Broadband News
Mon, 15th Sep 2014
Ergas hints at reining in the ACCC
Economist Professor Henry Ergas has revealed that the Vertigan Committee will recommend more “checks and balances” for Australia's competition watchdog as part of its review of regulatory arrangements for the NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 12th Sep 2014
Optus launches new Australian satellite
Optus has successfully launched its Optus 10 satellite to expand its fleet capacity and provide in-orbit redundancy capability.
Source: ARN
Australians turning away from music piracy: Spotify
Online copyright infringement of music over file-sharing services is trending downwards in Australia, according to Spotify research, but it is still a big problem.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Here's how NBN Co rolled out FTTP better in Melton: Part 1
NBN Co reacted hysterically to publication of an internal trial review that found FTTP could be rolled out 61% faster and 50% cheaper than in previous rollouts. Here's what the company's Melton deployment trial taught it about managing contractors better.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Government and Labor spat over new FTTB licences
The NBN shenanigans continue. Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants a temporary two year licence for carriers like TPG who want to compete against the NBN by offering fibre to the basement.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 11th Sep 2014
Telstra expands 4G 700MHz trials ahead of iPhone 6 release
Telstra is switching on parts of its 700MHz 4G network in preparation for the influx of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices onto the network after launch next Friday.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Virgin takes on Telstra with bonus data offer
Wholly-owned Optus subsidiary Virgin Mobile has taken the fight to Telstra, and its owner Optus, in offering 2GB bonus data on 24-month plans to both new customers who switch networks and all existing customers who upgrade.
Source: iTWire
Turnbull seeks wholesale access from all FTTB carriers
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has this morning announced that he will begin talks with Australia's telcos on the possibility of a new telecommunications licence condition that would require all high-speed fibre-to-the-basement carriers to offer wholesale access to their networks.
Source: iTnews Australia
Turnbull flags new rules on retail, wholesale separation for telcos
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced this morning that he will consult with the telco industry on new rules that would potentially force network operators that want to compete with National Broadband Network infrastructure to split their wholesale and retail operations.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra will extend 700MHz 4G trials next week
Telstra is preparing to extend commercial trials of its 700MHz 4G services to another 20 locations next week.
Source: ARN
ACCC won't block TPG's fibre-to-the-basement rollout
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) won't step in to halt Internet service provider TPG from rolling out fibre-to-the-basement services that could compete with National Broadband Network infrastructure.
Source: Computerworld
Wed, 10th Sep 2014
Australian TV broadcasters encouraged to switch to MPEG-4
Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that the switchover to the MPEG-4 video compression standard for broadcasting will free up spectrum for new uses.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Internet ... slowdown ... day ... is ... here
Hate buffering? Internet slowdown day is here, Wednesday 10th September 2014 across the USA.
Source: iTWire
Netflix is exploiting our rights in Australia: Foxtel
Foxtel won't seek government intervention in stopping Australians from bypassing geoblocks to access Netflix in the United States, stating that it is up to film studios to pressure Netflix to stop 'exploiting' a market it hasn't launched in yet.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 09th Sep 2014
Telcos to starve piracy sites of ad money
Australia's largest telcos are leading a push to starve illegal downloading sites of money by pulling advertising.
Source: ZDNet Australia
No piracy on our broadband, Foxtel warns users
Before it has even launched its broadband service, pay TV provider Foxtel has promised to take steps to ensure that its customers aren't downloading copyright-infringing TV shows and films online.
Source: ZDNet Australia
DDoS reflection/amplification attacks disrupting ISP networks
Reflection/amplification distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have now become so large that entire ISP networks are getting disrupted, says a networking security expert.
Source: Computerworld
Foxtel vows to crack down on illicit downloaders
Foxtel has vowed to take "reasonable steps" against subscribers who illicitly download movies and TV shows on its network when it starts selling retail broadband services early next year.
Source: SMH
Mon, 08th Sep 2014
Online copyright infringement isn't 'theft': iiNet
In its response to the Australian government's online copyright infringement discussion paper, iiNet has called for the government to rethink what it means by online copyright infringements.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co denies claims of cost-saving fibre 'pilot' study
NBN Co has denied undertaking a pilot study using cost-saving techniques to scale down the cost of rolling out fibre to the premises.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN satellite services hit by power outage
Thousands NBN's satellite service customers were unable to access the internet for several hours on Sunday after a power outage disrupted a ground station in WA.
Source: SMH
Broadband projections fail reality test: Rod Tucker
In their cost-benefit analysis of the national broadband network, the Vertigan panel predicts that in 2023, an average Australian household will require a broadband download speed of 15 megabits per second (Mbps).
Source: Computerworld
Optus woos new customers with $450 credit for cancellation fees
Optus is offering customers who cancel their current contracts and sign with them up to $450 credit.
Source: ARN
BBC wants ISPs to exterminate Australian Doctor Who torrenters
BBC Worldwide has revealed that 13,000 Australians downloaded leaked episodes of the new series of Doctor Who, as the company pushes to force ISPs to keep an eye out for 'suspicious behaviour' of its users downloading large amounts of data.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sun, 07th Sep 2014
Optus seeks to lure new customers ahead of iPhone 6 launch
Optus is looking to capitalise on the estimated 1.2 million customers coming out of their contracts, offering up to AU$450 in credit to pay out customer plans and trade in phones.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sat, 06th Sep 2014
NBN fibre rollout was going to be cheaper, sooner, pilot results show
Labor's all-fibre national broadband network could have been delivered faster and for less money than originally forecast, according to the confidential results of a pilot study completed last month.
Source: SMH
Fri, 05th Sep 2014
NBN CBA fetes Feds' fickle, flagging fibre faith
The Vertigan cost-benefit analysis has further downgraded the role of fibre in the multi technology mix (MTM) model for the NBN - even though it also suggests that fibre isn't as relatively expensive as it used to be. What are we to make of this?
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet buys stake in IT services provider
Internet service provider iiNet has purchased a 60 percent stake in privately-owned technology service provider Tech2 Group to bolster its IT support division.
Source: iTnews Australia
Why Simon Hackett decided to try to make the NBN 'less worse'
If Simon Hackett has a religion, it's that there should be a better network, the founder and former managing director of ISP Internode told the AusNOG 2014 conference yesterday.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 04th Sep 2014
Journalists' union withdraws support for internet filtering
The Media, Entertainment, and Arts Alliance has withdrawn its support for a proposal to allow rights holders to force ISPs to block websites containing copyright-infringing content.
Source: ZDNet Australia