Latest news with #Telstra
ABC News
14 hours ago
- ABC News
Busselton residents fear safety impacts of mobile signal shortfall
Residents in the West Australian tourism hub of Busselton say frequent dropouts in phone and internet service are an unacceptable impost on public safety and trade. The situation left a family in a life-threatening situation and unable to call triple-0 as a fire swept through their property earlier this year. Jane Bennett lives on a rural property within the City of Busselton, about 230 kilometres south of Perth and a 20-minute drive to Busselton's CBD. In January, her husband Owen Bennett was faced with the daunting task of battling a fire on his own, unable to call for help because of an unplanned outage of a nearby phone tower. "He's in direct line of sight to the tower, which is about a kilometre away, and he's calling triple-0 and it doesn't connect," Ms Bennett said. "He was in panic." Ms Bennett said her husband managed to find a signal on a neighbour's property and it was a "miracle" their house was saved when firefighters arrived an hour later. She said when they asked Telstra about the unplanned outage they were told it was caused by a severed fibre-optic cable at Bridgetown, 80 kilometres away. Telstra told the Bennetts the cable was "cut due to nearby third-party excavation works". As Australia's national operator of the triple-0 service, Telstra is required to have fail-safe systems and processes for emergencies. A Telstra spokesperson said residents were informed of outages on its website. "We are very saddened to hear of any damage or loss due to natural disasters," the spokesperson said. "In times of mobile outages, it's important that households have access to a second form of connectivity as a back-up — this could be fixed NBN, satellite or landline services." Businesses in the heart of Busselton said they wanted better telecommunications, saying it was important to cope with demand during peak holiday periods and the dropouts were a public safety issue. Busselton Chamber of Commerce chief executive Victoria Yuen said connectivity was a big issue hitting business bottom lines, particularly in the busy summer months when pressure on telecommunications was at its peak. "The main issues are dropouts of phones," she said. "Dropouts when people are trying to work from home. Payment systems not working. Ms Yuen said she had been pushing for improved telecommunications infrastructure in Busselton for years but the issue was largely overlooked. She said it was embarrassing that business owners had to walk to the end of their driveway to get a decent phone signal. "We can't just keep saying, 'Oh it's OK. This is what happens,'" Ms Yuen said. "No, that's not a decent enough excuse anymore." The City of Busselton is home to more than 40,000 people, according to the 2021 census, and is considered one of the fastest growing regional cities in WA. Busselton Mayor Phill Cronin said phone and internet coverage had diminished in the area over the past five years, which he believed was due to inadequate telecommunications infrastructure. "I've heard sometimes they [telecommunications companies] are unable to put towers up because they can't get the power to the towers," he said. "It's a whole-of-infrastructure issue that really does need to be addressed." Cr Cronin said the council had received a number of reports from concerned residents about the issue. "We've seen unfortunately during some recent fires where one of the towers was down, the DFES emergency warnings weren't being sent out and people weren't even able to make triple-0 calls," he said. "That is a major concern for our community." The mayor said he had reached out to federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland about the issue. "Communications is predominantly the responsibility of the federal [government], but the infrastructure is a state responsibility," he said. "If the area is expected to grow, and it will continue to grow, we need the infrastructure here in place before that can occur." Last month, South West councils voted to ask the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) to lobby the state and federal governments for improved telecommunication infrastructure. A state government spokesperson told the ABC they had continued to co-invest in projects which increased capacity and strengthened the resilience of telecommunications in regional businesses and communities. Ms Rowland was contacted for comment.
West Australian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Ed Sheeran Australian tour dates: English pop superstar to return to Perth in January 2026 for Loop Tour
English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will return to Perth for the first Aussie leg of his Loop Tour in January 2026. Announcing 11 shows across Australia and New Zealand in the summer, the four-time Grammy winner will touch down in WA for a single Optus Stadium show on January 31. He will then play two shows in each of Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, before concluding the tour with a one-off show in Adelaide on March 5. The Shape of You singer, 34, had been dropping clues that he'll be returning to our shores for weeks, with Frontier Touring leaving a trail of Easter Eds across their socials featuring artwork from his forthcoming album in anticipation. 'Pressing 'Play' in 3,2,1... Tue 22 Jul 🩷 4pm AEST / 6pm NZS,' a post on Monday was captioned. 'Can't wait to see my tedddddy again,' one fan wrote in response to the tour tease. Sheeran's Mathematics Tour comprises a staggering 168 shows, commencing in April 23, 2022 and is scheduled to wrap up in Las Vegas on September 20 this year. His forthcoming project Play — his eighth studio album — is due for release on September 12. The 34-year-old's songs Azizam, Sapphire, and Old Phone were released earlier this year. Sheeran's most recent Optus Stadium performance, the final Australian leg of his Mathematics Tour in March 2023, holds the record for the single largest crowd at the venue with 73,092. The star was the first ever artist to host a concert at Optus Stadium, rolling out his Divide Tour with back-to-back shows in March 2018. Both of his previous trans-Tasman tours amassed in excess of one million tickets. General sale tickets will begin from July 29, with pre-sale for Telstra and Frontier members staggered from July 25.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Seeing Red! Ed Sheeran heading to Perth in 2026
