In 2008-2009, 170 out of 194 carriers had less than $25million in revenue, so this will be welcomed news for smaller players looking to reduce regulatory compliance costs.

Read more on ZDNet

For more information about Universal Service Obligations, visit the ACMA site

For critical support, you may still call the severity 1 support line (1300 793 310 option 2 for support, then press 1 for urgent support), which is provided 24 x 7.

If you have any queries in regards to this communication, please contact Emersion Support on 1300 793 310 or emesupport@emersion.com.au.

Emersion Software Systems wishes you a happy and safe Easter and Anzac Day Holiday.

Thought you might find Aryan Ameri’s  slideset from the Android User Group of interest, as graphs show astronomical growth predictions as per our previous article on the Year of the Smartphone .  The release of Android Honeycomb platform in Australia will also create a simplier playing field for developers and mobile web designers who currently struggle with multiple versions of Android OS.

Other great speakers were Brad Howarth – author of A Faster Future,  and Alex Burke from mobile agency Tigerspike.

If you’re interested in hearing what local industry guys think about the next mobile trend, look up @momomelb on Twitter and follow their conversations.

Acknowledging the need for smaller and start-up businesses to be able to direct debit and offer multiple payment options to their customers, Emersion was keen to sign on PCI compliant partner Ezidebit as a fully integrated payment gateway partner.

Unlike the banks which have high minimum revenue turnover criteria, Ezidebit allows Emersion clients of any size the option to utilize their functionality for Direct Debit. “Fully integrated. Easy to use.  Real time.” – are some of the benefits on offer to our customers.

Looking to add direct debit, Credit Card or Bpay facilities, or better your current deal? Let us set you up via the Emersion Payment System. Emersion clients are afforded a preferred partner rate.

For more information on Ezidebit or Contact Us

This is phenomenal, given that 3G penetration rate for Australia is reported at around 66%  according to a recent presentation given by Morgan Stanley in the US.

Whatever the stats, it seems Australians are apparently no longer happy to just call and SMS from their mobiles. They want to surf the internet, email and interact on social media while away from their PCs. The emerging trend of unmetered websites, and mobile content and applications has IDC predicting that within the next 12 months there will be 1.6 million internet connections from mobile handsets in Australia, up from 200,000!

Smartcompany reports that Android is tipped to triple their marketshare in 2011 , while Nokia and Windows Mobile recently had a major PR blitz announcing their launch plans to defend their market position. The trend for the Telco industry is for explosive growth and increased competition.

This is good news for the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) trend. In one of my previous posts (Picking Telco / ISP Trends) I referenced Huntley’s Morningstar, where their analysts are predicting a steady ARPU for 2011. Customers need a reason to keep spending, and it appears that smartphones might be the key.  According to research firm Frost & Sullivan, in more mobile developed countries such as Korea and Japan, the ARPU typically increased 25-100% after users switched to smartphones.

It will be interesting to see what this does to post-paid mobile internet trends, and whether there will be product cannibalization as consumers start using their smartphones as wireless modems.

2011 looks to be yet another interesting year in the Telco/ISP industry, as Telstra are reportedly in the midst of preparing for 3G release to the wholesale market at the end of the year.

If you’re in the local Telco industry, tell us what you’re seeing? Are these predictions proving to be correct?

Marketing 101 tells us that competing on price is not a sustainable strategy. Yet most resellers in the market fall into the trap – fuelling the path of commoditising the industry.

In an interview with Computerworld recently, iiNet CEO called 2010 as a “switchers market” forcing the company to develop retention strategies and some aggressive advertising. In 2011, iiNet are looking to deploy applications to encourage broadband usage. Not to be left out, Internode are investing in IPTV and anticipated NBN applications. All in a bid get to out of the industry commodity cycle.

Smaller players shouldn’t feel like they’re left in the cold.

When customers are happy, they are less likely to switch providers. What keeps customers happy?

• Exceptional customer service. For example “Want to switch plans mid-billing cycle? No problem!”
• Flexibility from their existing provider to counter-offer latest competitor deals
• Bundles that are relevant to their lifestyle
• Choice!    For example “Want to be ‘green’? Don’t want your bills posted? We also offer email PDF and web access”

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• Transparency – don’t give them a surprise when they get their latest bill for excess usage. Set up an Event trigger.
• Business customers are increasingly looking for contents and cloud based applications.

When customer contracts are nearing expiry, don’t sit back and wait for them to switch!

