Following last week's announcement of cheaper mobile broadband plans for consumers, Telstra has rolled out changes to its rates for SME customers. There are also some new laptop hardware bundles.

Telstra has secured a contract to provide mobile, data and voice services to Queensland’s Hamilton Island holiday resort in a three-year deal worth $4.5 million.

Microsoft Online Services are now available through Telstra's T-Suite subscription service. This allows the use of Exchange, SharePoint and other services without the need to run your own servers.

Telstra and Microsoft have expanded on their strategic alliance, announced last November with the launch of a hosted IP telephony service integrated with Microsoft Office Communications Server that will enable end users to make calls direct from Microsoft applications such as Outlook, SharePoint and Office Communicator.

iTWire speculated last week that Optus could get into the business of offering applications to business customers under a SaaS model, and now Ovum has flagged this as growth market for telcos, saying that having a single ICT provider is on the majority of SMEs' wish-lists.

Comments by Optus on the findings of its 2009 IP Index survey suggest it could be planning to follow parent SingTel which recently launched a software as a service offering in Singapore based, according to Optus, on Google Apps.

A new software upgrade for Telstra customers using the Blackberry Bold means better coverage and higher speeds, particularly in rural areas. But will this change have a large impact, and how does Telstra's pricing compare to the other telcos, and its pricing for the iPhone 3GS?

BT has integrated Microsoft's online Office applications suite into its global network and plans to offer large enterprises access to these applications integrated with unified communications as a fully-hosted managed service.

The newly-formed Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has made its public debut with new CEO, Allan Asher, slamming Telstra's plan to charge for bill payments other than by direct debit.

Employees of Australian businesses are apparently spending far too much time chatting and messaging with their friends over social networks instead of doing their work, and their bosses have had enough.