Broadband News

Wed, 13th Aug 2014

Ex NBN Co directors, CEO hit out at KordaMentha review

Nine former NBN Co board members and ex-CEO Mike Quigley have dismissed a Government-commissioned report by KordaMentha into corporate governance at NBN Co, which found the previous board "lacked the right mix of skills".

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN fibre to the world: Singapore

Once a nation has universal fibre to the premises internet access, the question becomes, what's next?

Source: ZDNet Australia

iiNet launches Parallels-based Bulletin Messenger

iiNet announced a partnership with Bulletin to provide Bulletin Messenger to its home, small office, medium business, corporate and government customers.

Source: ARN

Amcom Telecommunications earns record profit from recurring revenue

Amcom Telecommunications’ profit amounted to $22.4 million in fiscal 2014 an eight per cent increase over the previous financial year.

Source: ARN

Tue, 12th Aug 2014

Canberra public Wi-Fi network to power smart parking

Smart parking, lighting and waste management could soon be coming to Canberra, according to the ACT government official leading the city’s digital city initiative.

Source: Computerworld

Retailers told to speed test for NBN fibre to the node

It will be up to retailers to ensure they aren't misleading customers on FttN speeds, with NBN Co planning to offer retailers speed testing tools for premises connected via fibre to the node.

Source: ZDNet Australia

MyNetFone profit jumps 40 per cent to $5.8m in 2014

Hosted communications provider, MyNetFone, achieved a record financial result for fiscal 2014, significantly increasing both its profit and earnings.

Source: ARN

Google joins Asian telcos in trans-Pacific cable build

Google has joined Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean telcos in a project to build a new subsea cable between Japan and the United States West Coast.

Source: iTnews Australia

New PR manager for Vodafone Australia

Vodafone Hutchison Australia has appointed veteran journalist Anthony Flannery as head of corporate media relations in Australia.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 11th Aug 2014

Turnbull admits limitations of data retention proposal

More holes appear in the government's mandatory data retention proposal as Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull admits the tech-savvy will know how to avoid having their IP addresses logged against sites they visit, while the scheme may still be costly and impractical.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Q&A: Malcolm Turnbull on data retention

Last night, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull honoured the GovHack 2014 awards ceremony in Brisbane, a night dedicated to recognising excellence in the field of using government data in creative and meaningful ways to create applications that help make sense of our social and economic milieu.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sun, 10th Aug 2014

Government backtracks on metadata

The Government now says that the metadata it wants to access will not include an Internet user’s browsing history. But there is still confusion over just what it does include.

Source: iTWire

Cheapest NBN plans

NBNSP has released new PAYG NBN plans starting at $25, now the cheapest NBN plans in Australia.

Source: iTWire

Many home routers supplied by ISPs can be compromised en masse, researchers say

Specialized servers used by many ISPs to manage routers and other gateway devices provisioned to their customers are accessible from the Internet and can easily be taken over by attackers, researchers warn.

Source: ARN

Fri, 08th Aug 2014

Turnbull rules out browsing history for data retention

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has moved to correct the record on what telecommunications companies will be required to retain under a mandatory data retention regime.

Source: ZDNet Australia

AFP, ASIO asked to clarify metadata mess

Two executives from Australia's Federal Police and intelligence services were wheeled in front of the press today to clarify the specific data they want ISPs to store under the Government’s proposed data retention scheme.

Source: iTnews Australia

Data retention: Turnbull says government only wants your IP address

Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull says that proposed data retention laws would require Internet service providers to retain records of the IP address used by customers of their service - not the IP addresses of websites visited by customers.

Source: Computerworld

Govt meets with Telstra on data retention

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Attorney-General George Brandis have met Telstra representatives to discuss the government's controversial data retention policy.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 07th Aug 2014

Brandis ditches conference after disastrous data retention interview

Attorney-General George Brandis has pulled out of speaking at the Human Rights Commission's Free Speech conference today following a disastrous TV interview last night where he admitted that website visits would be included in mandatory data retention.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Ten big questions about data retention

The Internet Society of Australia has asked the Government to properly consider the consequences of its planned data retention laws.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 06th Aug 2014

Coalition government 'chaotic' in 'poorly managed' data retention plans

A day after Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised a report stating Labor's NBN planning was chaotic, his government is being accused of the same sin over its handling of mandatory data retention proposals.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Metadata: What we know and who wants it

While the Australian government has yet to provide a set definition of "metadata" it wants telecommunications companies, this is what we know so far.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co scopes HFC product options, nodes

NBN Co is looking to retain the existing speed tiers from fibre for customers that will be connected to the NBN via the existing HFC cable networks using nodes to reduce contention in the cable networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Abbott says Australians' web browsing history to be retained

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said that every Australians' web browsing history will be retained for access by government agencies without a warrant.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Amaysim moves the emphasis to data, says CEO

Budget mobile phone operator Amaysim has announced new low cost data plans which it says reflect the changing nature of how people are using their mobile phones.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 05th Aug 2014

Labor will decide if Australia chooses mandatory data retention

The music is about to stop on the dancing around the issue of data retention in Australia, and the former government needs to make its plans clear to the electorate.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telcos still in the dark despite Govt moves on data retention

The Coalition Government is expected to introduce legislation mandating data retention for telecommunications companies before the end of the year, but the telcos at the centre of the proposal say they are still in the dark about what they will be required to do.

Source: iTnews Australia

Turnbull ignores looming NBN disaster as Scales weighs in

Smug Liberals will embrace Scales' assessment of Labor's NBN as vindication of their own position - but they're ignoring the double disaster towards which Malcolm Turnbull is steering the effort.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Government report slams ACCC's NBN advice

The latest of the government's six inquiries into the National Broadband Network after close to a year since coming into power has confirmed its existing assumptions about the establishment of the NBN project.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Turnbull audit finds Labor's NBN 'rushed, chaotic'

A Coalition-commissioned audit of the conception of the national broadband network has found the policy formation was “rushed, chaotic and inadequate”, and recommended future projects worth more than $1 billion be subject to a cost-benefit analysis that is published in full.

Source: iTnews Australia