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Dimmi cooks up a storm with MasterChef partnership
5:16AM | Friday, 17 MaySydney-based restaurant booking website Dimmi has signed a three-year deal with much-loved reality cooking show MasterChef Australia, just one month after partnering with TripAdvisor. Founded in 2009 by Stevan Premutico, Dimmi is a real-time restaurant reservation and review website, which has partnered with more than 2,500 restaurants nationwide since its launch. Backed by Telstra and Village Roadshow, Dimmi has entered into high-profile partnerships with Google and TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website. The deal with Google allows Dimmi users to make restaurant reservations in Google Search and Google Maps for mobile, while travelers using the TripAdvisor website or app have access to real-time restaurant bookings. Dimmi has now added Channel Ten’s reality cooking show MasterChef Australia to its list of partners, after revealing it has entered into a three-year exclusive agreement with Shine 360. Shine 360 is the rights and brand management arm of Shine Australia, which produces MasterChef Australia. Viewers of MasterChef Australia 2013 will be able to make real-time reservations at restaurants featured on the show using Dimmi’s technology. Access to restaurant bookings via Dimmi will be integrated into the MasterChef website, which will act as a year-round online dining guide, allowing consumers to find and book restaurants. Dimmi saw an opportunity to partner with MasterChef following a surge in demand for restaurants featured on the show, which Premutico has dubbed “the MasterChef effect”. “What we were seeing was a spike in bookings for restaurants that went on air,” Premutico tells StartupSmart. “As soon as they’re on air… on TVs across the country, the results are a pretty phenomenal uplift in demand.” According to Dimmi, a number of restaurants featured on the show last year saw a 1,000% spike in bookings “literally within minutes”. “That’s not good for the restaurants because they get slammed and they can’t handle the bookings, and it’s not good for the diners,” Premutico says. “This partnership will ensure a much better experience for viewers and for restaurants by helping them better manage this demand.” Signing the deal with Shine 360 happened pretty quickly, says Premutico, who believes Dimmi has earned a name for itself by being “the number one player in the market”. “It was a 12-month process. We were able to start discussions as soon as MasterChef got off air [in 2012],” he says. “There’s a track history here in terms of brand reputation, and the fact that Telstra and Village Roadshow are shareholders in the business [helped us sign the deal].” Nick Love, managing director of Shine 360, said his company is “delighted” to partner with Dimmi and Network Ten. “[This partnership will] extend the MasterChef brand and experience beyond the television program, linking fans of the show, masterchef.com.au and diners with the restaurants and their chefs that help make MasterChef Australia great,” Love said in a statement. But Dimmi isn’t stopping there, with Premutico revealing the company is on the cusp of announcing another major partnership, although he refused to offer any details. “The big one we’ll be announcing next month. It’s the big patty of them all – it’s taken us four years to wrap this one up,” he says.
THE NEWS WRAP: Medicare levy increase could hurt retailers, Myer boss warns
5:11PM | Wednesday, 1 MayMyer chief executive Bernie Brooks has warned the Gillard government its proposed increase in the Medicare levy surcharge, which will fund the government’s national disability insurance scheme, could hurt retailers. “Another 0.5% on the Medicare levy is not good for our customers and not good for the discretionary income world, and ideally that's another one that may have an impact,” Brooks says. “Remember, a lot of our customers have equity portfolios, they've got superannuation and they get the bills each week, and suddenly the Medicare levy costs them another $300 from July next year. That's $300 they might have spent with us.” Vodafone nearly breached $3 billion loan agreement, was bailed out by UK parent Vodafone Hutchinson Australia came close to breaching a $3 billion loan agreement earlier this year, amid an exodus of subscribers, with the company bailed out by its UK-based parent, Vodafone Group. According to filings with the corporate regulator, VHA is in ongoing negotiations with the international banking syndicate after Vodafone Group paid $173 million. VHA also reported losses of $899 million for calendar year 2012, up from $420 million in 2011, with current liabilities now at $3.9 billion. Telstra adds 600,000 devices in less than one quarter Telstra has announced it has added 600,000 new devices to its 4G mobile network since announcing its half-yearly profit in February, with the total growing 1.5 million to 2.1 million devices in less than a quarter. The total includes 1.4 million handsets and 150,000 tablets, with the company counting each device as a “customer”. “We have continued revenue, profit and customer growth. Our strategic focus remains unchanged, and, most importantly, we are on track for full-year guidance,” says Telstra’s chief financial officer Mark Hall. Overnight The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.9% to 14701 points. The Aussie dollar is down to US102.76 cents.
