Broadband News

Mon, 13th Apr 2015

Record number of NSW premises face NBN copper disconnection: iiNet

A record number of NSW premises will soon have their copper telephone lines disconnected as part of the compulsory transition to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: ARN

Sun, 12th Apr 2015

Dallas Buyers Club judgment: Trans-Pacific Partnership could be worse news for online pirates

A trade pact being negotiated in secret may create new criminal sanctions for illicit downloading of films and TV shows, ratcheting up the pressure on online pirates following a legal battle over Hollywood blockbuster Dallas Buyers Club.

Source: SMH

Net users against pirate site blocking and VPN interest soars

Australian tech savvy users are against the blocking of websites that enable the downloading of pirated content and interest in virtual private networks (VPNs) has soared in the wake of the victory of the makers of the Dallas Buyers Club movie in the Australian Federal Court last week.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 10th Apr 2015

Telstra, NBN Co resolve $200m pricing fight

Telstra and NBN Co have settled a pricing dispute worth $200 million out of court after pulling out of scheduled court hearings this week.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra and NBN Co resolve $200 million dispute

A disagreement over interpretation of the $11 billion agreement between NBN Co and Telstra that spilled into court has been resolved.

Source: Computerworld

Vodafone pushes Stan with free trial offers

Vodafone is offering most of its Red customers a free trial subscription to the Stan video streaming service.

Source: iTWire

NZ ISP folds on rights holder threats over global mode

A small New Zealand ISP has stopped offering 'global mode' access to geoblocked services, despite believing the practice to be within NZ law due to legal threats from content owners.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co, Telstra try to settle $200m CPI fight out of court

NBN Co and Telstra are attempting to resolve a disagreement over how much NBN Co should pay for access to Telstra’s pits, pipes, ducts and exchanges out of court.

Source: iTnews Australia

Netflix happy to pay GST

Netflix executives say they will happily add GST to the cost of their service - if the federal government makes it legal.

Source: Computerworld

Vodafone gives Red customers three-months free Stan subscription

Vodafone will now offer a free three-month subscription to customers on a Vodafone Red plan.

Source: ARN

Thu, 09th Apr 2015

NBN Co and Telstra to return to court

NBN Co and Telstra are this morning due to appear before the NSW Court of Appeal.

Source: Computerworld

Dallas Buyers Club wants to shut down Aussie pirates' internet connections

The US company behind the Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club has indicated it could push to have the internet connections of Australian alleged pirates shut down.

Source: SMH

Anti-piracy laws a step closer

A draft of a new Copyright Code, rushed through in through months, has been completed. But the key issue of who will pay for it remains unresolved.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 08th Apr 2015

Dallas Buyers Club reveals plans for Aussie pirates

The owners of the Dallas Buyers Club film say they will not necessarily pursue financial compensation from small-scale infringers who downloaded the film without paying.

Source: iTnews Australia

Piracy code lodged with Australian regulator

A code that will see Australians sent warning notices for alleged infringement of TV shows, films, and music online has been lodged with the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Data retention: Inquiry into accessing of journos' data scrapped

An inquiry instigated after concerns were raised about the impact on the media of data retention legislation and law enforcement agencies’ access to journalists’ telecommunications data has formally been scrapped.

Source: Computerworld

Telcos reveal new piracy code

Australia's telecommunications industry has scrapped a proposed $25 fee on internet users who challenge copyright infringement notices from a revised anti-piracy code submitted to the communications regulator today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Who pays left out of ISP anti-piracy code

Telco industry body Communications Alliance has unveiled its ‘three strikes’ industry code for Internet service providers, submitting the code for registration by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Source: Computerworld

Dallas Buyers Club court decision could spur legal shake downs: ACCAN

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network is concerned the Dallas Buyers Club court win could spur legal shake downs of Australians through speculative invoicing.

Source: ARN

Dallas Buyers Club ruling 'unlikely to deter pirates'

A technology journalist says pirates are unlikely to be deterred by the Federal Court ordering ISPs to supply the names of people accused of illegally downloading Dallas Buyers Club.

Source: ABC News

Tue, 07th Apr 2015

​Vocus installs 'world's largest' fibre optic cable

Vocus Communications is laying its new 1,728 fibre-count optic cable in South Sydney, after trialling smaller formats of the cable for the past three years.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus keeps data sharing in the family, offers unlimited standard postpaid calling

Optus has introduced Family Sharing for data, letting families share their data allocations while also offering unlimited standard national talk and text on postpaid mobile plans.

Source: iTWire

iiNet ordered to hand over customer details to Dallas Buyers Club

iiNet has been ordered to hand over the customer details of almost 5000 people the owners of the film Dallas Buyers Club claim have downloaded the movie without paying.

Source: iTnews Australia

Loss for iiNet in Dallas Buyers Club court battle

iiNet, along with a number of its subsidiaries and other ISPs, has lost its attempt to block a motion for preliminary discovery brought by the rights holders of 2013 movie Dallas Buyers Club.

Source: Computerworld

ISPs ordered to hand over details of customers who downloaded film

Internet providers must hand over contact details of Australian customers accused of illegally downloading The Dallas Buyers Club, the Federal Court rules.

Source: ABC News

Find your favourite movie or TV show - legally

With Netflix, Stan, Quickflix, Presto, Apple iTunes, PlayStation, Google Play, Mubi and more available in Australia sometimes there is too much choice of where to find a movie or TV show and watch it legally.

Source: iTWire

Australia's draft piracy code comes down to the wire

Australia's telecommunications industry body expects to slide in just ahead of a Government-mandated deadline to submit its revised version of a voluntary graduated warning scheme for copyright infringers.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus Satellite and Laser Light partner for an all-optical commercial satellite system

Optus Satellite has partnered up with UK-based laser communications company, Laser Light, in creating what they call the “world’s first” commercial laser-based, all-optical satellite system entirely operated using optical spectrum rather than radio frequency.

Source: ARN

Thu, 02nd Apr 2015

ACCC asks industry for input on iiNet-TPG merger

Australia's competition regulator has asked the telecommunications industry for its thoughts on the impact a proposed $1.4 billion takeover of iiNet by TPG would have on competition in the sector.

Source: iTnews Australia

Australia sees 15 percent data download volume surge

​The volume of data that Australian internet subscribers downloaded in the three months ending December 2014 surged by 15 percent over the three months ending June 2014, according to new figures by the ABS.

Source: ZDNet Australia