Welcome to the second edition of engaged, keeping you informed on what’s been going on in a whirlwind few months for Telcoinabox. This year’s annual franchise conference, held in Sydney for the first time, was undoubtedly the highlight. To get the juicy details on the goings on during conference week read Tom Fry’s conference diary in this issue but suffice to say that every year we seem to raise the bar a little higher. This year, according to your feedback, was no exception. Featuring, for the first time, senior representation from our major suppliers not to mention detailed...

After arriving into the UK in early March and being given one of its only free things, the world’s worst flu, TIAB’s first international office didn’t exactly get off to a flying start. The ‘one or two’ Pommies in the Sydney office had warned me this may happen and all of a sudden my own memories of why I left here in the first place came flooding back. Just kidding Pommies, calm down. Since the initial ‘gift’ from Her Majesty the Queen though, TIAB UK has been moving in a much more positive direction and is now fully up and running. With only one Service...

This year’s conference, like so many conferences and road-shows before it, was a hearty mix of priceless information and drunken debauchery, hosted in the heart of Sydney’s Darling Harbour. With a wide range of speakers from all corners of the industry and beyond, no-one could have returned to work without picking up tips, hints, information and ideas to help succeed in the Telco world. Day 1 saw TIAB management and staff outlining ‘the year that was’ and what to expect in the year to come in terms of products, services, improvements and additions to the TIAB system. The...

Telcoinabox has a policy and commitment to our staff that we will always advertise new job positions internally to give our team members an opportunity to grow within our business, before opening the roles up to external agencies. We strongly believe that promoting within is one of the reasons that we have very little staff turnover, and our teams are committed and passionate about the business. Everyone, no matter their position within the business, is encouraged to be innovative and creative and their ideas are always listened to and implemented where possible. We invest a lot in our Telcoinabox...

Last year my brother-in-law attempted the 100km Oxfam trailwalk, and he said to me then, Tash next year you’ve got to do it, it’s the most amazing experience to be part of. My response back then was no thanks its not for me, there’s no way I can do something like that. Well little did I know myself. It all started with Damian coming home one day, saying very cautiously that for the next four months his weekends were going to be consumed with training for Oxfam which he was going to do with JJ Laura and Tom. My initial reaction was, “f*&%-off”! No way am I going...

Financial markets are in turmoil around the world, bank lending has been cut, consumer and business spending will fall, businesses will fail due to bad debt and poor cash flows. Most of the western world will experience varying levels of recession. The length and severity of this is difficult to predict as is the likely impact on Australia. As a country we are better placed compared to many of our western trading partners due to a strong mining and resources sector and just as importantly a strong banking/finance sector. In any case as business owners we must prepare for the worst without losing...

Such was the question posed at a recent seminar delivered by Ovum, one of the world’s largest telecoms and IT research companies, attended by Telcoinabox and a host of other companies involved in the wholesale telecommunications market. Luckily for us the picture painted by Ovum was a fairly positive one. The key message was that wholesale is no longer considered a dirty word and for the majority of carriers the wholesale telecommunications market has made (and is still making) the transition from being a “necessary evil” (i.e. something that had to be offered to satisfy the national...

If you were feverishly anticipating a cellphone this year, it was one of two phones: this is the other one. That's because the BlackBerry Bold is RIM's most powerful, polished handset ever. With 3G, a glossy new UI, a real web browser, serious hardware and an almost beautiful body, the Bold doesn't redefine the BlackBerry experience, but it does elevate to the highest point its ever been. Let's be clear: If you hate BlackBerry phones, you will still intensely dislike the Bold. As many coats of polish as RIM has thickly layered on the Bold, it is still a BlackBerry, with all of its suit-and-tie...