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Telstra to deregister radio sites after accusations of ‘hindering’ Optus 5G rollout

Telstra to deregister radio sites after accusations of 'hindering' Optus 5G rollout

Telstra has been ordered to deregister more than 150 radio sites under a court-enforceable order, after Australia’s consumer watchdog raised concerns the company was “hindering” a rival telco’s 5G rollout.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a lengthy investigation after over concerns about the telecommunication giant’s registration of 315 low-band radiocommunications sites back in January.

Low-band spectrum, such as 900MHz, can transmit over greater distances and is used by mobile network operators to provide coverage and capacity.

The ACCC probe raised concern Telstra’s regulation of the 315 sites would have “hindered” or prevented its rival Optus from deploying its 5G network, thereby preventing it from engaging in competitive conduct.

Under the court undertaking, Telstra is now required to deregister all remaining radiocommunications sites registered in the 900MHz band.

The company holds a license for parts of the 900MHz spectrum band until June 2024.

But up until January, Telstra was making little use of the spectrum and had not registered a new site since 2016.

Optus successfully bid for licenses in the low-band spectrum following an auction by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in December last year.

Telstra then registered the other 315 low-band radiocommunications sites.

They later deregistered 153, with 162 remaining registered.

The undertaking, agreed to by the ACCC, requires Telstra to deregister all remaining radiocommunications sites it registered with the ACMA in the 900MHz spectrum band in January 2022 which would have prevented Optus early access to the spectrum.

ACCC chair Liza Carver said the undertaking meant more Australians in regional and metropolitan areas would have access to a choice of 5G services.

“This is critical as 5G network coverage becomes an increasingly important factor in consumer choice in mobile phones and mobile plans,” she said.

“Competition is key to driving innovation and investment in new technology and providing consumers with greater choice, better quality services and lower prices.”

The new court order comes after Telstra announced it would return all of its call centers to Australia after ongoing consumer demand.

“What we heard loud and clear was that you wanted a change in the way we answered our calls, so we did it,” CEO Andrew Penn said last month.

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F45 co-founder Adam Gilchrist selling Freshwater, Sydney manor after stock market collapse

F45 co-founder Adam Gilchrist selling Freshwater, Sydney manor after stock market collapse

The picturesque Sydney beachside manor owned by F45 co-founder Adam Gilchrist is set to go under the hammer after the Australian fitness giant’s stunning downfall.

Mr Gilchrist (not the cricketer), who stepped down as F45’s chief executive last week amid stock plunges and company-wide lay-offs, is selling his “beachfront trophy home” at Freshwater on Sydney’s northern beaches.

The home, 52 Ocean View Rd, grew into infamy in 2018 when Mr Gilchrist and his wife Eli bought the property for a whopping $14m due to a minor neighborly dispute.

The couple had purchased a three-bedroom cottage on 50 Ocean View Rd for $5.4m in 2017 and planned to spend $2.5m to develop the property.

But neighbors complained it would not comply with building height or boundary controls, which led to Mr Gilchrist taking the extraordinary step of withdrawing his proposal and setting the matter by buying his neighbour’s bigger home for the obscene amount.

The $14m price was a record for the Freshwater suburb, with agents considering 52 Ocean View Rd’s mammoth coming out an outlier price.

But the three-storey home is again on the market, with real estate agents billing it as “unquestionably one of the finest homes and locations in Sydney”.

“Cutting-edge architectural design and an unsurpassed beachfront setting combine in this state-of-the-art luxury residence to deliver the ultimate designer beach house,” a description of the home reads.

“Set to a picture-perfect backdrop that sweeps over the surf to the ocean’s horizon and North Head, the tri-level residence showcases living spaces and lift access to all three levels and has been appointed and furnished with every conceivable luxury.”

The home’s features include five bedrooms, three bathrooms and giant retractable windows in the dining room.

Mr Gilchrist suddenly announced last week that he was stepping down as F45’s chief executive after co-founding the business with Rob Deutsch back in 2013.

The company also revealed it would be laying off 110 staff and cuttings its operational expenses, which caused its stock price to fall by more than 60 per cent.

F45 hoped that by reducing its corporate workforce by 45 per cent it could return to a positive cash flow.

Mr Gilchrist said he would be “forever grateful” as he exited the company.

