Click below to
find interesting
information from our
November 2011
newsletter
relating to:
Roaming
Travel
Mobile phones
Roaming
But I
didn't
even
use
my
phone...
Many
travellers are
aware of the
(financial)
dangers of using
data services
when roaming
overseas. What
they may not
realise is how
much data their
smart-phone can
use while being
idle, and the
unwary traveller
can come home to
an enormous bill
as a result.
We
performed an
experiment by
having a modern
smart-phone
(Android in this
case, although
iPhones are
similar) with a
typical set of
installed apps
and simply
not using it
(for calls,
browsing etc)
for a week,
whilst running
an application
that measured
the data usage.
The results
were astounding,
with over 185MB
of data used
during the week.
If you were
roaming with
Optus, that
would incur
around $3,700 in
roaming data
charges while
the phone is
otherwise idle.
Save more on
roaming,
use our vSIM
post-paid
alternative.
Travel
Noise-cancelling
headphones
Some
travellers
have
known
for
years of
the
benefits
of
active
noise-cancelling
headphones.
Aircraft
engines
and
airflow
produce
high
levels
of
background
noise.
Active
noise-cancelling
headphones
have a
microphone
that
detects
the
cabin
noise
and
"subtract"
it from
the
program
you are
listening
to,
dramatically
cutting
the
noise.
They
even work
without a
program to
listen to, so
you can wear
them just to get
some peace and
quiet.
They do have
drawbacks -
specifically
that they
require
batteries to
run, and if you
sleep you cannot
turn your head
to the side
(otherwise
you'll be lying
on them).
If that's the
way you want to
sleep on a
plane, either
use bud-type
(iPod or
similar) in-ear
headphones
(which let more
noise through),
or a pair of 3M
foam ear plugs
(by far the
cheapest
option).
Mobile phones
Swapping your
mobile network
This week the
telecommunications
industry
celebrated 10
years of Mobile
Number
Portability in
Australia (MNP).
The
Communications
Alliance
congratulated
the industry on
its
collaboration in
putting in place
the world’s best
practice mobile
number
portability
scheme. Since
its launch on 25
September 2001,
Mobile Number
Portability in
Australia has
ensured that
Australians can
more easily
choose the
mobile provider
they want, and
retain their
current mobile
number. Prior to
the scheme,
mobile customers
could not retain
their mobile
number if they
switched mobile
providers.
Almost 11
million mobile
ports (switches)
have taken place
under MNP over
the past 10
years, with an
average of
100,000 ports
per month
occurring today.
Australia (along
with a few
Scandinavian
countries) led
the world in
freeing up
telecoms
competition in
this way, and
indeed in some
ways still does,
with ports
taking only a
few minutes
rather than
several days or
weeks as is
common elsewhere
(although New
Zealand is
reputed to port
numbers in a
matter of
seconds). A rare
instance of
success in
telecoms
regulatory
history.
To
subscribe
to our
Newsletter
click
here