Take the initiative and contact them. Give them an offer to sign up again, don’t wait for them to go hunting around for your competitors.

Tell us what some of your “Retention strategies” will be for 2011…

Day 1 Keynote address by KPMG Partner – Malcolm Alder looks at The new world of NBN retailing. A topic most relevant to existing ISP retailers in Australia.

Day 2 Keynote address will be by Mike Quigley, CEO NBN Co. about the Phased implementation of the NBN.

“NBN Co has recently released its comprehensive Corporate Plan outlining revenue, expenditure and funding projections for the next 30 years. The NBN is now moving to a staged rollout starting in First Release Sites. In addition to construction, this involves the development of operational and business support systems, the testing and integration of these systems, and the on-boarding of retail service providers.”

In case you missed it, ZDNet published a great article of the NBN Business Case summary back in December.

The ACCC strongly frowns on Service Providers offering “unlimited” deals and not explaining the details.

The fines were issued because Dodo had not adequately disclosed in advertising that its $39.90 unlimited service was only available if a home telephone plan was purchased, making the minimum cost $69.80. Although Dodo has agreed to pay the infringement notices, it seems  the marketing folk at Dodo have short memories as this is not the first time Dodo has been in hot water with the ACCC.

A similar issue is the basis of the ACCC’s current case with TPG, objecting to adverisements from TPG which claim unlimited ADSL2+ broadband is available for $29.99, since that price only applies when you also rent a phone line from TPG. There are also ‘hidden’ setup charges not included in advertising. The TPG issue has proceeded to a full court case.

The ACCC’s case against Optus focused on two examples: “unlimited” calls on the Turbo Max plan and the more general notion that an “unlimited” phone and broadband plan can’t be called that if the “offers are subject to a number of limitations and restrictions”.

The ACCC enforces these rules tightly,and the lessons are clear:

• for consumers: check the details carefully before signing up on any deal; and
• for Service Providers beware of misleading and deceptive conduct – even by accident.

Nb. the ACCC is the Australian government organisation responsible for ensuring compliance with the Trade Practices Act 1974. On 1 January 2011 the Trade Practices Act 1974 was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Emersion will be running on reduced staff and operating hours over the Christmas break commencing on the Friday 24^th of December through to Monday 4th of January 2011.

Please note that on Friday the 24^th, the office will close early at 12:30pm (AEST). However for urgent requests, you may still call the Severity 1 support line (1300 793 310 option 2 for support, then press 1 for urgent support), which is provided 24 x 7.

During the Christmas break, our hours of operation will be as follows (all times are listed in AEST).

• 24 Dec 2010 – 9:00am – 12:30pm
• 27 Dec 2010 – CLOSED (Public Holiday)
• 28 Dec 2010 – CLOSED (Public Holiday)
• 29 Dec 2010 – 9:00am – 6:00 pm
• 30 Dec 2010 – 9:00am – 6:00 pm
• 31 Dec 2010 – 9:00am – 4:00 pm
• 03 Jan 2011 – CLOSED (Public Holiday)
• 04 Jan 2011 – 9:00am – 6:00 pm

Most Carriers have an embargo that commences on Monday, 20^th of December 2010 and be lifted on Monday, 10^th of January 2011. During this time connections of new Emersion Services may be dificult.

Emersion wishes you a happy and safe festive season.

So where to next? I always find it interesting that at AGMs strategies are revealed, but I guess that’s what publicly listed companies have to do.

Next trend: TRIPLE Play Bundles! That’s right, TPG are going to offer broadband, home phone and pay-tv service.

iiNet and Internode are also changing business strategies for 2011, with applications becoming a focal point. iiNet MD Michael Malone, was quoted in Computerworld as saying “The last few years have mainly been about getting everyone connected to high-speed broadband, the next few years are really about how you use it – applications that can take advantage of  the fact that you’re connected at very high speeds to the internet.”

It seems that to gain significant customer subscriber growth rates in the industry, you need to be ready to move with the leaders. Huntleys’ analysts are factoring in a steady Average Revenue per User (ARPU) of $43 in FY11. So what’s happening here? Are resellers going to get better rates from their service providers, or is intense competition going to result in a margin squeeze?

Not meaning to blow our own trumpet, but if you don’t have a billing & provisioning system that can give you flexibility to keep up with industry leaders AND able to make sure you’re being accurately charged by your service provider, then FY11 might be a tough road as competition continues to be intense.

PS. Huntley’s are recommending TPG Telecom stock as a BUY