This Month
Why the Qantas hack should send chills around corporate Australia
The lesson here isn’t that the airline failed – it’s that most Australian companies don’t yet have the visibility or capability to avoid the same fate.
Optus abandons independent consumer advocate after executive shake-up
The country’s second-largest telecoms group had pledged specialist support for customers after being accused of selling unneeded products to vulnerable people.
Telcos, government clash over mobile spectrum pricing
Australia’s biggest telcos want to pay billions of dollars less for their frequencies, but academics say they are being handed a finite resource on the cheap.
June
Nine buys Optus Sport assets including English Premier League
The deal means UK soccer will stream on the Stan Sport platform from August.
Optus to subsidise Premier League in multimillion-dollar Stan tie-up
The telecoms group will continue to pay money for the broadcast rights for years despite handing them to the Nine Entertainment-owned streaming service.
Optus sales staff sacked amid $100m fine for unconscionable conduct
The telco has accepted charges from the ACCC that it used overly aggressive sales tactics to push products on vulnerable and disadvantaged customers that they didn’t need.
Telstra beats Optus, TPG in launching satellite text messaging
The telecommunications group says its customers can now send texts in areas that have no mobile reception.
May
Harvard ban hits Aussies; Bonds may upend markets; End of the iPhone?
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Premier League turns into Optus’ biggest headache
The telecoms giant has broadcast the English Premier League for nearly a decade. That could all change in a matter of months, but it all depends on price.
Optus CEO focused on costs as profit rebounds
Optus boss Stephen Rue says the telco’s sports streaming platform remains important to customers, amid speculation it could be up for sale.
April
The ASX’s dual-listed giants are increasingly disappearing overseas
From Westfield to Amcor, investors fret that secondary local listings are “like a pre-paid funeral” and will inevitably go the way of Singtel with a delisting.
Aussie Broadband launches ‘aggressive’ push into mobile services
The challenger telco will use cheap plans to lure Telstra customers as it plots its most ambitious move into the $20 billion mobile market.
Cyberattack exposes Labor big super weakness
Cyber breaches and Donald Trump’s sharemarket rout have exposed further flaws in Labor’s compulsory super system and its union-aligned funds.
March
Hacker claims Oracle breach, sending business and agencies scrambling
Australia’s biggest companies rushed to check their systems after a hacker claimed to have stolen important credentials via tech giant Oracle.
After 43 years, local tech pioneer NetComm heads for the scrapheap
Modem maker NetComm Wireless was once a star of the local tech scene. But its Nasdaq-listed owner has filed for bankruptcy after a year of ownership.
Optus considers bundling sports streaming with mobile plans
The Singaporean-owned group has been weighing up whether to sell off its streaming business, which holds the broadcast rights to English Premier League matches.
Optus has had some horror years, but its new CEO is taking on Telstra
From overhauling the books at Melbourne Storm to war gaming the impact of COVID-19 on the NBN, Stephen Rue is a solutions guy. Optus is his next big challenge.
Former Woolworths chief Brad Banducci appointed ticketing group boss
The businessman will take over from long-serving CEO Geoff Jones, who will become chairman of the entertainment group owned by private equity firm Silver Lake.
Rising stars take lead by looking beyond the boys club
Tech high-fliers say look past its reputation for male domination, find a mentor and seek out roles with responsibility for managing profit and loss accounts.
AustralianSuper’s Indara reviews ‘smart city’ assets as losses mount
Australian Super’s loss-making telcoms tower business, Indara, is reviewing its troubled smart city infrastructure businesses as it searches for a new boss.