English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will return to Perth for the first Aussie leg of his Loop Tour in January 2026. Announcing 11 shows across Australia and New Zealand in the summer, the four-time Grammy winner will touch down in WA for a single Optus Stadium show on January 31. He will then play two shows in each of Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, before concluding the tour with a one-off show in Adelaide on March 5. The Shape of You singer, 34, had been dropping clues that he'll be returning to our shores for weeks, with Frontier Touring leaving a trail of Easter Eds across their socials featuring artwork from his forthcoming album in anticipation. 'Pressing 'Play' in 3,2,1... Tue 22 Jul 🩷 4pm AEST / 6pm NZS,' a post on Monday was captioned. Ed Sheeran performs in Wellington Credit: Zakary Walters/Ed Sheeran / Instagram 'Can't wait to see my tedddddy again,' one fan wrote in response to the tour tease. Sheeran's Mathematics Tour comprises a staggering 168 shows, commencing in April 23, 2022 and is scheduled to wrap up in Las Vegas on September 20 this year. His forthcoming project Play — his eighth studio album — is due for release on September 12. The 34-year-old's songs Azizam, Sapphire, and Old Phone were released earlier this year. Sheeran's most recent Optus Stadium performance, the final Australian leg of his Mathematics Tour in March 2023, holds the record for the single largest crowd at the venue with 73,092. The star was the first ever artist to host a concert at Optus Stadium, rolling out his Divide Tour with back-to-back shows in March 2018. Both of his previous trans-Tasman tours amassed in excess of one million tickets. General sale tickets will begin from July 29, with pre-sale for Telstra and Frontier members staggered from July 25.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Best eSIM plans in Australia: Get connected easily and enjoy your new plan in minutes
eSIMs are really taking off in Australia, with the feature becoming increasingly common in newer smartphones. While not every handset offers embedded SIM support, many of the best phones of 2025 no longer require physical SIM cards anymore — they've simply embraced the added convenience of digital eSIM tech, allowing users to activate new plans or switch carriers right from their phone's settings. In many cases, activation is as easy as scanning a QR code. eSIM tech is safer than using physical SIM cards, as it's embedded directly into your device's hardware, making it harder to steal or clone. On top of this, eSIMs are great for travellers, making it easy to juggle multiple plans for different countries. Of course, not all Aussie telcos are fully on board yet — Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all offer eSIM support, as do many other mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), though there are still some smaller providers that only use physical SIMs. This means you'll want to double-check if your preferred carrier supports eSIMs before you commit to a new phone or plan that uses this tech. That said, we expect eSIM support to become even more widespread across Australia's telcos, ultimately giving everyone more choice and convenience. For those looking to ditch their physical SIM card, here are the best eSIM plans in Australia. Tangerine (25GB 5G Mobile SIM) | 25GB data | prepaid | AU$29p/m There are cheaper offers on the list below, but when you take away promotional pricing that many carriers offer for the first 6 months, we think this plan from Tangerine offers the best bang for your buck. For the reasonable price of AU$29p/m, you get 25GB of monthly data and access to Telstra's 4G and 5G networks. You can also bank up to 1000GB of unused data, which is exceptional. Total minimum cost is AU$29 (1 month) | Total cost for first year: AU$348 Vodafone $73 Large SIM Only Plan | 400GB data | No lock-in contract | AU$73p/m With 400GB of monthly data, Vodafone's Large SIM Only Plan is unbeatable when it comes to value. Of course, most people won't be able to go through that much data in a month, so the $63 Medium SIM Only Plan with 200GB of monthly data could be a better option. Total minimum cost is AU$73 (1 month) | Total cost for first year: AU$876 When selecting the best eSIM plans, the Aussie Tom's Guide team focuses on several key factors that we believe are important to most users. Our initial step is to exclude carriers that do not currently support eSIM technology. Value is a top priority — the ideal eSIM plans offer a sensible amount of data without being overly expensive. Given that the average Australian consumes about 12GB of data monthly, we consider this our minimum data allowance. We also examine premium eSIM plans that provide ample data, even if they come at a higher cost. eSIM plans should always include unlimited calls and texts to standard Australian numbers. This is a common feature even in affordable options, so we avoid any plan that limits these. Network coverage is another crucial element. Australians can expect access to either the Telstra, Optus or Vodafone networks, depending on their chosen provider. Telstra boasts the broadest 4G and 5G coverage, with Optus and Vodafone following closely. Finally, while not the primary driver for our choices, we also consider additional perks such as bonus international minutes or data rollover.
United News of India
2 days ago
- Business
- United News of India
Infosys deepens its strategic ties with Telstra
New Delhi, July 21 (UNI) Infosys, a global leader in IT services, revealed its plans regarding the expansion of its partnership with Telstra, an Australian Telecommunications Giant. Telstra provides telecommunication networks and other market-related products or services. Infosys will become the strategic partner of Telstra to drive innovation in the company's operations by supporting Telstra's latest 'Connected Future 30 Strategy.' This strategic collaboration will boost efficiency in Telstra's daily operations by streamlining the company's work. Reportedly, Infosys will adopt an AI-first approach to accelerate the pace of innovation in Telstra's work. Chris Ellis (Head of IT and Software Engineering, Telstra) emphasized the expanded collaboration with Infosys to deliver great work value to both shareholders and customers. On the other hand, Roary Stasko ( CEO, Telstra International) said, 'We are currently boosting our core capabilities and accelerating the transformation pace in the entire value chain for our customers. We will try to remain at the forefront of technological change.' Stakso added. Rajan Shah (EVP and Industry Head of Global Markets, Infosys) pointed out this collaboration as the 'transformational journey' for Telstra to leverage and integrate the cutting-edge technologies of Infosys. UNI SAS BM
