ACMA - ACMAsphere 2009 issues

ACMAsphere, ACMA's monthly newsletter, is full of the latest news and activities in the ever-merging fields of broadcasting, the internet, radiocommunications and telecommunications.

Cover	Details
	Issue 48 - December 2009 The 11th annual ACMA–ITU International Training Program, held in Melbourne in the first week of December, attracted high-level regulators and officials from 34 countries. This issue reports on the successful event, which put the Australian regulatory regime firmly in the international spotlight as a benchmark for innovation. The program attracted leading international guest speakers including Dr Eun-Ju Kim, Head of the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, COO, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, plus a number of keynote local speakers. In other news, we report on the ACMA’s organisational restructure, which came into effect on 1 December. The restructure was designed to bring additional focus to several key tasks that presently face the ACMA while maintaining its commitment to regulate increasingly convergent industries. This issue also features a report on the 2009 Communications and Policy Research Forum, which was held at the University of Technology Sydney in November. Several ACMA staff presented research on a range of subjects including barriers to effective use of digital media and communications, the social networking behaviour of young people and Australians’ use of media and communications technologies. Download issue 48 (PDF 2.28 mb) or HTML
	Issue 47 - November 2009 In this issue we report on the release of the Adult digital media literacy needs report, commissioned to assist the ACMA to understand why a significant number of Australian adults are non- or limited users of digital media, specifically the internet and the mobile phone. In other news, the ACMA continues its fight against cyberbullying with the release of the short film Let’s Fight It Together. Targeted at teenagers, the resource aims to equip students with strategies to avoid cyberbullying and encourages them to get help if it has occurred. This month the ACMA also extended its successful Cybersafety Outreach education program with the launch in October of a new pilot for pre-service teachers. Issue 47 also covers the release of a discussion paper by the ACMA proposing simplified licensing procedures that would apply to remote Indigenous broadcasting services known as ‘RIBS radio’. The issue called for submissions on the paper, which are due by 5.00 pm EST on Friday 20 November 2009. Download issue 47 (PDF 2.41 mb) or HTML
	Issue 46 - October 2009 This issue reports on the ACMA’s campaign to eradicate unacceptable practice in the mobile premium services industry through the implementation of a new suite of measures to monitor compliance with the Mobile Premium Services Code. The issue also calls for comment on proposed new rules for premium SMS/MMS barring, a regulation designed to complement the code. In other news, the ACMA’s third Spectrum Tune-Up seminar will be held on 18 November in Melbourne. The issue introduces the seminar and includes an agenda for the day. Dates for RadComms2010 are also announced in this issue. In addition, the public and industry are invited to comment on possible changes to regulatory arrangements for VHF marine radio used by recreational boaters as outlined in the recently released discussion paper VHF Marine Radio Operator Qualification Arrangements—Non-Commercial (Recreational) Vessels. Download issue 46 (PDF 1.29 mb) or HTML
	Issue 45 - September 2009 In this issue we report on the release of the new Children’s Television Standards 2009 for commercial television, following a comprehensive review to ensure their continued relevance and effectiveness. The new standards replace the current Children’s Television Standards 2005 and will come into operation on 1 January 2010. In other news, we celebrate the launch of a new cyberbullying episode of Hector’s World™ by ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman at Birchgrove Primary School in Sydney. Mr Chapman was joined by Liz Butterfield, Managing Director of Hector’s World Ltd, at the launch, where guests were treated to a special presentation of the Hector’s World cyberbullying song by Class 1F. This issue also features the ACMA’s call for submissions from the public and the industry in their investigation into the adequacy of community safeguards for live hosted entertainment programs on commercial radio. The investigation comes after recent public concern in relation to an episode of the Kyle and Jackie O Show, broadcast by 2DayFM. Download issue 45 (PDF 754 kb) or HTML
	Issue 44 - August 2009 This issue celebrates the launch of the ACMA’s new Compliance guide for the Do Not Call Act. The compliance guide is designed to help telemarketers comply with the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and was developed through insight gained from consultation with telemarketers, as well as information collected in ACMA investigations into non-compliance. Other news includes TEN’s captioning breach in the coverage of the Inauguration of President Obama, the joining of the ACMA and the NZ Department of Internal Affairs in the fight against spam, and coverage of a new ACMA research report that highlights the way that digital media is embedded in the lives of young children well before they start school. This issue also covers the first civil penalty matter to be heard under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA), in which the Federal Court of Australia ordered Radio 2UE Sydney Pty Ltd to pay penalties totalling $360,000 for breaching a condition of its broadcasting licence. Download issue 44 (PDF 754 kb) or HTML