THE NEWS WRAP: Gillard government preparing to unveil new levy and ad campaign
4:17PM | Tuesday, 30 AprilThe Gillard government is set to unveil a multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded advertising campaign, along with a new ‘Medicare-style’ levy to help fund the government’s $14 billion national disability insurance scheme. The new levy, set to begin next year, is expected to be set at 0.5% of income and raise $3.5 billion towards the federal government’s share of the scheme. Meanwhile, using the tagline “stronger, smarter, fairer”, the government’s new advertising campaign, in the lead-up to the September 14th election, will promote the Gonski school reforms, Medicare, the NDIS, Child Care Assistance, the NBN and 12% superannuation increase. BCA warns government has “lost control” of the budget Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott has lashed out at the federal government following the revelation earlier this week by Prime Minister Julia Gillard of a $12 billion black hole in the federal budget. “Let's be clear here – we don't have an economic problem, our economy is fundamentally strong. What we have is a budget management problem and it's a problem the government has had four years to address,” Westacott says. “Australia's fiscal problem was not created by the community. It was created through loss of control of fiscal strategy.” Telstra rolls out net promoter system to resellers Telstra has rolled out a net promoted system (NPS), which uses surveys to measure customers’ willingness to promote its brand, across its retail partner network. Under the system, Telstra franchisees are offered bonuses for reaching key customer satisfaction targets. “We've had a company-wide rollout of the net promoter system. Now NPS is both a system but also a cultural change and this has been one of the largest change programs that we've really ever undertaken in the country,” Telstra chief executive David Thodey said. Overnight The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.1% to 14839.8 points. The Aussie dollar is up to US103.7 cents.
THE NEWS WRAP: Gillard in showdown with states over Gonski
4:20PM | Sunday, 14 AprilPrime Minister Julia Gillard has announced plans to boost school funding by $14.5 billion over the next five years, with the federal government to contribute $9.4 billion while the states contribute the remaining third. However, while New South Wales appears keen to support the plan, the federal government has met opposition from the state governments of Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. “This model would see Western Australian students penalised because of this state's high level of investment in our schools. This investment in part recognises that some of our students are among the most vulnerable in the nation," WA Premier Colin Barnett said. Turnbull confident of Telstra deal Shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull says he is confident a Coalition government would be able to reach an agreement with Telstra over its alternative broadband policy. Announced last week, the Coalition’s policy would see fibre optic cables laid out to street cabinets, or nodes, with Telstra’s existing copper covering the final mile to subscribers’ homes. “Tension with government has never been good for Telstra shareholders. I am very confident that we'll achieve speedily the slight rearrangements to the agreements we're talking about,” Turnbull said. Private insurer attacks comparison sites over affordability Medibank Private managing director George Savvides has attacked health insurance comparison websites, claiming brokers drive up costs for consumers, ahead of a potential public listing. “[Comparison sites] haven't really changed the dynamics of affordability. In fact, I'd argue they're adding to costs because of the commission,” Savvides told Fairfax. The claim is disputed by iSelect chief executive Matt McCann, who believes the services also benefit insurance providers. “Those [funds] that don't participate in the comparison channel have found it hard to grow in this market. And for us, funds wouldn't use us if we weren't an efficient form of distribution for their products,” McCann said. Overnight The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.08 points to 14,865.06. The Aussie dollar is down to US105.05 cents
THE NEWS WRAP: Former Ford boss says death of Australian auto industry “inevitable”
