Broadband News

Mon, 14th Jul 2014

iiNet names new CTO

iiNet has ended a seven-month search for a new chief technology officer following John Lindsay's January departure, luring the former operations head for Malaysian telco Maxis to the role.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vocus signs Vodafone NZ for two more years

Vocus Communications has renewed its IP transit contract with Vodafone New Zealand.

Source: Computerworld

Fri, 11th Jul 2014

NBN ready for service at 658,000 premises: NBN Co

NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow has offered a rosy take on the state of the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co chief, Bill Morrow, grilled at Senate Select Committee

NBN Co chief executive, Bill Morrow, has brushed off claims his staff aided in politicising the rollout of the NBN during questioning from Senator Stephen Conroy at the Senate Select Committee.

Source: ARN

NBN Co boasts rollout stats ahead of marathon committee hearing

Ahead of an all-day Senate Select Committee hearing, NBN Co has said that it has beat its revised forecast for premises ready for service on the fibre network as of the end of June.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Slow progress in Turnbullistan

The release of the latest NBN Co weekly progress report provides the first opportunity to assess progress under the company's new management and with its new mission.

Source: iTnews Australia

SBS celebrates World Cup streaming success

SBS’s Matt Costain says he is absolutely confident the network’s popular World Cup app will make it through the critical final games of the tournament without relinquishing its flawless uptime record.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 10th Jul 2014

World Cup demand on mobile shows data costs too much: SBS

Australians who exceeded their mobile data caps during this year's World Cup should blame their telcos for providing restrictive limits, according to broadcaster SBS.

Source: Computerworld

iiNet joins web giants to condemn secret TPP talks

Australian internet service provider iiNet has joined a list of 100 global businesses, including some of the world’s largest web companies, to condemn provisions proposed in the secretive trans-pacific partnership (TPP) they say will significantly constrain legitimate online activity and innovation.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN FTTN's power bill: $89m a year?

The Coalition government's decision to switch the fixed line element of the National Broadband Network from being primarily fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) to a mix of technologies, notably fibre-to-the-node for brownfields premises, has not been without its critics.

Source: Computerworld

Alcatel-Lucent hits 10 Gbps over copper

Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent, says it has set a new broadband speed record of 10 Gbps using traditional copper telephone lines.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 09th Jul 2014

APX-West and APX-Central slated to land at NextDC's P1

NextDC's Perth data centre, P1, will be the landing station for the APX-West and APX-Central cables under a plan unveiled today by SubPartners.

Source: Computerworld

Vodafone marks the end of Crazy John's

Iconic Australian mobile phone retailer, Crazy John's, will cease to exist on September 30 after more than 23 years of business.

Source: ARN

Netgear X6 is the world's first AC3200 router

As the successor to last-year's well-received Nighthawk R7000,The new Netgear X6-R8000 is a router that comes with a pretty high pedigree.

Source: APC Magazine

Tue, 08th Jul 2014

'Voluntary' oversight for Australian agencies blocking sites

Australian government agencies are under no obligation to inform the Department of Communications when they ask ISPs to block websites, despite controversy over the practice.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Turnbull announces Triple Zero review

Australians in emergency situations could soon be using Triple Zero in a whole way, with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing a review into the system and how it could be better used to take advantage of modern mobile technologies.

Source: iTWire

Telstra pumps millions of dollars into Adelaide Oval

Australia's biggest telco Telstra has unveiled plans to turn Adelaide Oval into one of the country's most technically advanced connected stadiums, through a boost in mobile capacity and a 'Telstra Plaza' upgrade.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 07th Jul 2014

How the Australian government can block sites without 'filtering'

If the Australian government is so concerned about websites "radicalising" young Muslims, but wants to avoid another internet filter controversy, we are returning to the unresolved tensions surrounding Section 313 notices.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN announcement cost AAPT $1 billion: ex-CEO

Paul Broad, the former CEO of AAPT and fierce Labor NBN critic has claimed that the project cost his former company AU$1 billion.

Source: ZDNet Australia

YouTube naming and shaming 'slow' ISPs

Google-owned video sharing service YouTube has followed fellow video service Netflix and is now publicly naming and ISPs, including Australian providers, who are guilty of providing slow download speeds.

Source: iTWire

Choice lauds NZ ISP's anti-geo-blocking service

Australian consumer advocacy group Choice has welcomed an announcement by New Zealand Internet service provider Slingshot of a service that makes it easier to access overseas streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.

Source: Computerworld

Police scoop up data on thousands in mobile phone 'tower dumps' to track down criminals

Australian federal and state police are ordering phone providers to hand over personal information about thousands of mobile phone users, whether they are targets of an investigation or not.

Source: SMH

Fri, 04th Jul 2014

Dodo and iPrimus lead M2 customer growth

M2 CEO Geoff Horth has said that the organic growth of 70,000 broadband subscribers in the last financial year dispels the myth that the company will only grow through acquisitions.

Source: ZDNet Australia

M2 grows broadband, slows mobile decline

M2 Group has added more than 50,000 new customers for its telecom services despite a decline in its mobile business.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 03rd Jul 2014

Teens big users of mobile Internet - but online less than adults

The number of Australia teenagers accessed the Internet with their mobile phones has trebled over the last four years.

Source: iTWire

Telstra-NBN battle over CPI indexing back in court

Telstra's long running battle with NBN Co over CPI indexation dates has entered a new phase, with Telstra finally getting its day in court.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 02nd Jul 2014

Vodafone revamps data offering in 4G focus

Vodafone has announced a raft of new products that see the company ramp up its data offering, as it works to encourage customers to adopt its 4G network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

iiNet's Malone sells off majority stake

ISP iiNet can no longer count its founder as the company's major shareholder after Michael Malone today reduced his stake to less than five percent.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra kicks ACCC out of exchange fees fight

Telstra has successfully removed the nation's consumer watchdog from an ongoing pricing dispute with its wholesale providers, today winning a legal challenge over the ACCC's ability to intervene.

Source: iTnews Australia

Why do online pirates continue to sail the web?

Bickering between content makers and ISPs continues to frustrate attempts to reduce illegal downloading.

Source: ABC News