The carrier’s heavy promotion of aggressively priced wireless broadband and iPhone 3G plans has resulted in the network being overloaded with users, leading to widespread performance problems and frequent outages. The worst of the complaints have come from Sydney, where users have been forced to drop down to the inferior 2G network just so they can receive calls. But customers around the country are reporting problems including call dropouts and slow internet speeds.

Speeding, using a mobile phone while driving and dropping litter top the list of rules and regulations regularly flouted, a survey has found. Other laws often broken are eating while driving, parking on pavements and not wearing a seatbelt.

All four major record labels - Sony BMG, Universal, EMI and Warner - as well as a range of independent artists have signed on to the Vodafone MusicStation service, which will offer access to more than 1 million tracks and does not charge any fees aside from the weekly subscription cost.

Consumers increasingly want more sophisticated mobile handsets, and smartphone sales are expected to grow 52% this year compared to last year, according to Gartner. The firm adds that smartphone sales will reach over 700 million units, accounting for 65% of all handset sales. This will represent nearly $200 billion, Gartner said.

On a regular ComTel mobile plan without advertising, post-paid customers pay $29 a month for $130 worth of calls and messages. Under the new plans, if they are willing to accept five advertising messages a day the price is slashed to $10 a month.

The vast majority of people in Australia experiencing the iPhone 3G problems are Optus customers. Many have reported their experiences on the Fairfax MashUp blog, as well as local Apple community MacTalk.

The Swedish report said the most likely cause of the 3G problems is defective adjustments between the antenna and an amplifier that captures very weak signals from the antenna. This could lead to poor 3G connectivity and slower data speeds.

Users in Australia, Europe and the US have flooded online forums - including Apple’s own discussion boards - with complaints of poor reception, slow internet speeds and dropped calls. The poor reception - often displayed as one bar - and slow speeds are occurring in areas of good coverage and do not seem to affect other phones.

After losing all on-board electrical power, the pilot used his mobile phone to contact Cork airport, telling them about his problem and his intention to approach the airport from the sea. A quick-thinking air traffic controller then guided the aircraft in to a safe landing.

The final leg of Project Reitz, the telco’s ambitious program to consolidate its billing and customer relationship management systems, has stalled, as it has yet to finalise selection of software and systems integration suppliers to complete the project.