Optus Makes 5G Data Call Over 2300 MHz Spectrum, With Ericsson

Australian operator Optus has announced it has established a 5G data call over its 2300 MHz spectrum. Optus completed the test call in Sydney, in partnership with Ericsson. Optus currently uses 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum, and plans to build a dual-band 5G network to provide customers with increased capacity and coverage. The operator is rolling out its 5G deployment plan using the 3500 MHz spectrum band and has more than 300 sites already installed. At this stage, the operator says, it is working toward deploying its 2300 MHz spectrum during 2020, to complement its existing 3500 MHz spectrum. Currently it has 300 5G sites live across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and other locations in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. In February 2019, Ericsson, Singtel, Optus and Oppo enabled a 5G video call using augmented reality. The real-time AR video call took place between Singapore and Australia over Ericsson’s 5G networks. Engineers from Singtel and Optus demonstrated the use of AR on a real-time 5G video call using Ericsson’s 5G networks, making instant on-screen annotations to exchange views on their respective live 5G sites. Whenever voice calling, the most old-fashioned and traditional of mobile services, seems most left-behind and irrelevant, a new technology arrives on the scene to enhance it and make it relevant again. One might even say that voice demonstrates over and over its evergreen nature as a perennially useful and in-demand functionality, even as data in its various deployments gets the most attention. As 5G is rolled out in diverse markets worldwide, the bandwidth of these high-speed networks is brought to bear in ways that enhance existing services, as well as making new services possible. In the case of voice telephony, the technology being deployed by Optus in partnership with Ericsson is noteworthy because by transmitting voice over IP with video using 5G speed, it transforms and heightens the experience by adding an augmented-reality component. This AR feature allows users to write on the screen and annotate a conversation in order to exchange different sorts of input on a real-time interactive basis, in a way beyond what oral communication can accomplish on its own. Presumably these calls could be recorded with the annotations for further review later. By consecrating a particular piece of spectrum for 5G calling (including but not limited to this AR-enhanced version), Optus is carving out for itself a market sector in Australia and internationally. The original trial in February was done over Ericsson’s proprietary spectrum, but now Optus has made a move so that its own 5G spectrum—enhanced by developments created by Ericsson—can handle this special voice calling application. Bringing this new technology in house is an excellent example of the ways in which technology partnerships can help mobile operators be not only relevant but cutting-edge.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.  

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

Australia Launches App Challenge

The Australian Communications Consumer Action network (ACCAN) has announced the 2015 Apps For All Challenge, sponsored by Australian operator Telstra. This annual event, launched for the first time in 2014, aims to discover Australia’s most accessible apps, that is, apps specifically designed to be accessible to the largest number of people without the need for special modification. Nominations will be accepted in the following four categories: Most accessible mainstream app, most innovative app designed for people with a disability or older people, most accessible children’s app, most accessible game app. Winning apps will be announced at the ACCAN National Conference in September 2015.

According to ACCAN, almost one in five Australians lives with some form of disability. Due to impairments related to vision, hearing, cognition or mobility, these people are not able to take advantage of most of the 47,000 apps that others are downloading every minute worldwide. The Apps for All Challenge encourages developers to reach out and target this underserved population by creating apps that address their special needs. Telstra will award the winners in each category a cash prize and promote the winning apps through Telstra social media. This is a win for all—the developers whose apps get recognized and promoted, the customers who benefit from apps they are able to easily use, and Telstra, which not only gets recognition for sponsoring this positive initiative but also gets to expand its consumer market.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. Click here to contact a Tarifica Analyst

Promotions are the Critical Driver of Consumer Value for Australian Mobile Phone Plans

Tarifica  has announced the latest Tarifica Scores for postpaid mobile plans in Australia. The Tarifica Score™ is an advanced algorithm used to evaluate mobile plans based on the value they offer consumers.  It incorporates every aspect of each mobile plan (including usage allotments, geographic coverage, data speeds, value added features and promotional elements) and weighs them against each plan’s total costs to determine its consumer value. 

Based on the postpaid plans offered in September by operators Telstra, Vodafone, Optus and Virgin Mobile, Optus’ “My Plan Plus $60” continued to be rated highest in the ‘without phone’ segment while Vodafone’s “Red $80 Plan” still ran second.  Virgin Mobile’s $100 Plan displaced Vodafone’s “$100 Red Plan” as highest in the ‘with phone’ segment.

“The largest changes we saw in scores were driven by the addition or expiration of promotions,” said Sergey Fisun, Tarifica’s Australia Analyst.  “For example, Virgin Mobile’s best ‘with phone’ plan in June ($90/month) received a score of just 48 but its replacement plan ($100/month) led the market in September with a score of 100, displacing Vodafone.  The difference was due to the addition of 2 gigabytes of data per month plus a promotional bonus of another 1 gigabyte each month.  In short, Virgin’s slight increase in price was more than offset by its enhanced data offerings.”

In contrast, Vodafone ended its double data promotion and saw its highest scoring ‘without phone’ plan drop by 10 points while its best ‘with phone’ plan fell from the top spot in that category to second place with a score of 94.  In general, Vodafone’s lower priced ‘with phone’ plans now come with two months of unlimited data, which helped to lift their scores.  Its higher priced Red series, however, which switched promotions from double data for a year to unlimited data for two months, saw their scores decline.