	Issue 43 - July 2009 This issue celebrates the launch of the ACMA’s new Cybersmart website by Senator the Hon. Stephen Conroy at Beth Rivkah Ladies College in Melbourne. The new website is an important part of the Australian Government’s Cybersmart education program, which aims to empower Australian children and young people to be smart online and to become good digital citizens. Other news includes updates in fighting the Conficker worm, collaboration between the ACMA and industry to develop a voluntary E-Security Code of Practice, and release of a research report with positive findings about the satisfaction of Australians with their communications services. In this issue we also welcome you to our new look for ACMAsphere, which can be viewed in the pdf version on these web pages. The new design is part of release of the new ACMA brand launched publicly 29 June 2009. We hope you like it, and welcome your comments. Download issue 43 (PDF 721 kb) or HTML
	Issue 42 - June 2009 In this issue we report on the success of the third annual RadComms09 conference and the positive results from ACMA’s first Client and Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey. Also in this month’s news, ACMA is to release a compliance guide to help telemarketers comply with the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 in industry events in July. ACMA developed the compliance guide through consultation with industry and information gathered through investigations into non-compliance. New research from ACMA this month includes a final report on financial hardship requirements for carriage service providers, and Australia in the Digital Economy Report 2: Online Participation, which explores the factors influencing online participation by Australians. Download issue 42 (PDF 2.27mb) or HTML
	Issue 41 - May 2009 The switchover to digital television will involve significant change in Australia’s broadcasting technical infrastructure and complex regulatory challenges. We present in this issue an edited version of the speech about ACMA’s role in switchover given by ACMA Chair, Chris Chapman, at the recent Get Ready for Digital TV Conference. We also invite the public and industry to comment on a number of current spectrum issues: planning for the use of radiofrequency spectrum in the 400 MHz band; proposed changes to pricing for this band; and a review of of technical frameworks for spectrum licensing. Other news includes a new awareness campaign aimed to improve the real estate industry’s compliance with spam and do not call legislation, and the release of ACMA reports on technology trends and online safety. Download issue 41 (PDF 1.34 mb) or HTML
	Issue 40 - April 2009 This issue we bring news about the new contract signed between ACMA and the Wireless Institute of Australia for amateur radio services, and outline the future policies and strategies for spectrum management, including publication of key elements in ACMA’s decision-making framework, the Principles for Spectrum Management and the Five-year Spectrum Outlook 2009–13. We report on the warning given to Westpac for calling numbers on the Do Not Call Register, and include a public warning about a hoax Do Not Call email whose wide circulation caused a jump in new registrations of mobile phone numbers. The public and industry are invited to comment on the use and management of shared numbers, and finally, we feature the role of ACMA’s world class High Frequency Monitoring and Investigation facility in Tasmania in giving help to the coordination of relief efforts by Queensland’s State Emergency Services in the recent floods in far north Queensland. Download issue 40 (PDF 1.31 mb) or HTML
	Issue 39 – March 2009 This issue reports on the first enforceable undertakings that ACMA has accepted from commercial television licensees—to ensure that the Nine Network and WIN Corporation correctly classify Underbelly and the range of programs featuring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The agenda is released for the RadComms09 conference agenda to be held in Sydney on 29 and 30 April 2009, and news is shared about Safer Internet Day 2009 which ACMA marked on 10 February with the launch of Cybersmart Detectives and a Cybersafety Badge on the children’s social network website SuperClubsPLUS. Other news includes the release of the research report Australian’s Take-Up and Use of Voice Communications Services and information about the annual numbering charges in 2009. Download issue 39 (PDF 3.2 mb) or HTML
	Issue 38 – February 2009 Safety and security are themes in this first issue of ACMAsphere for 2009. National Consumer Fraud Week (2–8 March) will promote awareness in the community about scams and fraud. ACMA announces sponsorship of the Screen IT competition for budding school-aged filmmakers developed by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, with this year’s theme being ‘Cybersmart—Constructing Online/Personal Identity’. News about ACMA initiatives that are increasing telco compliance with the DNCR Register, and about recent spam enforcements on SMS marketing round out the consumer focus of this issue. There’s news here too of the Get Ready for Digital TV Conference coming up on 30–31 March. Download issue 38 (PDF 943 kb) or HTML