Broadband News
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
Telstra to move biggest clients to new billing system
Telstra has begun shifting 30 of its largest customers off a 15-year old internally-built billing platform onto a new managed solution provided by CSG.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 04th Dec 2014
We want to accelerate NBN rollout: Bill Morrow
NBN Co wants to accelerate the national broadband network rollout and exceed its target of passing 5.3 million premises by December 2016 by upgrading existing pay TV cable networks.
Source: SMH
Telstra now more than half the mobile market
Telstra’s dominance of the mobile market is increasing. For the first time its share of all mobile connections has shot past 50%.
Source: iTWire
New Bluetooth spec beefs up security, data speeds
Users of the next generation of Bluetooth devices can expect new privacy and security features and faster connectivity after the release of the Bluetooth 4.2 personal area networking specification earlier today.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dallas Buyers Club leechers not targeted in piracy case
Australians who downloaded an infringing copy of Dallas Buyers Club but did not make that copy available on peer-to-peer file-sharing services are not targeted in the latest piracy court case.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 03rd Dec 2014
Time for Tomi? New OZ low-cost pay-as-you-go ADSL2+ and NBN broadband
Tomi is a new ISP with an offer of a ‘ground-breaking’, ‘customer-centric model’ that lets you ‘pause your service anytime you want’, while promising a ‘high quality, high speed service’.
Source: iTWire
Web giants face fines in online bullying crackdown
Up to $17,000 per day for ignoring noticesSocial media companies could face fines of up to $17,000 for every day they fail to act on demands by the Government’s new e-Safety Commissioner to take down bullying material, if a bill entered in parliament today is passed into law.
Source: iTnews Australia
ADSL, submarine cable faults reported in Perth
Perth residents have suffered from two separate Internet outages this week.
Source: Computerworld
Government cracks down on social networks
The government has introduced legislation to establish a 'Children's e-Safety Commissioner' to spearhead initiatives targeting online bullying. The legislation also introduces a scheme for the "rapid removal" of bullying material targeting an Australian child that is posted on social networking sites, with social networks potentially facing fines if they fail to comply
Source: Computerworld
ASIC fronts website-blocking inquiry
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has appeared before a parliamentary inquiry into the use by government agencies of Subsection 313(3) of the Telecommunications Act 1997 to block Australian Internet users' access to websites engaged in illegal activities.
Source: Computerworld
Aussie telcos struggling with IPv6 adoption
IPv6 is increasing steadily around the world but some Australian carriers are still struggling with the transition to the new internet addressing system.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 02nd Dec 2014
NBN Co to add HFC areas in 2015
Homes and businesses in areas covered by Telstra and Optus cables will find out in the first half of 2015 when they can expect to be connected to the NBN.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN benefits regional centres, but is rural Australia still left wanting?
Remote households trying to telecommute rely on satellite connections to high-speed broadband – which sometimes don’t work.
Source: PC Authority
iiNet to grill Dallas Buyers Club on IP address evidence
iiNet today achieved a small win in its Federal Court fight against the owners of the film Dallas Buyers Club, convincing a judge to let it cross-examine the technical consultant who provided the film's owners with a list of IP addresses to target.
Source: iTnews Australia