### Issue 1637 - Tuesday 28th June, 2022

## In Today's Issue

- Optus wants ACCC to stop Telstra and TPG's networking roaming deal
- IBM settles age discrimination lawsuit to prevent CEO emails going public
- NSW starts Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau to support chip startups
- TPG used a Blackhawk helicopter to install new 5G tower in Adelaide
- Cheap Loigtech MX Keys mini, D-Link switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, PS5 controller, Nvidia Shield, 15.6" 4K portable monitor, Xbox Series S, Alienware & Dell monitors

## The News

### Optus wants ACCC to stop Telstra and TPG's networking roaming deal

Like a third wheel finding itself stuck with two hot people loving themselves sick, Optus has complained to the ACCC about Telstra and TPG's network sharing deal. The plan is for TPG to get access to over 3700 Telstra towers in regional and urban fringe areas. In return, TPG gives Telstra access to its 4G and 5G spectrum nationwide. Optus argues that the ACCC should stop this deal as it would give Telstra "the ability to offer a 5G speed up to 10 times faster than Optus could offer given the spectrum imbalance" and would make Telstra "unassailable" in regional Australia. Meanwhile, The Australian is floating rumours that Singtel wants to list Optus on the ASX. Singtel has denied it.

### IBM settles age discrimination lawsuit to prevent CEO emails going public

In 2018, ProPublica exposed IBM's filthy practice of age discrimination. The article outlines how IBM systemically sacked older employees who often worked fewer hours for more money because they are later in their careers. One man sued IBM and as part of that case, IBM had to hand over emails from former CEO Ginny Rometty and former HR SVP Diane Gherson as evidence. IBM today settled the case for an undisclosed sum rather than have the contents of those emails exposed. IBM still says that "there was and is no systemic age discrimination at IBM and the data back that up", but refuses to hand over that data. Hmmm, I wonder why.

### NSW starts Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau to support chip startups

The NSW state government has confirmed $6m of funding for the Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau. It's a group that'll help semiconductor related startups in NSW grow and be part of the massive semiconductor industry worldwide. It'll "bring together experts from the University of Sydney, Macquarie University, UNSW Sydney, CSIRO and the Australian National Fabrication Facility" and be lead by Dr Nadia Court, the technical director of the Research and Prototype Foundry at the University of Sydney. The offices will be located at Cicada Innovations within Sydney's Tech Central Precinct.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### TPG used a Blackhawk helicopter to install new 5G tower in Adelaide

TPG posted on LinkedIn that they've used an ex-US military Blackhawk helicopter to replace the top of a mobile phone tower. Normally they'd use a crane to lift the completed antenna rig to the top of the tower but at this site in Adelaide, the car park couldn't handle the weight of a 300-tonne crane so they got in a chopper to lift the 2.7-tonne rig. The site is kinda close to Adelaide airport, so air traffic control had to get involved to make sure the chopper doesn't cause any mischief. Some cool pics of the new 5G tower head up on LinkedIn too if you're into that kinda thing.

## Bargains

- Logitech MX Keys Mini (pink) - $95 from Amazon
- D-Link DMS-106XT unmanaged switch (5x 2.5gbps & 1x 10gbps ports) - $199 at Officeworks
- Nintendo Switch Console Lite (blue) - $231.20 from Big W's ebay store
- PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller (black) - $68 from Amazon
- NVIDIA Shield TV Pro 4K 2019 - $248 from Amazon
- HaiTume 15.6" 4K UHD IPS Freesync Portable Monitor - $230 from Aliexpress
- Xbox Series S Console 512GB - $398 from Amazon
- Alienware 34" curved AW3423DW QD-OLED gaming monitor or Dell S2721QS 4K 27" monitor - $1678.70/$298.30 from Dell

## The End

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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.