“To the staff that have worked tirelessly since our inception, you have been incredible in your efforts, and I thank you for all of your support,” Mr Gilchrist said in a statement.

“To the investors that have joined us along our journey, I thank you for your commitment to F45.

“Lastly, I am forever grateful to our franchisees who deliver the world’s best workout each day to F45 members around the world.”

Mr Deutsch, who stepped down as chief executive and sold his shares in the company in 2020, said there were “enormous issues needing fixing”.

“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this,” he wrote on Instagram.

“When I exited, and sold out of F45, I left a healthy, phenomenal, beast of a business. All the way from the company culture to the heart beat of the business… the workouts. F45 was special.

“I genuinely hope all of the 110 laid-off staff, find happiness and opportunities elsewhere.”

F45 was a global fitness powerhouse before its stock shock last week, with more than 1500 studios in 45 countries and Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg among its investors.

Mr Gilchrist made $500m overnight when the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in July last year.

His northern Sydney home will be up for auction on August 27.

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Sydney train strikes: Major cancellations, fines banned, network-wide impacts

Sydney train strikes: Major cancellations, fines banned, network-wide impacts

Major train disruptions are set to return this month as NSW’s rail union reveals employees will strike every week to the end of August.

It comes after more than a year of negotiations between the state government and the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) over work conditions have failed to satisfy either party.

The major sticking point is the union’s claim that recently purchased New Intercity Fleet trains do not meet their safety requirements.

“We’ve done everything by the book in order to get these vital safety changes, but the government is refusing to listen,” RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This is our only way of making sure that the safety changes that need to be made will actually be made.”

Strike action will begin this Sunday with a small gift to Sydney public transport users in the way of a ban on issuing fines and caution notices.

The real strike action begins next Wednesday as travelers on the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line that runs towards Cronulla and Wollongong will have to make alternative travel arrangements for six hours.

Between the hours of 10am and 4pm, trains will not run on this line.

“It is frustrating,” Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland told 2GB radio station on Tuesday.

“We’ve been dealing now for more than 12 months working with unions as we navigate our way to a new enterprise agreement.”

Three more six-hour strikes will take place on August 17, 23 and 25 and will pinpoint different regions of the train network.

“We’ll do our best to minimize impacts to customers. There’s a whole lot of action that we’re managing around infrastructure and cleaning and those sort of things,” Mr Longland said.

The Sydney Trains boss is encouraging customers to use existing light rail and bus services while train lines are not running.

However, there are not enough replacement buses to cover such widespread outages.

“We only have a limited number of buses to be able to replace trains and the reality is we can’t provide that many buses,” Mr Longland said.

“I do want to acknowledge the frustration of customers and thank them for their patience.”

He is confident that the union and government are “very close” to finalizing the enterprise agreement.

“We are working really hard to get this resolved and we are certainly hopeful working with Minister Elliot that we can get an outcome,” he said.

Schedule for rail strike action in August:

August 7: Ban on transport officers issuing ends and cautions begins

August 10: Strike on T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line, including Bondi Junction 10am – 4pm

August 12: Ban on cleaners using vacuum cleaners or scrubbing machines

August 13: Station staff to leave all gates open at all times

August 15: Train crew to only operate trains that meet maintenance center minimum standards

August 17: Strike in T2 Inner West and Leppington line and some regional lines, 10am – 4pm

August 23: Strike on unidentified line, 10am – 4pm

August 25: Strike on unidentified line, 10am – 4pm

August 31: Ban on operating foreign-made trains

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Travel chaos: Airline experts warn delays and cancellations will continue for months

Travel chaos: Airline experts warn delays and cancellations will continue for months

An aviation expert has warned travel chaos “pain” could continue into next year as the industry struggles to meet soaring demand after stripping services during the pandemic.

Flight Center managing director Graham Turner cautioned travelers to be wary of delays and cancellations until at least the end of the year as airlines contend with inexperienced and ill staff.

“Bear in mind the aviation industry, and you know travel industry generally, has two-and-a-half years when we had to absolutely cut to the bone everything and now building that back up is quite difficult,” he said on Channel 9’s Today show.

Mr Turner admitted the aviation industry was experiencing a “tough period” and asked travelers to exercise “a bit of patience”.

The travel boss noted the chaos was more manageable for domestic travelers despite the mass cancellations and delays.

