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Posts Tagged ‘Telco Law’

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued the first round of licences for additional spectrum for mobile telecommunications services at hundreds of sites throughout remote and regional Australia.

In the first round, Optus was successful in securing licences for 972 sites.

The ACMA received applications in response to an invitation for interested parties to apply for radiocommunications licences in the 2 Ghz band during May 2010. The 2 GHz band is used by mobile carriers to provide 3G mobile services.

In announcing the award of licences ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman said:

I am delighted by the high level of demand from industry for additional spectrum in the 2 GHz band in regional and remote Australia.

It is expected that a second round of licensing will take place following an assessment of Telstra’s application for multiple sites.

The ACMA expect that this process will lead to a significant increase in the availability of 3G mobile phone services in regional and remote Australia, based on the number of sites applied for by Optus and Telstra.

Tags: ACMA, ISP lawyer, Spectrum Licensing, Telco Law, telco lawyer, telecommunications law, telecommunications lawyer
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law | No Comments »

According to news reports, German researchers claimed to have cracked the A5/1 encryption technology used to encrypt GSM mobile phone calls, which represents approximately 80% of the worlds mobile phone users.

These claims have raised concerns with some mobile operators, who claim that if this finding were to be used by criminals, GSM telephone call could be intercepted and monitored relatively easily and cost effectively. This type of conduct is prohibited under Australian law.

IT and Telecommunications Lawyer, Erhan Karabardak, Principal of Cooper Mills Lawyers, said:

“whilst these claims, if true, could pose a serious concern, it is unlikely to pose a threat to GSM communications in the short term“.

Tags: Telco Law, Telco Lawyers, Telecom Law, Telecom Lawyers, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in ISP and Telco Law, IT Law, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Telecommunications Company TeliaSonera has said it is recruiting customers to pilot its new 4G network in Oslo and Stockholm which will be launched in early 2010.

The 4G network is configured around the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, with data speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, which is significantly faster than existing 3G networks. The 4G roll out has be designed to easily deploy by overlaying existing 3G infrastructure.

Customers will initially connect to the network via a Samsung B3710 USB dongle and a laptop, as no handsets can yet use the 4G network. The Samsung B3710 lets users download at max speeds of 100Mbps. The B3710 is set to be available in the first half of 2010, in time for the first live customer tests. Handsets that can use LTE are expected in mid-late 2010.

Ericsson has constructed the network in Stockholm, Sweden while in Oslo, Norway Chinese firm Huawei is behind the operations. Both networks cover the central regions in both cities.

Most operators have committed to upgrading to the faster system, and TeliaSonera  expects that the advance is speed will drive the use of many novel applications such as gaming and viewing of video on laptops.

Tags: 3G network, 4G network, data network, isp law, ISP Lawyers, IT Law, IT Lawyers, Telco Law, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law | No Comments »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) yesterday announced it had rejected Telstra’s undertaking to charge competitors a $30 monthly fee to access ULL in metropolitan areas.

The ACCC expressed surprise that Telstra’s $30 application worked out to be higher than the previous proposal of $30 for metropolitan areas, which was rejected in 2006.

ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, said following an extensive assessment of Telstra’s application the ACCC was not satisfied the $30 charge for metropolitan areas is reasonable.

“The ACCC believes that Telstra’s proposed price is unlikely to promote competition in the broadband and telephony markets. It may also discourage investment in telecommunications infrastructure. The ACCC also considers that a $30 monthly charge would result in Telstra recovering more than is necessary to promote its legitimate business interest in providing this service,” Mr Samuel said.

In rejecting the undertaking, the ACCC also noted Telstra’s proposed monthly charge was significantly above estimates derived from benchmarking against comparable countries.

This is the fourth time Telstra has submitted applications in regards to the ULLS service. One application was withdrawn while three have now been rejected by the ACCC because they could not be satisfied that the undertakings were reasonable. The two previous rejections were affirmed by the Australian Competition Tribunal on appeal.

The next move is with Telstra, one can only assume that being effectively sidelined in the Government’s NBN construction process, has prompted them to take an tough approach against their competitors who in the absence of the NBN rely on the ULL for service delivery for the short to medium term.

Tags: Competition Law, Telco Law, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers, ULL
Posted in ISP and Telco Law, Trade Practices Law | No Comments »

In the shadow of the Victorian bush fires, regulations create a new exception to the use and disclosure offences under Part 13 of the Telecommunications Act 1997.

Part 13 of the Act requires that Carriers, CSPs, their employees and contractors protect the confidentiality of protected information such as the content of communications, the affairs and personal particulars of people and namely the integrated public number database. The offences under this part are contained in sections 276 to 278, and can include a penalty of imprisonment against offenders.

s292(1) of the Act allows regulations to be made that provides for circumstances in which there may be exceptions to the offences under sections 276 to 278.

Although the Act already allows disclosure of documents and information in cases of threat to life or health (s287) in very limited situations, the Telecommunications Amendment Regulations 2009 (No.1) provides for an exception for the purpose of:

1. preventing or lessening a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of a person or a class of persons; or
2. ensuring that effective arrangements are in place to deal with such threats

The Explanatory Statement to these new Regulations states that:

The primary purpose of the Regulations is to allow emergency management authorities in each state and territory to obtain phone numbers and personal particulars (including any unlisted telephone or any address) of all the database listings for their respective state or territory for the purpose of ensuring effective arrangements are in place to deal with serious and imminent threats to life and health of persons. Such threats may emanate from natural disasters (such as bushfires and floods), criminal acts and non natural disasters (such as industrial accidents).

The Regulations permit disclosure of either (a) the information in an integrated public number database; or (b) a document that consists or relations to information contained in the integrated public number database.

Before disclosure is permitted there are 3 requirements that an authorised person must meet, these are:

1. certify to Telstra that the disclosure and use of the information is required for the two permitted purposes (as set out above); and
2. identify the recipient of the information; and
3. provide Telstra with an undertaking that (a) any disclosure or use by a person other than Telstra or an employee of Telstra will be fore the same purpose; and (b) reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that any disclosure or use by a person other than Telstra or an employee of Telstra will not adversely affect the operation of Telstra telecommunications network;

There are also a number of safeguards requiring destruction of information when no longer required, and authority for the Privacy Commissioner to monitor the use of the information or documents.

We recently received an emergency communication from the Victoria Police, which we presume took advantage of these new Regulations, by way of an SMS warning of:

Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues. High wind & fire risk. Listen to Local ABC Radio for emergency updates. Do not reply to this msg.

This Regulation is a welcome yet long over due regulatory development.

Tags: isp law, ISP Lawyers, Privacy, Telco Law, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in ISP and Telco Law, Privacy | No Comments »

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (‘ACMA’) after a public consultation process has amended the Mobile Phone Jammer Prohibition on 21 January 2009, which now lifts one of the greatest regulatory impediments to allowing in flight mobile telephone use on aircraft.

The amendment was by way of an exemption allowing for the operation of a device if:

a. the device is designed to facilitate a cellular mobile telephone service onboard an aircraft operating within another frequency; and

b. the device is operated for that purpose.

This is a huge step forward, but don’t expect in flight mobile telephone use anytime soon, as the ACMA must first establish radio communications licensing arrangements to facilitate this.

This comes hot on the heels of in flight wireless internet trials in Europe. Watch this space for more Telecommunications Law updates and information.

Tags: Mobile Phone Law, mobile telephone law, Radcom Law, Radio Communications Law, Telco Law, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »