Slashdot Mirror
AU Mobile Operator Optus Blocking Paid Android Apps
APC Magazine details how Optus, an Australian mobile phone operator, has for months been deliberately blocking access to Android paid apps. "Optus is the exclusive Australian mobile carrier for the HTC Dream and Samsung Galaxy Android phones, and yet people who signed a long-term contract for these phones have to date been blocked from buying paid Android apps and getting the full Android experience. ... APC found many angry and frustrated comments on the Whirlpool community forums by Optus & Virgin Mobile customers." The article speculates, reading between the lines of the opaque comments offered by both Optus and Google, that the carrier is "demanding a cut of the sales revenue from Android apps if it is to remove its restriction on accessing them."
I can't find the answer easily in the articles but I wonder if it would be possible to mirror or proxy the app store. Presumably it uses an http url. Is there an http proxy setting in android?
http://michaelsmith.id.au
I ask myself this:
1) What fraction of Google's global Android paid-apps revenue could Optus/AU represent?
2) What fraction of Google's global Android paid-apps revenue could be lost if a payoff precedent is set?
3) What fraction of Android users will sit salivating in the window, deprived of the full benefit of their hardware, just to remain Optus customers, while their friends on other ISPs are not restrained?
4) What right does an access provider have to block legal access by their customers. By what argument are their customers *not* being deprived of they kind of access for which they are paying? This is as much a question of user perception as local legal technicalities, but it sounds like Optus has been thinking in terms of the latter.
Seriously. I've ditched Optus around about 1998, and haven't looked back. Vodafone care a heck of a lot more about their customers; for example, they're just about the only telco I know of that allows tethering on the iPhone. Very handy!
My point is, does anyone expect anything else from the likes of Floptus and Telescum?
http://www.zombieapocalypse.tv/
google can very easily crush Optus by blocking all access from Australia to all google services and just post a "here's why!" link.
Optus is lucky google doesnt play the evil card.
I bet it is not the customers
Who would have known? You can be more evil than US cell phone carriers.
born of its original monopoly status.
That would be an interesting premise, considering that Optus was the first "new" carrier allowed to operate in Australia after the privatisation of Telecom.
Their catchphrase/tagline, by the way, is "Yes". Guess that doesn't apply to Android apps.
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
I won't be getting my Android phone from Optus then
If the summary is indeed correct about optus being a "mobile carrier" (yeah, big IF, i know), then couldn't you just install/download the apps via wifi?
I know it's more convenient to do it via 3g, but it's not like they are not able to install them at all.
Indeed. Given the punitive contract clauses all the telcos enforce when customers change providers, it'll be Optus who wins. Actually, we might as well use $TELCO, since ALL of these operators in Australia have a smelly name when it comes to customer complaints. If the others aren't using similar methods to gouge their customers, it's only because they haven't thought of it yet.
So this is different from how you can't get paid apps from the Android Market in Canada, Sweden and such? Or are the restrictions in those markets the result of malice, too, instead of incompetence or laziness?
--srj/mmv
Why do we get shafted? Because the general populous are fucking morons
...
If you can tell me one thing the Australian populace can do about predatory telcos, then let's hear it.
??
Thought so.
There's certainly not a damn thing ANY of the political parties in Government have any intention of doing.
For an Australian phone company only one thing can haemorrhage money faster then negative publicity and that's a visit from the ACCC.
The question is does the ACCC think this is worth their time.
Telstra was the monopoly, born of Telecom Australia when it was privatised in the 90's. Optus was the first new, entirely private telco, Optus is majority owned by Singtel (Singapore). Our government, when privatising our telecommunication infrastructure had the wisdom and foresight to put in place good regulation to prevent a US style balkanisation.
Not withstanding that there are only three mobile network providers in Australia, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone/Hutchinson Australia. All others are MNVO's and/or subsidiaries using one of the three networks, on the plus side I can get access to all three networks in all major population area's and Australian telco regulations allow me to roam for no cost (calls and texts only).
We've always had a good measure of power, via the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) but the TIO's mandate is they can only act on violations of regulations, codes/standards of practice, laws or terms of service/contacts. It's a black cheque that says to the telco's if you screw with your customers we'll screw with you and good.
