growing demand for mobile broadband has been raised as a key issue as the Federal Government prepares its Green Paper on the ?digital dividend? ? the freeing-up of spectrum from the switchover from analogue to digital television. AMTA Chief Executive Officer Chris Althaus said it was vital for the Australian mobile telecommunications to have access to suitable radio frequency spectrum to meet the growing demand for mobile data services including mobile broadband.

Global Mobile Broadband Connections to Pass 150 million Global HSPA connections will pass the 150 million mark by the end of the summer, the GSM Association announced this week. With more than 300 networks across 127 countries and approaching 1500 HSPA enabled devices readily available, HSPA has firmly established itself as the world's dominant mobile broadband technology and the fastest adopted mobile technology of all time.

Pew Study Finds Rising Tide of Wireless Internet It's no secret that smartphones are all the rage or that Americans are fond of surfing the Web on the go. But a new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reveals just how quickly the wireless Internet is catching on.

Mobile Internet access grows as operators push flat rate offerings Total Telecom reports mobile internet usage is becoming mainstream in Europe, according to a report published Thursday by Forrester Research.

Emerging challenges for spectrum stakeholders ?Trade body, 3G Americas has published key recommendations for utilizing non-standard spectrum bands in a white paper that discusses the emerging challenges for spectrum stakeholders involving how to permit wider spectrum usage by operators using various broadband technologies and current spectrum allocations, says Cellular News this week.

Positive response to NSW?s NBN planning changes CommsDay reports today that a proposal by the NSW government to amend planning policy so the Federal government can roll out the National Broadband Network has met with largely positive response, according to the state department of planning.

Cyber bullying blamed for teenagers tragic death A Melbourne mother has blamed her 14-year-old daughter's suicide on the internet and the tragic case has highlighted the problem of cyber bullying among young people, ABC Online reports this week.

Mobile phone ?reality mining? helps predict economic and social behaviour Much as meteorologists predict the path and intensity of hurricanes, Indiana University's Alessandro Vespignani believes we will one day predict with unprecedented foresight, specificity and scale such things as the economic and social effects of billions of new Internet users in China and India, or the exact location and number of airline flights to cancel around the world in order to halt the spread of a pandemic.