ACCC calls for better info on broadband speeds
Australia’s competition regulator has opened a public consultation requesting views on how consumer information about broadband speed and performance can be improved.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said improved consumer information will minimise the potential for consumers to be misled, reduce consumer search costs, and assist consumers to make informed purchasing and switching decisions. This will encourage ISPs to compete on performance as well as price, it said.

“At the moment, it is difficult for consumers to access accurate information as broadband advertising is not focusing upon speed and performance. Consumers are being presented with little information,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said. “Consumers are entitled to expect clear and accurate information about broadband services.”

The closing date for submissions is 25 August.

Smartfren must stick to 1.9GHz migration plan – MCIT
Indonesia’s government has told Smartfren, one of the country’s smallest mobile players, it must stick to its migration plan to move its CDMA service off the 1.9GHz band by the end of the year.

The operator needs to vacate the 13.75MHz of spectrum it holds in the 1.9GHz band to allow the government to hold a 3G tender of the 2.1GHz band next year, IndoTelko reported. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology needs to refarm the two blocks of 1.9GHz spectrum to prepare for the tender.

Smartfren, which has about a 3 per cent market share, aims to acquire 30MHz in the 2.3GHz band.

WeChat plans live streaming service
Chinese social media platform WeChat plans to launch a live streaming service, the Economic Observer reported.

WeChat, China’s largest messaging app, is owned by Tencent, which not only developed its own live streaming apps (six of them) but also invested in others, China Daily said. WeChat is one of the last mainstream social media platforms to move into live streaming.

China has more than 200 million users of live streaming apps, which is about one-third of its online population.

China Telecom, Ericsson sign IoT partnership deal
China Telecom and Ericsson agreed to jointly develop and offer Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity services to enterprise customers through the vendor’s Device Connection Platform (DCP).

The partnership, initially covering a five-year period, will provide IoT connectivity services globally through Ericsson’s cloud-based IoT platform.

China Telecom VP Tongqing Gao said DCP enables operators to cooperate globally to provide IoT device management, subscription management, network connectivity administration and flexible billing services.

He said this allows customers to “seamlessly deploy and manage their IoT devices globally to ensure unified service procedures, a consistent user experience, which significantly improves efficiency and reduces the cost.”