ACCAN has released the 2015 ACCAN Grants Guidelines ahead of the Scheme's opening on Monday 16th February 2015. The Scheme will be accepting applications for six weeks: from 16th February until 31st March 2015.

The ACCAN Grants Scheme funds projects that work towards a telecommunications market that is fair and inclusive for all – a market which is available, accessible and affordable. Projects focus on developing research, representation, or educational tools that address issues for telecommunications consumers in Australia.

Read more: 2015 Grants Scheme guidelines released

Australian telcos have taken action to reduce bill shock from global roaming by introducing roaming packs. But before travelling, you should consider all your options for global roaming, especially if you are on a tight budget. Check out your options for global roaming below.

Do you need to use your phone number while overseas?

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone offer their customers global roaming packs that include calls, text and data, at an extra cost. Virgin Mobile offers roaming packs that only include data. Signing up to a roaming pack can be a good option if you need to be contactable overseas on your Australian mobile number.

Read more: Tis the season to be travelling – staying connected overseas

No doubt many of us are looking forward to getting a new smartphone for Christmas. But before you rush out to purchase the latest device for a loved one or yourself, there are a few things you should consider.

While price is likely to be a key decider, there are other factors to look at. Here are our top tips to keep in mind before purchasing a new smartphone or signing up to a new phone contract during the festive season.

Mobile coverage

The P3 CommsDay Mobile Benchmark 2015 tested the three Australian mobile networks (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone), giving a snapshot of the mobile coverage in larger cities, smaller towns and on highways around Australia. The Benchmark is an independent test that measures the quality of phone calls, and 4G and 3G data downloads.

Read more: Our top tips for buying a smartphone this Christmas

The Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code is a bulwark built by industry, consumer representatives and regulators to ensure appropriate consumer safeguards. Brought in two years ago some of its provisions only took effect in September 2014. It was designed to address ballooning consumer dissatisfaction with the telco industry. So the proposed removal of some of its most important components so soon after its introduction comes as a surprise.

Despite some major reservations, ACCAN feels many of the changes are appropriate and will streamline obligations and aid overall compliance. In one instance we even believe the reform process could go further to remove an unused area of the Code.

Read more: TCP Code: Too early to change

ACCAN is now accepting Expressions of Interest to serve on its Independent Grants Panel. The role of the Panel is to assess eligible applications to the ACCAN Independent Grants Scheme and recommend the strongest to the ACCAN Board for funding.

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Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) about excess data charges have been steadily dropping over the past year. This is most likely due to better value excess data packs (most telcos now charge about $10 for 1GB) and plans with bigger data allowances being offered by the telcos.

While complaints are down, excess data charges can still be a shock on your monthly bill, especially if you are on a tight budget. Extra data packs that automatically kick in are convenient, but most of these data packs expire when your monthly billing period is up. It is important to watch your data usage because you may spend extra money on data that you might not get to use.

Read more: How much will excess mobile data cost you?

While you may know about ACCAN's work for residential consumers, you may not know that we also represent small businesses and not-for-profit organisations in so far as they are consumers.

Many small businesses use the same products as residential consumers and also have no ability to negotiate their own contract terms and the same consumer protection.

Read more: Did you know that ACCAN represents small businesses?

The ACCAN Annual General Meeting was held in Sydney on Wednesday, 17 September, 2014. At the meeting the following three candidates were elected to the Board:

• Johanna Plante
• Nigel Waters
• Victoria Rubensohn

Read more: Results of ACCAN Board Election

Mobile providers are now offering sharing plans for people to share data among devices and people. Each of the telcos has different approaches and options for sharing across plans. In this article we outline the plans from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone and some things to watch out for.

Before you sign up to any sharing plans we advise you to consider the usage patterns of each individual user. When looking at plans it pays to shop around and find the plan that suits each individual user.

Read more: Is there value in a shared plan?

With Optus and Vodafone losing customers to Telstra and the arrival of the iPhone 6 there is a price war brewing in telco land. As the dust settles on the opening barrage we'll sift through the rubble and see if there are any good deals to be had.

Read more: Waive goodbye to early termination fees?

ACCAN has recently received reports from members about an increase in unwanted telemarketing calls, as well as outright telemarketing scams. In a welcome move, Telstra has issued a media release reminding customers across Australia to beware of scammers who attempt to obtain their personal information via telephone. In the past 12 months customer comments regarding these calls have increased four-fold.

Read more: Beware of telephone scams

A reminder to ACCAN members that nominations for Directors to fill three vacancies on the ACCAN Board close at 5pm on Friday 15th August 2014.

Read more: Reminder: board nominations close on Friday 15th August 2014