4:15PM | Thursday, 11 AprilFormer Ford boss and BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser has lamented Australia’s lack of patriotism in the auto industry, claiming the closure of the Australian operations of either Holden, Ford or Toyota could spark a “domino effect” in our local auto industry. “The signs aren't good, and particularly when the car industry is reducing the number of engineers they have in the workforce. That's a leading indicator of a reduction in future programs and future technology,” Nasser said. “Let's assume one of the three decides to exit Australia in terms of manufacturing, then you end up potentially with a sub-scale supplier infrastructure and, once that happens, I think it's a domino effect. It would be a very sad day for Australia, but unfortunately it looks like it could be inevitable.” Coalition flags possible industrial relations changes Shadow workplace relations minister Eric Abetz has raised possible limits on the conditions unions could place in enterprise bargaining agreements as a possible Coalition industrial relations reform, with agreements limited to matters directly relating to the employment relationship. Senator Abetz has also attacked recent and proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act, including a proposal to introduce compulsory arbitration in long-running disputes. “You've got to wonder, if it was so important that compulsory arbitration not be a hallmark of the Fair Work regime in 2007 and 2008, what's changed? Unions threatening to withdraw election funding unless this extra change is fast-tracked?” Abetz said. Telstra to cut up to 55 jobs from its online media unit Telstra’s chief marketing officer Mark Buckman is heading up a review of the company’s digital media division that could see up to 55 jobs cut, according to The Australian. The aim of the review is to streamline the company’s focus around its three key media assets, including T-Box, exclusive digital music and sports content, as well as Foxtel, of which the telco giant owns 50%. “We think that if we focus on being a core partner for Foxtel in reselling Foxtel through Telstra, if we become the number one IPTV provider in the country and if we deliver the best and most compelling content in the digital content services business… we have the opportunity to be a leading player (in this space)," Mr Buckman said. Overnight The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.42% to 14,865.14. The Aussie dollar is up to US105.3 cents.
The Coalition’s NBN policy is a triumph of short-termism
4:31PM | Thursday, 11 April“The superfast broadband of the order of 100+ megabits per second (Mbps) and into the gigaspeed bracket is de rigueur for any nation purporting to be a developed and advancing economy.” – Phil Ruthven, “A Snapshot of Australia’s Digital Economy to 2050”, IbisWorld, June 2012. The Coalition should firstly be congratulated upon launching today a detailed, closely argued policy proposal on their alternative vision for the National Broadband Network and how it can be implemented “faster” and at less cost than the current NBN. Malcolm Turnbull has moved the Coalition light years – or at least several million fibre optic kilometres – from the Luddite criticisms thrown up by the Opposition during the 2010 federal election campaign. And today, with his party leader Tony Abbott, he has released a coherent policy five months in advance of the 2013 election, in contrast to the Opposition’s broadband policy release just three days ahead of the previous federal election, on 13 August 2010. That said, it was sad to see the number of debating tricks employed in launching his national broadband policy. There was the conflation of the government’s NBN policies mark I (2007) and mark II (2009), and the selective omission of the “externalities” in the rollout of the NBN — (particularly the long negotiations with Telstra and the business-model-changing interventions of the ACCC) — in order to trash the reputations of both NBN Co and the government, in failing to meet rollout targets announced in either 2007 or 2010. And there is the claim that the NBN, as a “government-owned telecom monopoly”, somehow inhibits retail competition. In contrast, the Australian telecommunications industry recognises that it has only been through part of the current government’s NBN policy — the structural separation of Telstra and the positioning of the NBN building blocks as wholesale resources available to all retailers on equal terms of usage — that will allow totally equitable retail competition in the supply of broadband. There was also Mr Turnbull’s claim that in choosing the cheaper FTTN (Fibre to the Node) option, rather than Fibre to the Home (FTTH), the Coalition is following world’s best practice. This political delusion – not shared widely within the telecommunications industry – was recently burst by independent journalist Stuart Corner’s article in the Telecommunications Journal of Australia, “The politics of speed”, where he found that “82% of investment in FTTX (FTTH or FTTN) in 2012-17 in the world’s developed countries is estimated to be in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)” – i.e. only 18% of that investment is destined for Mr Turnbull’s preferred FTTN. These debating points must be debunked because they are part of a smokescreen that portrays the current NBN as being needlessly gold-plated, incompetently managed, and ridiculously tardy in meeting Australia’s real needs for broadband – none of which I believe to be true. The reality is that we now have the chance to compare two policies pitched at different timescales of infrastructure need and use – and there are arguments in favour of both approaches. But we need to remember that, under both policies, there will be a world of difference between the timelines set in politicans’ election promises and the hard engineering realities of managing any project of such massive scale. Let me briefly compare the essential differences between the two policies. First, timescale. The current NBN is based upon meeting bandwidth needs, in the case of the lucky 93% with FTTH, for perhaps three decades beyond the rollout completion in 2021. (Just as the copper access network rolled out by the PMG in the 1950s was intended to last – and generally did last – for a further 50 years.) The current NBN’s vision satisfies two key drivers. The first is the need for Australia to grow its digital economy, as the only likely growth sector that can complement, and ultimately overtake, the mining industry. The Ibisworld report, from which I have quoted above, lays out a well-argued scenario in which by 2050 some 20% of the national GDP will be generated by the digital economy – if it is underpinned by ubiquitous high-speed broadband. The digital economy is already a larger employer than the mining industry, and it has the advantages of providing a much greater diversity of highly paid, high-value jobs, which can be teleworked virtually across Australia – given enough access bandwidth. The second driver is the inexorable historical growth in telecommunications access rates, which has been exponential since the 1950s – see the attached graph from Rod Tucker’s 2010 article, “Broadband facts, fiction and urban myths”. Rod Tucker (2010) This exponential growth prediction, which is the telecommuncations industry’s equivalent to Moore’s Law for computing, continues to get empirical support – for instance, Google is currently trialling 1 gbps applications in Kansas City. Story continues on page 2. Please click below. The current NBN policy is predicated upon building the major infrastructure – the network infrastructure – only once, and its lasting for decades. For this reason, the current NBN policy must be seen as being far more future-proof than the alternative policy. Optical fibre, already capable of supporting bandwidths in terabytes per second, is considered to have a lifeteime of 40 to 60 years. (A caveat is that the new satellites to be launched in 2015 to support the 3% of homes in remote areas will probably need to be replaced in 15 to 20 years. The fixed radio technology supporting 4% of premises can be replaced or upgraded much more cheaply, but should last a good 20 years without upgrades.) If the current NBN policy is predicated upon providing international competitive advantage to Australia over several decades, the Coalition’s NBN policy can be fairly categorised as a more cost-effective catch-up across Australia of the bandwidth that most households need now, in two stages. Firstly, within the parliamentary term ending in 2016, their plan aims to universally match the 25 Mbps “bar” now set by NBN Co’s fixed radio technology, announced two months ago (an impressive doubling of the previously planned 12 Mbps download speed, due to improvements in radio technology). In a second stage, to be completed by 2019, they aim to provide 50 Mbps minimum access speed to all FTTN and FTTH premises. This is an excellent aim for a cost-effective short-term (six year) plan. However, in many cases, the proposed new FTTN technology intended for use in 71% of premises will not reach this speed in areas of low copper reticulation (British Telecom’s solution in the UK requires the use of two pairs of copper per house connected, which is not universally available here), or in areas of ageing or particularly water-prone copper cables (a frequent situation). The Coalition’s solution is to provide FTTH in these exceptional cases. Without access to their business plan, one cannot see if they have factored in enough cases to affect their budget. Four quick points in conclusion. Firstly, the Coalition has minimised the likelihood of any rural backlash by basically leaving the current NBN plan intact in rural areas. Secondly, it has not (at the time of writing) released its estimate of the cost of paying Telstra to maintain in working condition the copper network that will link its new FTTN cabinets to customer premises. There is reason to believe that the Coalition will have significantly underestimated this. Thirdly, the Coalition has behaved extraordinarily like the Gillard government did in 2010 in building an investment case for the NBN that fails to factor in the real benefits to the nation’s GDP, such as to the digital economy – let alone attempting to “capitalise” the benefits of social inclusion through facilitating universal broadband access. Instead, the Coalition’s proposal reads like an engineering investment case alone – an impression reinforced by Mr Abbott’s statement today that his NBN, unlike the current one, will provide “a real commercial return”. Given all the cherry-picking that their NBN policy will allow to private developers, free at last to directly compete with the NBN’s access infrastructure wherever they can make a profit, there is good reason to think that the Coalition’s NBN will, as a result, inevitably operate at a loss. Lastly, the Coalition makes much ado about saving taxpayers' money through reducing the scope and scale of the NBN. In fact, the only taxpayers' money saved would seem to lie in lower interest payments made by Treasury in the period before the NBN breaks even – in a period of historically low interest rates. These savings need to be offset by the loss to the economy of all the construction jobs associated with FTTH – the most labour-intensive part of the current rollout. Peter Gerrand is an Honorary Professorial Fellow in telecommunications at the University of Melbourne. This article first appeared on The Conversation.
Australia’s broadband future: The Labor and Coalition plans compared
4:48AM | Wednesday, 10 AprilAbove: Shadow communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull. After months of general barbs aimed at the National Broadband Network, the federal Coalition has finally unveiled its alternative broadband vision for Australia. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and shadow communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull (pictured above) said that the Coalition would provide “very fast broadband, sooner, cheaper” to the Australian public. Turnbull said that the plan – which would provide 25 megabits per second, much slower than Labor’s alternative – was “consistent with the best practice around the world”. However, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the Coalition plan “fails miserably” and only the NBN would provide the high-speed broadband Australian business and consumers need. Despite the fact many Australian small businesses are lagging behind with their own web presence, economists have consistently pointed to the benefits of fast broadband. Figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that consumers aren’t hanging around – there were 12.2 million internet subscribers in Australia at the end of December 2012, a 5% annual increase. There were a further mobile six million wireless broadband connections. So how do the two plans stack up? StartupSmart explains all. Labor’s plan What is it? The National Broadband Network How will it work? Expected to roll out over the next 10 years, the NBN aims to hook up more than 3.5 million homes and businesses by the end of 2015, with the eventual goal of 100% coverage of high-speed broadband. For 93% of Australians, the current copper network is to be completely replaced with optical fibre all the way from the exchange to the premises, a configuration called fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP). The next 4% get fixed wireless connections, and the most remote 3% get satellite links. All this is being run by NBN Co, a wholly government-owned company, which will be sold after completion. Last month, NBN Co admitted it was running three months behind schedule. How fast will it be? Up to 100 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload. What will it cost? The government says $44 billion. The Coalition says more than $90 billion. Conroy says the Coalition figure is a “false claim”. What they say about it Nick Ross, ABC Technology: “Based on all the existing evidence, the Coalition's claims regarding the technology simply don't stand up to scrutiny. If for some reason it turns out they do, then they need to explain why just about every expert on the matter has got it so wrong.” Conroy: "The only way NBN Co won't make a return is if the Coalition is elected." Turnbull: “The NBN will continue to roll out but we will do so in a cost-effective manner, in particular in built-up areas." The Coalition’s plan What is it? Essentially, it is the same as the National Broadband Network, with a few significant tweaks. How will it work? The NBN rollout will essentially continue, but for most Australians, it will mean fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) – fibre from the exchange to kerbside cabinets no more than about 800 metres from customer premises, and using the existing copper for the last segment. Telstra’s copper network will be purchased for this purpose. The Coalition policy document states: "Suburbs, regions, towns and business districts with the poorest services and greatest need for upgrades will receive first priority." How fast will it be? Slower than the NBN. There will be a download data rate of between 25 and 100 megabits per second by late 2016 and between 50 and 100 megabits per second by 2019. What will it cost? The Coalition has the plan costed at $29 billion including $20 billion of capital expenditure. What they say about it Stilgherrian, technology writer: “The Coalition's core point is that while FTTP can certainly deliver faster broadband, and is the technology for the long-term, they can deliver a clear improvement for more Australians sooner and cheaper by being more flexible.” Turnbull: "[25 megabits per second] will enable anybody in residential situations to do everything they want to do or need to do in terms of applications and services, and is six times faster than the average speed people are getting right now.” Conroy: "If you understand broadband, if you understand that it is being used for more applications that require more bandwidth every single day, then you know that Malcolm Turnbull's network is a fail. "Malcolm Turnbull is going to build a one-lane Sydney Harbour Bridge because he says he can do it cheaper and faster."
