NEWS BITES
‘Dead’dataisawaste
I
fit’sbeenafewyearssince
you last changed your mobile
phoneplan,themarketasitis
today may surprise you. The
telcos are throwing data at us,
encouragingustodomore–watchmore,listen
more,playmore–andfillingplanstothebrim
withinternetdata.Thethingis,pricesarecreeping
up in line with these generous increases.
The difference in price between the various
phoneplantierstendstobebetween$10and
$20amonth.Thismaysoundlikesmallchangeto
some but it adds up to several hundred dollars over
a two-year contract. And the kicker is that every
dollar you spend on data you don’t use
disappears. You can’t donate your spare
datatocharityorhanditdowntofamily.
Youcan’tstockpileitforarainyday.It
isliterallymoneyspentonnothing.
So before you rush out to buy a
newiPhone,takeamomenttofigure
out which plan is right for you. Then,
stickthemoneyyousaveinasavings
accountforyourkids,orgooutfora
fancy dinner. Turn the money you’d have
spent on nothing into something.Joseph Hanlon, publisher, WhistleOutInternet service provider TPG
Telecom recently unveiled plans
to build a new billion-dollar
mobilenetworktocompetewith
Telstra, Vodafone and Optus.
The company plans to spend
close to $600 million to roll out
the network over three years
and hopes to provide coverage to
around 80% of the population.Randwick City Council in Sydney’s
eastern suburbs has entered into an
agreement with Cbus Property to
create an affordable housing precinct.
“Newmarket Randwick” will include
a minimum of 10 affordable apartments
which will be available for rent or
purchase for very low to moderate
income earners. The development is
expected to be completed by early 2021.Colonial First State Asset
Management has announced
the launch of a new high-yield
team to add to its global fixed-
income business. The team of
five investment professionals
will manage dedicated sub-
investment-grade corporate
bond portfolios and will work
closely with Colonial First
State’s other fixed-income teams
around the world.The amount Aussies spend on average each
month on going to work, according to ING Direct.
Thebiggestexpenseistravel,atanaverageof
$179amonth,followedbylunches($129)
and childcare ($123). Coffees and energy
drinks, work clothes, the cost of
lookinggoodandcarparking
make up the rest.$