Up until Voda/Three released the Magic, the majority of Android handsets came in from overseas using our grey import laws. A lot of them still do given the strength of the AUD vs the EUR and GBP.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
It was created by a knave of a Federal Government who thought they could introduce competition into the Australian Telecommunications market (then controlled by Telstra aka Telecom) by regulating to introduce just *one* competitor: Optus. The idea was that Telstra and Optus would fight each other with lower prices and better service. Instead both just sat on their hands and a monopoly became a cozy duopoly. Even though the market was opened up, these two fat, lazy and arrogant companies still dominate the market.
Optus has been a terrible teleco ever since inception. Its broadband packages are amongst the worst in the country. It's offerings are overpriced and plagued with poor service. They're arrogant to boot: Whenever they do screw up their PR is terrible. They're unethical too (which is to say they're criminal, but being a big company with good lawyers mean you can break the law with a slap on the wrist at worst case).
Like this one: Incredible, but Optus conspired to have phone sex calls made by aussies to International Numbers *diverted to their own phone sex partner!* That's right, when you saw Hot Monica advertizing at 2AM on Channel 10 and called, your call was diverted from the advertizer and ended up fattening Optus's profits. Sounds as illegal as hell. Yes: This is Australia's #2 Teleco:
"In an earlier case, Justice Robert McDougall was much harsher with Bragg, saying he had no regard for the truth, except for when it suited him. In this case Optus was forced to pay millions to Gilsan after it was found to have skimmed money from Gilsan by under-reporting the number of minutes porn clients were on the phone so Optus could take home a larger share of the profits."
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.dcom.telecom/browse_thread/thread/37a2629cd46244a0
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2009/01/05/1231003882552.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t28492.html
Google for "optus sucks" and equally "telsta sucks" and you will see many links.
So I'm not saying that what Optus is doing is right, but can't ppl get paid apps if they use wifi instead of the gprs or 3g or edge or what ever they have in Australia?
I got a Motorola cliq from T-mobile and wasn't able to add a data plan to my phone right away but was able to use WiFi to install anything I wanted from the Market. Do those phones not have WiFi? Once again I'm not saying that it is right what the phone company is doing, but maybe there hasn't been a huge negative reaction because it is pretty simple to get around the block.
"It's because they're stupid, that's why. That's why everybody does everything." -Homer Simpson
Wait one freaking minute! That 30% google is so kindly taking off each one of my sales was supposed to go back to the telecommunication company anyways to "pay for the bandwidth required to supply my app".
WTF Slashdot, why do I have to login 50 times to post?
They are a Bell in their own right ie Singtel.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Wifi with an Optus SIM won't give you access to the paid market? That sucks. Glad I'm with vodafone.
I can only assume that to block access to paid apps requires blocking part of the internet, which would put them in violation of trade description act. It might also impute denial of them being a common carrier, with loss of the protections that that confers.
-- newall
I have Android phone in NZ and the paid apps were unavailable for months on the Vodafone network, even with after market firmware which should have enabled paid apps. For a long while Vodafone could not provide any information when asked about this. This was/has also been occuring in China South Africa, Ireland, Brazil, Israel, Switzerland, and a few other countries. However the reasons vary and one should not attribute to malice what could be attributed to red tape (um.. same thing?).
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
I have already blacklisted Optus for other reasons (including their crappy ads and the fact that at the time I was looking, they didnt include data in their caps but Vodafone did) and this block is even more reason not to purchase anything through these idiots (their fixed line and internet services arent any better either)
I don't know what kind of contract the Optus victims customers have, but if I got an Android phone through Optus and they're intentionally blocking Android services, then I'd definitely consider that breach of contract. In form them of that, get a new sim-only contract elsewhere, and stop paying the old contract.
Or sue them. This sounds deserving of a class action suit.
Aren't people already paying for the data plan through Optus? Sounds like a case of double dipping to me. While not illegal in this case, sure is shady.
-]Phreak Out[-
lol funny so Singtel wasn't ever a monopoly?
Besides my point, in any case.
expandfairuse.org
Optus is Singtel who was to Singapore what Telecom was to Australia. They do have experience being a monopoly carrier, just not here.
Customer buys paid apps. Customer uses more data through paid apps. Customer pays for data use. More customers start buying data plans to be able to buy and use paid apps.