On Monday, 40 flights between Sydney and Melbourne were canceled and hundreds of people were left sitting on plans after a computer outage grounded Qantas plans.

“Domestically, our experience is although there are delays, a lot of changes, quite a few cancellations, generally most people are getting away and getting to their destination,” he said.

“It is a bit harder internationally because if you get international cancellations it can be quite hard to get seats.”

Mr Turner said there would continue to be “pain” for travelers for at least the next couple of months as the industry grapples with staffing issues and the effects of the ongoing pandemic.

Happily, he predicts, traveling around Australia will be much easier by the end of the year when “all of this really settles down”.

“Domestically, it will improve and we certainly predict by October/November, assuming the Omicron does settle down, it will be much better off,” he said.

While the news will surely be welcomed by local travellers, those looking to travel internationally have no reassuring timeline for when the dust will settle.

The bleak news comes as Australia’s airports gain international attention for all the wrong reasons.

Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport was recently ranked one of the 10 worst airports in the world for flight delays.

Meanwhile, social media has been flooded with angry travelers reporting lost baggage, delayed or canceled flights and staggering queues.

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Egg shortage: Latest product to vanish from supermarket shelves

Egg shortage: Latest product to vanish from supermarket shelves

Australians are being hit with a national egg shortage, as consumers move towards free-range eggs amid rising production costs, extreme weather events and worker shortages.

Supermarkets across the country are back to implementing purchase limits, with farmers grappling to keep up with demand after they decreased their chicken numbers during lockdown.

Owner of Chooks at the Rooke, a free-range egg farm southwest of Melbourne, Xavier Prime told 3AW Radio that part of the problem was the cold weather that affected how often the birds laid eggs.

“Part of it is the time of the year as well.” he said.

“Free-range eggs, in that sort of space the birds are open to the elements, and with the daylight hours being shorter, that has a lot to do with how many eggs the chickens lay.”

Mr Prime said “to lay the optimum”, hens needs 15-16 hours of daylight every day, but at the moment they are experiencing just 10-11 hours.

A Woolworths spokesman said the scarcity of eggs was due to a production shortage on farms, with the cost of young hens laying eggs increasing by 20 per cent.

“The market-wide supply of locally produced eggs in some regions has recently been impacted by reduced production on a number of farms,” they said.

“While we continue to deliver eggs to our stores regularly, customers may notice reduced availability at the moment and we thank them for their patience and understanding.

“We’re in close contact with our suppliers and are working to increase the availability of eggs in stores as soon as possible.”

The supermarket giant has installed a two-carton limit in some stores.

Mr Prime said he hoped the supply shortages did not push consumers back to caged eggs.

But free-range eggs aren’t the only product Australian shoppers are being stripped of, with supermarkets reporting bare shelves for other household items such as chickpeas, lentils, lettuce, tissues and cold and flu tablets.

“We’re experiencing reduced availability across some of our lentil and chickpea products due to supply chain delays,” a Woolworths spokesman said.

The supply chain issues are a combination of the war in Ukraine, flooding and other extreme weather events on Australian shores.

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TikTok: US woman makes surprising claim about Aussie driver

TikTok: US woman makes surprising claim about Aussie driver

An American woman living in Sydney has divided the internet after claiming that she did not use a handbrake on her car.

The woman, known as Brit, claimed in a now viral TikTok post that there was no need to use the handbrake except in certain circumstances because cars weren’t “rolling away”.

“If you’re American, do you use the parking brake when you drive?” she said in the video which has been viewed nearly 500,000 times and attracted over 2000 comments.

“Because I’ve never used one in my entire life but I think everyone uses them in Australia.

“And my boyfriend asks me to drive and I have to look at it and say ‘Is it on? I don’t know’.”

In a later video, Brit, who describes herself as a “Midwest girl living in Sydney”, clarified that there was only one circumstance in which she used the parking brake.

“I don’t know if the cars are built differently or something. A few people have commented and said that American cars have some sort of anti-roll s*** that Australian cars don’t,” she said.

“But the cars aren’t just f***ing rolling away guys. When you put it in park you can lean on it, you can push, it doesn’t just roll anywhere.

“We don’t need to put the parking brake on unless you’re on a really steep hill, that’s what we’re taught.”

Her post split the comments section in half, with some questioning how she was able to drive safely’.

