Broadband News
Tue, 26th Apr 2016
Australia's Own Streaming Service, Quickflix, Is Going Under
Since late 2011, Quickflix has been a quiet performer in Australia’s increasingly crowded subscription video on demand market, with an all-you-can-stream video option as well as rentals of TV and movies alike. Long before that, it was a DVD mailing rental service, founded back in 2002. Today is another big bump in the road for Quickflix, though, and it may well be the last: the company has been placed into voluntary administration and might be dismantled.
Source: Gizmodo
Quickflix enters voluntary administration after Stan negotiations fail
Unsuccessful negotiations with rival streaming service Stan over its AU$11.7 million worth of redeemable preference shares have led to Quickflix entering voluntary administration.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet founder joins NBN board
Michael Malone, the founder of Internet service provider iiNet, has joined the board of NBN as a director, the federal government has announced.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 25th Apr 2016
Quarterly telco complaints up, but yearly improvement continues
Telco complaints as a proportion of services in operation (SIO) increased 29% from January to March this year, but dropped by 13.8% compared to the same three month period in 2015.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 24th Apr 2016
NBN switching on FTTN in South Australia
The first National Broadband Network fibre to the node (FTTN) services have been switched-on in South Australia, with residents of the Adelaide southern suburb of St Marys the first in the state to benefit from the faster broadband.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 22nd Apr 2016
Michael Malone joins NBN board
iiNet founder and former CEO Michael Malone has replaced former colleague Simon Hackett on the board of NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Rethink: Why We Need 'Fibre-To-The-Driveway' Right Now
Ever since the Coalition government came into power and declared it will use the fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) model for the National Broadband Network (NBN), experts and vocal technology-conscious citizens have been up in arms about it. But the argument against FTTN has been mounting for years. Faced with overwhelming evidence and new technology alternatives, the Government can no longer ignore that their NBN vision is short-sighted. They need to act now instead of dooming us to an archaic broadband network just to save face. Here are four reasons why fibre-to-the-distribution point (FTTdp) needs to be adopted for the NBN.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN receives 576 complaints monthly about FttX trenching
Almost 20 people each day complain about NBN digging up driveways and nature strips when installing its FttX network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN tech choice program delivers just three FttP connections in a year
Only three fibre-on-demand connections have been made since the option launched in March last year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 21st Apr 2016
Turnbull calls for more openness surrounding data breaches
As part of a new culture of 'cyber-openness', the government is calling on the private sector to be more open about data breaches.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Turnbull sets the scene for a 'Stop the Bytes' election
The PM released Australia's Cyber Security Strategy on Thursday morning. Media reports focused on the 'revelation' of our cyber attack capabilities, but that's just a well-crafted political distraction.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone, RAI, Barnaby Joyce combine on regional telco report
Vodafone and Regional Australia Institute have said telcos, government, business, and local communities must work together to bring reliable and fast internet access to regional areas.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC sets ‘significantly lower’ prices for transmission services
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released a final decision on regulated prices for the declared Domestic Transmission Capacity Service (DTCS) FAD which sees prices significantly lower than those set previously.
Source: iTWire
12 Netflix Originals That Will Be Streaming With HDR Video
Netflix is starting to roll out a new technology that vastly improves the colours you see in its shows and movies. It’s called “HDR,” which stands for “high dynamic range,” a term that is most common in photography. Here’s the shows you can watch with HDR enabled.
Source: Gizmodo
ACCC Sets New Prices For Behind-The-Scenes Telco Backhaul Data
The cost to ISPs for wholesale data is getting cheaper every year. That’s the gist of the ACCC’s just-released report into domestic transport capacity, which says that the cost of high-speed telco backhaul has fallen as much as 78 per cent for long distance routes. Australia’s favourite national outpost Tasmania remains the thorn in the side of ISPs everywhere, though, with a new charge levied for the skinny pipes (and Basslink) running from the mainland.
Source: Gizmodo
Telstra using machine learning to deal with 'distressed' customers
Telstra's general manager for analytics has said the telco giant has been employing machine learning techniques in attempt to reduce the frustration of its distressed customers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra invests in NGINX web server
The web server providing services for companies such as Netflix, Instagram, Airbnb, and Pinterest has been bolstered by an investment from Telstra Ventures.
Source: ZDNet Australia
New cybersecurity strategy supports elements of government’s economic plan: Turnbull
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has just released Australia’s cybersecurity strategy, aimed at enabling innovation, growth and prosperity.
Source: ARN
Wed, 20th Apr 2016
Copper in Perth 'better than anticipated': NBN
In response to reports that the copper being used in the FttN rollout in Perth is 'disastrous', NBN has said it is actually in a better state than anticipated.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Netflix is thinking about offline movie and television downloads
Netflix is huge, and the streaming service is not only making money hand over fist but also pumping out some of the best original TV shows anywhere today. But there's still one thing that fans sorely want from it: offline playback.
Source: PC Authority
.au direct registrations: a regrettable decision?
The news that auDA has decided to go ahead with direct registrations in the .au namespace is disappointing, but not surprising.
Source: iTWire
Telco competition benefits consumers, says ACCC
Consumers are reaping the benefits of competition in the telecommunications sector from increased data allowances, new services and lower prices, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Source: iTWire
Optus announces 10-year Paralympics deal
In another step towards becoming a self-proclaimed 'multimedia company', Optus has announced its sponsorship of the Australian Paralympic Team.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Netflix Is Adding 150 Hours Of HDR Video This Year
Netflix’s catalog of 4K titles has grown over the past couple of years to now be 10 times more than when it started, and the streaming service has announced overnight that it now plans to grow it’s catalog of High Dynamic Range titles at a similar pace.
Source: Gizmodo
Tue, 19th Apr 2016
ACCC Says We Are Consuming More Data At Lower Prices, Thanks To Competition
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s annual telecommunications report for 2014 to 2015 is out, and the ACCC says it shows that consumers are “continuing to benefit from competition in the sector”.
Source: Gizmodo
Internet Australia call for bi-partisan political approach to nbn
With a federal election now set to be held in July, Internet Australia has issued a call to both the Government and the Opposition to put politics aside and agree on a bipartisan strategy for the National Broadband Network "in the national interest".
Source: iTWire
Netflix's Aussie Launch Last Year Was Actually Too Good
Netflix’s shares are plunging on Wall Street at the moment, on the back of some subdued company guidance. Netflix isn’t forecasting the same tremendous subscriber growth that it saw last year, and there’s one big reason why — its Aussie launch in March last year added a huge number of customers at once, and that kind of growth can’t continue forever.
Source: Gizmodo
auDA to introduce .au direct registrations
Following recommendations from the names policy panel, the .au Domain Administration has given the green light to allow Australian businesses and individuals to directly register domains such as domainname.au.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Music studios file against ISPs for piracy website blocking
Telstra, Optus, iiNet, Virgin, Foxtel, and others are being sought by several music studios to block piracy websites through the Federal Court.
Source: ZDNet Australia
'Abandon FTTN for FTTdp': Internet Australia Calls For NBN Rethink
Lobby group Internet Australia is calling for a rethink and urging the Government and the Opposition to “put politics aside and agree on a bipartisan NBN strategy”.
Source: Gizmodo