Broadband News
Sun, 14th Dec 2014
Telstra hands over copper, HFC in new $11bn NBN deal
Telstra will hand over ownership of its copper and hybrid fibre-coaxial networks while remaining committed to its structural separation under renegotiated definitive agreements with NBN Co that retain the $11 billion value of the 2011 deal.
Source: iTnews Australia
Major milestone for NBN 2.0 as NBN Co and Telstra sign new deal
NBN Co and Telstra today announced the signing of revised definitive agreements, clearing the major hurdle for the company rolling out the National Broadband Network as it shifts to the ‘Multi-Technology Mix’ favoured by the Coalition government.
Source: Computerworld
Fri, 12th Dec 2014
'I can't believe it's not a filter' website-blocking legislation to hit parliament in 2015
Legislation that will allow rights holders to get piracy websites blocked by Australian internet service providers will hit the parliament in the first half of 2015.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fusion boosts business broadband by bonding
Fusion Broadband's bonded hybrid service combining ADSL and 3G or 4G broadband is proving a boon to businesses in fringe areas that are poorly served by current fixed-line technologies and are still waiting for the NBN to arrive.
Source: iTWire
Bush faces higher NBN bills
Australians in the bush could pay more for broadband services than city-dwellers after the government yesterday abandoned uniform wholesale prices on the $41 billion national broadband network.
Source: The Australian
Thu, 11th Dec 2014
New houses to be charged for NBN fibre
Under the Australian government's reform of telecommunications regulations, developers and owners of new housing developments will be charged a capped price to connect to the NBN.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Govt ditches uniform wholesale network pricing
The federal government will remove uniform national prices for wholesale telecommunications and will force carriers competing with the NBN to structurally separate their wholesale businesses, under a new policy aimed at boosting competition in the telco sector.
Source: iTnews Australia
Price capping planned for NBN
The federal government has unveiled radical changes to the business case underpinning the National Broadband Network.
Source: The Australian
Almost 90 per cent of Aussies not happy with internet connections
Almost ninety per cent of Australians are not "completely happy" with their internet connection, according to the first Juniper Global Bandwidth report.
Source: ARN
Australia's security agencies quiet on metadata definition
Australia's leading national security and intelligence agencies will not reveal the communications data they want retained by telecommunications companies until discussions with those companies have concluded.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co to charge developers for fibre
NBN Co will hit developers and owners of new residential apartment blocks and estates with fees ranging into the thousands of dollars to connect fibre to their developments, under a new policy released by the Government today.
Source: iTnews Australia
Government wants NBN Co ready for potential break-up
The government has no plans to disaggregate NBN Co but will direct the company rolling out the National Broadband Network to implement a number of measures that will give future governments the ability to more easily split the organisation into independent businesses.
Source: Computerworld
Develop anti-piracy scheme or we’ll do it for you
The Government has issued an ultimatum to ISPs to work with content owners and distributors to develop a code that will enable digital pirates to be prosecuted.
Source: iTWire
Schools to police digital piracy
Schools, libraries, and providers of wi-fi internet services will be expected to crack down on copyright pirates.
Source: The Australian
Wed, 10th Dec 2014
Govt gives ISPs four months to develop piracy code
The federal government has warned ISPs they will need to agree on an industry code for tackling online copyright infringement by April next year or have one forced upon them.
Source: iTnews Australia
Stop the torrents: ISPs to block piracy websites, send warnings
The Australian government is moving ahead with plans to crack down on online copyright infringement, with website blocking and warning notices coming in 2015.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN, Telstra roll out deal
The federal government’s NBN deal with Telstra is expected to be formally unveiled as soon as Sunday or early next week.
Source: The Australian
Tue, 09th Dec 2014
Optus squeezes last drop out of HFC network with new bundle
Optus has announced the availability of a new data cable broadband bundle for customers that are being serviced by its hybrid fibre-coaxial cable network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Data-retention costs report kept confidential
Australian Attorney-General George Brandis has refused to release the PricewaterhouseCoopers report prepared for the government on the cost of the industry for the Australian government's mandatory data-retention legislation.
Source: ZDNet Australia
The birth of Vodafone’s 4G+ via 850MHz in Perth (but no LTE-A yet)
If your Vodafone 4G 850MHz capable smartphone needs a better coverage berth in Perth, your ship has come in with faster speeds and better indoor coverage!
Source: iTWire
No harsh penalties for illicit downloaders under copyright reform
Australians will be blocked from accessing popular overseas websites hosting pirated movies and TV shows but would escape punishment for downloading illicit content under copyright law proposals being presented to federal cabinet on Tuesday.
Source: SMH
Downloading movies and TV is not a crime
You wouldn't steal a car... but a movie? Most of us seem fine with that.
Source: SMH
Pirates pay for content, Choice survey finds
People who engage in regular unauthorised downloading of copyright material are also more likely to pay for online and offline content than Australians who don't engage in piracy, according to a new survey by consumer advocacy group Choice.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 08th Dec 2014
Turnbull promises full per-premises cost of fibre NBN
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that NBN Co will soon release an audited historical cost per premises passed for the fibre-to-the-home network to show the actual cost of the network rollout up until the multi-technology mix switch.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus doesn’t 4Get Canberra with 700MHz, boosts 4G and indoor coverage
Thanks to ACMA allowing Optus early access to 700MHz spectrum in Canberra, Optus has managed to boost its ‘superfast 4G coverage’, ensuring Optus customers with compatible 4G phones can satisfy any need for ever faster 4G coverage and speed.
Source: iTWire
Australian government opens applications for mobile blackspots
Australian telcos will need to hand over confidential network expansion plans to the government in order to be eligible for mobile network blackspot funding.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fetch TV brings out BBC big guns: Big, Bold Content
That that, Presto - Fetch TV is adding seven premium channels to its service from 1 February 2015, including BBC First, BBC Knowledge, BBC UKTV, The Food Network and HGTV from SCRIPPS, NBC’s Universal Channel and Fox’s Nat Geo WILD.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 05th Dec 2014
Netflix to drive Australian ISP spending: Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks stands to gain from the entrance of Netflix into Australia, according to executives at the networking equipment supplier.
Source: Computerworld
The Hunger Games – Australians devour everything Internet
Australians are ‘hungry for everything the Internet has to offer’, says the ACMA in its latest annual Communications Report.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co to deliver early Christmas present for Coalition
NBN Co's chief financial officer, Stephen Rue, has told the Senate's NBN committee that the company hopes to complete negotiations with Telstra over the telco's copper network within "the next couple of weeks".
Source: Computerworld