“Que?!?! I’m American and I use them EVERYTIME! How did y’all pass your exam?,” one user said.

“This is why we see so many videos of parked cars rolling into traffic in the US,” another added.

Another user added: “Using the park break not only is a failsafe it’s to take away stress and strain from your gearbox/transmission.”

However some users from the US said that Brit was correct.

“These comments are killing me… we only use them on hills. IDK if our cars are different or what but I would never just use it,” one said.

Another added: “ONLY when i’m parked in an incline. idk why people just use them to use them. it’s not necessary.”

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Reason many Aussies are ditching supermarkets

Reason many Aussies are ditching supermarkets

Supermarkets are forcing many people to overspend, costing households an extra $1,200 each year, new research has revealed.

A survey of more than 2000 Australians found about two in five people frequently overspend their food budget and 82 per cent now splurge up to $200 on their weekly grocery shop.

The research, conducted by meal kit delivery service HelloFresh, also found 71 per cent of respondents were worried food items would continue to become more expensive.

Other key findings from the research found:

  • Ninety per cent of people are spending up to $100 per month on discounted impulse buys, while 88 per cent are doing the same for full-price impulse buys at the supermarket;
  • About two in five people frequently purchase discounted items they did not plan to buy; and
  • Three in five Australians are frequently traveling to multiple supermarkets to find all the ingredients they need for a meal.

The rising cost of food at supermarkets has led to some people turning to meal kit services.

Rebecca from Victoria told NCA NewsWire she used to shop at Coles and Woolworths, depending on which was closest to home or work on any given day.

“I would usually pop in multiple times throughout the week to get ingredients for dinner that night; I’d end up spending at least $40 every time I went into the supermarket, if not more,” she said.

“I switched to HelloFresh because I was getting tired of going through the same process every day when it came to thinking about dinner.

“I had to think about who’s around, what they’d want to eat and what I could be bothered making.

“Knowing that I wouldn’t have to do the mad dash to the supermarket after work was the biggest thing that made me swap to using HelloFresh.”

Rebecca’s partner has two children who are with them on weekends, so by making the move away from supermarkets, she says she is now saving about $100 per week.

HelloFresh chief executive and founder Tom Rutledge said his company offered a better value option for people wanting to save on dinner, while also saving time and reducing food waste.

“At this challenging time, it’s more important than ever that Aussies get the most out of their weekly food shop,” he said.

“As grocery prices go up and the cost of living continues to be a concern for Aussies, people are looking for better-value options for their groceries.

“We want to remind Aussies that there’s an alternative to shopping at the supermarket. By using HelloFresh, Aussies can save up to 24 per cent on the cost of dinner, while also saving time and food waste, with convenient home delivery and pre-portioned ingredients.”

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Economy: Winners of rising interest rates revealed

Economy: Winners of rising interest rates revealed

Homeowners and renters are bracing for more bad news with interest rates tipped to rise again, but there are some people who are benefiting more than others.

Household budgets are being stretched to their limits after inflation hit a massive 6.1 per cent and cost of living pressures, including the prices of groceries and fuel, continue to mount.

But financial experts say some parts of the community are enjoying economic success during this difficult time.

So who are the winners of rising interest rates?

Financial planner and Edith Cowan University lecturer Damon Brown told NCA NewsWire there were two big winners — withdraw and people who locked in fixed rates before the cycle changed.

“Retires who are invested in cash have been doing it tough for the past five years because interest rates on their cash have been very low and below what Centrelink deems them to be earning,” he said.

“For the older people Centrelink deems them when it comes to their the age pension they can receive.

“So it’s called deeming, which is what the Centrelink assumes they can earn from their money, but they might not actually earn that money.

“An example might be my mother who invests all her money in cash. She’s been receiving one per cent interest rate for the last few years but Centrelink assumes that she earns a bit more than that. And so she’s receiving less Centrelink entitlement.”

Mr Brown said people who locked in fixed rates before the cycle changed, like him and his wife who secured a rate just under two per cent, were also doing well.

“We actually locked in for three years a year ago, so we’ve still got another two years to take the big difference,” he said.

Daniel Kiely, a senior research fellow at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Center, told NCA NewsWire rising interest rates were not necessarily a bad thing.

“If the increase in interest rates that we are seeing both in Australia and in other global jurisdictions flow through to the economy, and in turn lead to lower inflation, we will all be winners in the long-run.” he said.