THE NEWS WRAP: Gillard facing internal divisions over 457 visas
3:32AM | Friday, 15 MarchPrime Minister Julia Gillard is facing increasing divisions within Caucus over 457 visas, including accusations of xenophobia from some of her MPs.
“How we raised funds pre-development”: SpotJobs co-founder tells
3:31AM | Monday, 4 MarchAnother new niche job site, SpotJobs, is preparing for its national media launch next month, having already received seed funding and office space from residential builder Simonds Homes.
THE NEWS WRAP: Telstra won’t renegotiate NBN deal under an Abbott government
3:37AM | Friday, 15 MarchTelstra chief executive David Thodey has ruled out renegotiating its $11 billion NBN compensation deal with a future Coalition government.
Sacked Sensis staff welcomed by new tech start-up
2:51AM | Monday, 25 FebruaryThe chief executive of Melbourne-based tech start-up Miiy has offered to find positions for retrenched Sensis staff within his company, which is developing a range of business services.
THE NEWS WRAP: Telstra says customer service will improve through outsourcing
3:43AM | Friday, 15 MarchTelstra claims its customers will receive better customer service after Australian call centre jobs in its Sensis advertising and directories business are outsourced to India and the Philippines.
Businesses highlight their sales strategies for Valentine’s Day
2:21AM | Tuesday, 12 FebruaryNew research shows loved-up couples intend to celebrate Valentine’s Day by eating out, with spending expected to surge by 8%, while romantic getaways are also high on the agenda.
Can you fake being a start-up?
1:55AM | Thursday, 31 JanuaryI was reading recently that Telstra is setting up a specialist arm that will focus exclusively on developing new mobile apps.
Telstra vows to maintain start-up mindset for new apps unit
3:24AM | Monday, 11 MarchTelstra has created a new unit dubbed Global Applications and Platforms, vowing to operate the mobile apps business as a start-up, but with the financial backing to make acquisitions.
The ultimate company culture tour: Zappos in Las Vegas
3:33AM | Friday, 15 MarchI was privileged to go on a tour of the Zappos headquarters in Las Vegas last May 2012. You can check out the official tour here.
Tapit Media looks to global stage after raising $2.3 million
3:45PM | Sunday, 10 MarchSydney-based tech start-up Tapit Media plans to take its near field communications technology (NFC) to the global stage, after completing a $2.3 million Series A round led by MPC Ventures.
Kogan becomes a telco, targets dissatisfied customers with prepaid SIMs
3:36AM | Monday, 11 MarchInternet entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan is once again expanding his bulging online empire, this time moving into telecommunications, with his company now selling pre-paid 3G cards for use with smartphones and tablets.
IT innovator among Telstra Business Women’s Award winners
3:33AM | Monday, 11 MarchThe founder of an IT consultancy and an accountant turned psychologist are among the winners of the 2012 Telstra Business Women’s Awards, which saw muesli queen Carolyn Creswell take out the top prize.
THE NEWS WRAP: Health food entrepreneur Carolyn Creswell takes out Business Woman of the Year crown
3:34AM | Monday, 11 March‘Muesli queen’ Carolyn Creswell has been named the Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year at an awards ceremony last night, 20 years after spending $1,000 to get her venture up and running.