Although Telstra’s plans still suffer from high costs relative to the volume of voice, SMS and data offered, many of its scores improved due to changes in its data promotion from a one time (one month) offer of an additional 25GB (which was considered by the Tarifica Score algorithm at much less than full volume due to its impracticality for most users) to an additional 500MB per month which is obviously of more value.  Telstra’s Mobil Accelerate XL plan improved from a score of 35 to 48 as a result of this change.

“In today’s mobile marketplace, consumers are flooded with hundreds of plan variations and constantly shifting promotions and deals—the majority of which come with different costs and services and access networks of differing strengths. When making a decision that will likely impact them for up to two years, consumers can use Tarifica Scores to cut through the clutter and identify those plans in every market segment that offer the best value for the money.  They can also see how plan values are affected by even small changes in promotional offers,” stated Tarifica Program Manager, Will Watts.

Ken Dolsky, Senior Program Director at Tarifica also commented on the market intelligence value to operators.  “We also see great interest in the Tarifica Score among mobile operators.  Tarifica provides access to its proprietary model which enables operators to design plans that score high in consumer-friendliness and value.  They are also able to quickly see, in quantitative terms, the impact that competitive changes have on the market.  While all the operators in a region may know that operator X has high prices and relatively slow speeds, the impact of improvements in such factors will be immediately apparent and responses can be formulated quickly.”

To Contact Tarifica's Research Team: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

Tarifica Score Launched With Ratings of Australian Postpaid Plans

Tarifica the U.S.-based telecom research and analysis firm, announced ratings for all the major Australian mobile operators’ postpaid plans, created with its recently launched comparison tool, the Tarifica Score. The highest scores were achieved by Optus and Vodafone, which ranked significantly ahead of competitors Telstra and Virgin Mobile. The top score among plans that included a phone went to Vodafone’s $100 Red Plan with Double Data Promotion, while in the without-phone category the highest score was achieved by Optus’ $60 My Plan Plus. These scores provide objective, quantitative comparisons of mobile plans, based on a consumer-value-oriented approach, and are generated by a proprietary mathematical model. Among the factors taken into account are plan allowances (voice minutes, SMS, MMS and data), network speeds and value-added elements such as data sharing, international calling allowances and roaming benefits.   

Optus’ plans received high scores because they combined large data allowances with relatively moderate prices. Vodafone’s high scores were driven by the combination of its “Double Data” promotion and its network’s fast 4G download speeds, which dwarfed that of the competition. Although it is the largest mobile operator in the market, Telstra’s plans were simply too expensive to compete with the value offered by Optus and Vodafone. The algorithm used to calculate Tarifica Scores awarded a high number of points to Telstra’s plans because of the operator’s wide geographic coverage, but even with this bonus, its plans did not include anywhere near the allowance volumes available in similarly priced plans from Optus and Vodafone. 

The Tarifica Score, which assigns a single number to each plan analyzed, is notable for making possible “apples-to-apples” comparisons between offerings that may on the surface appear to be quite different from each other. By doing so, it allows consumers to determine which plans offer the best value for the money. For mobile operators, the Tarifica Score offers several advantages: First, it allows in-house evaluation of plans’ market potential against an objective, algorithm-based third-party analysis provided by a firm with years of institutional knowledge and experience as well as relationships with major industry participants around the world. Second, Tarifica will work with operators to analyze plans prior to their launch so as to ensure the highest possible score. Third, the score is an excellent marketing tool by which operators can communicate to consumers, in simple, quantitative terms, the actual value of their offerings. Fourth, it can be supplied to regulators as a way of addressing concerns about the value and fairness of plans. Finally, for a deeper understanding of a plan’s place in the larger telecom world, Tarifica offers a modification that will allow a plan to be compared across markets. In addition, both operators and consumers can benefit from having the Tarifica Score segmented according to various metrics such as cost, device inclusion or regional availability.

Tarifica Scores can be calculated for any of the 85 countries Tarifica tracks.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes two noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  http://www.tarifica.com/storyoftheweek.aspx   Photo by Abd allah Foteih on Flickr

Mobile Operator Shark-Detection Technology

Australian fixed and mobile operator Optus has launched a research and development project  in cooperation with Shark Mitigation Systems, an Australian technology firm. The project aims to develop shark detection technology to protect humans and sharks throughout Australia and the world. The project’s device, called the Clever Buoy, uses sonar technology to detect shark-sized objects in coastal areas. When any are detected, the buoy will relay a signal to lifeguards on the beach via the Optus network, which can also use Google Plus to notify other relevant audiences. The Clever Buoy system is expected to be available for commercial purchase by mid-2015.

Highly targeted, location-specific niche products such as this can be a good bet for operators that partner with technology developers. If the Clever Buoy meets with favor among those municipalities and other entities that have to deal with the potential danger of shark attacks, Optus could certainly earn some revenue from sales of the system as well as from ensuing mobile connectivity charges. In addition, it will be able to burnish its image by providing a valued public service in an innovative manner. For those operators that have the financial wherewithal to spearhead such projects, the rewards can be well worth the investment.


The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes two noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  http://www.tarifica.com/storyoftheweek.aspx