“Lower inflation will make it more unlikely for a global recession to occur.”

In the shorter-term, Dr Kiely said savers would get higher returns on their savings accounts, but the speed at which this occurred would vary from bank to bank and depending on the type of savings account.

“Withdraw may benefit too, if savings supplement another source of income such as a pension,” he said.

“However, for savers and retirees to see the full benefit of such returns, inflation will need to come down substantially.”

Dr Kiely said there was a double edge sword for potential homeowner investors.

“Higher interest rates may stem house price increases and help those saving for a home,” he said.

“But, higher interest rates will also reduce borrowing capacity for many wishing to enter the housing market.”

LCI Lending partner Domenic Romeo said there were still more losers than winners.

“However, the people who have savings in a term-deposit or savings account will benefit from higher interest income rates,” he said.

“Some property investors may find themselves in a better position to purchase a property, due to the softening property prices too.”

In this month’s Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey, 26 experts and economists agreed the cash rate would change on Tuesday, with 23 of them predicting another increase of 50 basis points.

That would bring the cash rate to 1.85 per cent in August.

“A 50 basis point rate increase will see the average Aussie homeowner forking out an additional $610 per month compared to what they were paying four months ago,” Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said.

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KOBA: Man saves more than 50 per cent on car insurance

KOBA: Man saves more than 50 per cent on car insurance

Cost of living pressures are continuing to hit many Australians hard, so when Liam Gayner realized he could slash his car insurance fees in half he jumped at the opportunity.

The father of one has two cars — the primary car, which his wife drives, and the less “flashy” secondary vehicle that he uses.

But because the family lives close to a train station in Perth, the secondary car only travels about 6000km per year and Mr Gayner realized he was paying a flat yearly rate for the vehicle that was costing too much.

Mr Gayner was previously paying $61.69 per month for his car insurance with CommInsure, but made the decision to go through all of the family’s finances to find ways to save some cash.

The 32-year-old realized by switching to pay-as-you-drive insurer KOBA, his fees would be slashed to just under $30 per month.

“I heard about KOBA because they were doing a crowdsource fundraiser,” he told NCA NewsWire.

“I had a look at the pricing structure and found for me it was a unique fit… I fall into their target audience, so I estimate that I’m going to drive about 6000km in a year.

“It ends up being just under $30, so it ends up being a bit over a 50 per cent saving.”

Mr Gayner recommends people do the “fairly boring thing” of reviewing all of their insurance, including life, house and health.

“I basically reviewed it all for my current situation because I think like most people, you set it up and then you forget about it,” he said.

“When I was sorting out my health insurance, it was back when I was at uni, I didn’t really care. I didn’t really understand it.

“Same with life insurance where it just gets chucked onto your superannuation and you’re not really aware that you’ve been docked that money the whole time for a policy that might not be relevant to you.

“For example, I’m an engineer by profession and there’s a couple of life insurance options out there that have special deals for your profession.”

Mr Gayner said for him the appeal of KOBA was that he could pay as he drove.

“I would have had to drive 25,000km a year to have the equivalent that I was paying on my previous account,” he said.

“We can decide that if we’re doing something on the weekend, or we’re going to go on a car trip, we take the wife’s car and leave my car at home.”

KOBA, which launched in November last year, has seen a 70 per cent surge in usage in the past month.

The company uses a small monitoring device that plugs into a user’s car and tracks their distance travelled.

It means that after paying a flat rate for parking insurance, they only pay for what they use.

“It might tell me I drove for nine minutes, 2.1km and it cost 11 cents in insurance. It’s that simple,” KOBA founder Andrew Wong said.

“In the current climate, it’s a great way for people to keep track of their insurance expenses because they can see the cost as it happens.”

Mr Wong said with many people still working hybrid weeks and using their cars less, traditional car insurance did not make sense.

“If you’re driving less and for shorter distances why should you be paying the same for car insurance as everybody else?” he said.

“We’re finding people are using their cars less since the pandemic. Some are still working from home a couple of days a week, others are taking advantage of borders reopening to fly overseas and see loved ones so their car is sitting there unused — and costing money.

“If you are driving 8000km or less a year it’s worth looking at switching over.”

The average car in Australia is driven just over 11,000km per year, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

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