Methods of paying for goods and services via a mobile phone already exist, notably when it comes to premium SMS services which are often, but not exclusively, used for purchase of digital content. More advanced forms of mobile payment are now emerging.

In order to be abreast of the development curve and anticipate potential problems with emerging forms of mobile payment, the ACMA undertook this qualitative research study in order to obtain a better appreciation of the expectations of consumers and the possible need for consumer safeguards.

Teenagers, young adults and older persons — including parents — participated in focus group sessions in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia, and discussed a range of scenarios for the development of mobile payment.

As well as enabling the ACMA to better understand the potential benefits and problems associated with new mobile payment systems, the research also informs the ACMA in relation to the review of the Mobile Premium Services Code and contributes to the ACMA’s digital media literacy program.

Source: ACMA

The latest survey of the Australian Bureau of Statistics on internet activity found that there were 9.1 million active internet subscribers in Australia.

The figures are based on results from all ISPs operating in Australia with more than 1,000 active subscribers as at 31 December 2009.

Other highlights of the ABS survey:

• The phasing out of dial-up internet connections continued with nearly 90% of internet connections now being non dial-up.
• Australians also continued to access higher download speeds, with 62% of access connections having a download speed of 1.5Mbps or greater.
• Digital subscriber line (DSL) continued to be the major technology for connections, accounting for 51% of non dial-up connections. However, this percentage share has decreased since June 2009 when DSL represented 57% of non dial-up connections.
• Mobile wireless via a datacard, dongle or USB modem was the fastest growing technology in internet connections, increasing to 2.8 million in December 2009. This represents a 40% increase from June 2009.

Active subscribers are defined as subscribers who have accessed the internet or paid for access to the internet during the three months ending 31 December 2009.

Source:

According to the 2008-09 Multipurpose Household Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 72% of Australian households had home internet access and 78% of households had access to a computer.

The ABS survey also reported that between 1998 to 2008-09, household access to the internet at home has more than quadrupled from 16% to 72%, while access to computers has increased from 44% to 78%.

The number of households with a broadband internet connection increased by 18% from the previous year, to an estimated 5.0 million households. The ABS reported also cited that broadband is accessed by close to two-thirds (62%) of all households in Australia and 86% of all households with internet access.

The full text of the ABS report is found .

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) recently released the results of a Newspoll survey which ACMA commissioned to explore community attitudes to unsolicited telemarketing calls and electronic communications, and the awareness and effectiveness of the regimes that regulate these communications.

The entire report, all 79 pages are available for download at the as a pdf or a Word doc.

A copy of the report (in pdf) is also available for download at .

A summary of the main findings of the survey will be reported on this site within the next few days.