Telco bans paid apps. Customers can't get paid apps. Data use significantly reduced. Less paying for data use. Less customers buy data plans.
the majority of Android handsets came in from overseas using our grey import law
What 'grey import laws' are you referring to? I was planning to get my next phone in a similar fashion, but I am unaware of any laws pertaining to this...
Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
Market Enabler allows you to fake your network to the Market (root access required).
I've been buying payed apps in Australia since Cupcake, using Markets in the US and EU.
"What can the Australian populace do about this sort of predatory behaviour?"
Simple. Complain to the ACCC about third-line forcing.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
IMO, the iPhone app store is probably the single biggest innovation of the iPhone...and it's not even a technological innovation so much as an assertion that things should be done the right way for a change. Here in the states as well as abroad, Apple used its power to strong arm their cellular partners into acting the way they should act - as an INFRASTRUCTURE provider.
Cellular companies have always been very short sighted about their role with respect to applications at the end point. They would push crappy applications (cellular companies don't know how to develop mobile applications!) to the device via tightly regulated network access and the result was a horrible customer experience. Thanks to the iPhone app store, those days are coming to and end. The fact that Verizon (historically one of the WORST culprits) here in the U.S. is allowing unfettered access to Android Market is indicative of this fact.
M
I used to fear clowns...but I'm discovering that chimps are far, far, worse.
Isn't the whole point of Android is that it is "Open"?
How could your mobile operator prevent you from accessing any sites? They may block the site through their 3G network, but what prevents you from using Wifi, proxy, or thousands other way to work around it?
Why aren't there simple programs available for Optus customers to auto bypass it?
Are you saying it is easier to jail-break a closed iPhone than it is to work around simple blocks on the open Android?
Oliver.
Not so much of a law as a lack of one. Grey imports in this scenario is more accurately called a parallel import, which is the import without the permission of the license owner, often this is called a grey import. This is completely legal. Customs may ping you for tax if its on a prohibited item list or worth enough money, generally that's alcohol, tobacco, dangerous goods and anything over A$1000.
You can order your phone from Ebay or overseas retailers like Clove.co.uk, handtec or expansys.co.uk which is where a lot of the Australian Android phones are coming from. Simply put AQIS is not going to stop you over a phone.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Optus turned to shit when earlier this year they unilaterally decided to start charging $2.20 to mail their bills under the guise of "being green".
Not even the banks I have accounts with are crooked enough to charge for mailing statements.
Take issue with this kind of behaviour and actively seek help from institutions such as th ACCC and the telecommunications ombudsman.
Unless you've been living in a barrel, you will be aware that it has been widely reported that both have received countless complaints against the telcos.
Have those bodies done anything about them?
No. Neither body has sufficient teeth to do so, and the Government has not lifted a finger to change that.
I don't believe this opinion qualifies as arrogance or autism. Try a dictionary.
n/t
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
Just install market-enabler and you can use any paid apps you want
They are the same scummy people that charge you $10 a month to be able to tether and use up the bandwidth you have already paid for. So they'll sell you internet, but you need to pay $10 a month to use it as you see fit.
Then there is the problem with the quality of their service. It happens on a weekly basis that I cannot get 3G or any internet connection on my iPhone in the middle of Brisbane CBD. Then the amount of dropped calls when I am at home in one of the Eastern Suburbs, not more than 10Km from the CBD. It is almost impossible to rely on Optus.
I've got an HTC Hero which is connected through Optus. The phone wasn't available in Australia when I bought it so I imported it. I think it was originally intended for Malaysia. It doesn't have Android Market installed on it and as far as I can tell, Google won't provide access to it.
Optus is may be trying to direct app sales to their own marketplace by not selling phones with Android Marketplace installed but the real problem seems to lie with Google for coming up with the "Google Experience" concept and HTC for trying to get exclusive deals with telcos (and offering phones without Android market as part of those deals.)
If Google wasn't trying to restrict access to the Market this wouldn't be an issue. Optus could block traffic or do whatever they want but if Google wasn't blocking access to the Market I could access it over wi-fi and Optus wouldn't know the difference.
It's probably something to do with the fact that they're running their own App Store.
See http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/326534/optus_launches_mobile_application_store/