Broadband News
Thu, 04th Apr 2013
ACCC 'not satisfied' with NBN Co's Special Access Undertaking
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is proposing a number of changes to be made on the NBN Co’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU).
Source: ARN
NBN to pull rank on Ausgrid
NBN Co has confirmed it will use the special powers of the Telecommunications Act to enable it to access Ausgrid's electricity distribution infrastructure for the NBN roll out, even though it and Ausgrid have failed to come to terms. Ausgrid is not happy.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co chalks up $400 million loss
NBN Co ended 2012 with a $406.5 million net loss and 72,329 premises passed with fibre, according to the latest ministerial performance report.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 03rd Apr 2013
Optus launches BYO 4G mobile plans
Don't want to tie yourself into yet another two-year mobile contract? Optus is finally letting BYO customers connect to its 4G network.
Source: PC Authority
NBN Co invokes federal powers to get Ausgrid pole access
NBN Co will invoke federal telecommunications powers to access Ausgrid's power poles after the companies failed to come to an agreement over access for the purpose of rolling out the fibre network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Service Stream taps TOA to manage NBN FTTH installers
Service Stream (ASX: SSM), one of the contractors rolling out NBN Co's FTTH network, has deployed cloud-based mobile workforce management systems from US based TOA Technologies to help it manage its workers in the field.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co walks away from NSW power pole talks
Ausgrid has lost its opportunity to profit from NBN Co's need to string cables on NSW electricity poles after the latter walked away from 18 months of commercial talks late last month.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 02nd Apr 2013
Day of reckoning for the NBN
Things are about to get a lot worse for NBN Co. This week the ACCC rules on its access arrangements and pricing, and explosive documents leaked over the Easter weekend show it was aware back in February that its contractors were way behind schedule.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 28th Mar 2013
Socio-economic benefits of FTTH 'significant': study
A research paper has quantified some of the socio-economic impacts that fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband deployments bring to society, connecting them with improved well-being and increased incomes for citizens along with many benefits for network operators themselves.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internet slowed by attack on spam blocker
One of the largest ever cyber attacks is slowing global internet services after an organisation blocking "spam" content became a target, with some experts saying the disruption could get worse.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 27th Mar 2013
Telcos slow to comply with new ACMA code
Telcos have been slow to comply with the ACMA's requirement for Critical Information Summaries, according to the communications watchdog, with smaller players the worst offenders.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN construction nears completion in South Perth
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is reaching the final stages of construction in South Perth.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra releases report on Warrnambool Exchange fire
Telstra has released a report relating to the Warrnambool Exchange fire revealing it was caused by a non-suspicious electrical fault.
Source: ARN
Heavy internet users still find time for old media
According to Roy Morgan Research, being a heavy internet user doesn't mean you've forsaken traditional media.
Source: iTWire
Exploiting the NBN will stretch IT skills
Australian IT managers surveyed by IT management software company SolarWinds say that finding the skills needed to exploit the opportunities provided by the NBN will be a major challenge.
Source: iTWire
Telstra faces objection over .yellowpages domain
International directories and internet services business Hibu has lodged a legal rights objection against Telstra over its application for the generic top level domain .yellowpages.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co yet to secure NSW pole access deals
NBN Co is yet to reach permanent agreements with two out of three NSW state-owned electricity distributors for access to power pole infrastructure to deploy aerial fibre cables.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 26th Mar 2013
Council IT dept tells of major failures after Telstra fire
Southern Grampians Shire Council has catalogued the trials of its IT department's improvisation efforts to restart core services in the wake of Telstra's exchange fire at Warrnambool late last year.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mozilla begins baking new patch to kill tracking cookies
A new patch for Firefox is now being tested by Mozilla and could see third party cookies banned from being installed if a user hasn't directly visited the cookie owner.
Source: ZDNet Australia
AARNet, NBN connect primary school students
Junior newsreaders in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria will be broadcasting their sustainability stories via Australia’s Academic and Research Network (AARNet) video conferencing service and the National Broadband Network (NBN) today.
Source: Computerworld
Vic govt puts Warrnambool exchange fire cost at AU$18m
The Telstra exchange fire in the Victoria regional town of Warrnambool cost the local economy at least AU$17.9 million, according to the Victorian government.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co awards $170 million contract to Transfield services
NBN Co has awarded a $170 million contract to Transfield Services to roll out fibre optic broadband in Sydney metropolitan and suburban areas.
Source: ARN
NBN Co to simplify fibre approvals for new estates
NBN Co will simplify the application process required for developers to have fibre approved for new housing estates.
Source: iTnews Australia
Feds urged to retain Telstra copper in NBN world
The Victorian Government has urged its Federal counterpart to consider running Telstra's copper and NBN fibre networks side-by-side until the latter proves its credentials to stay online in an emergency.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 25th Mar 2013
Telstra exchange fire cost $408,000 a day
The Victorian Government has revealed that Telstra's exchange fire in Warrnambool last year cost the local economy an estimated $408,000 a day.
Source: iTnews Australia
ICANN approves first new Top-Level Domains
The first 27 of 1898 new global Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) to join the likes of .com, .net and .au live on the Internet have been released by ICANN.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 24th Mar 2013
NBN: Fibre to the world
In this feature, ZDNet explores how fibre deployments across the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States are being achieved, at what cost, whether they have been successful, and how they compare to Australia's NBN.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 22nd Mar 2013
Telstra reins in nebulous NBN migration talk
Telstra has sought to upend what it sees as increasingly irrelevant discussion about the 'pull through' copper-to-fibre migration technique.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus makes surprise strategic shift to focus on fixed & NBN
Optus has announced a significant refocussing on its fixed network business with the loss of almost 300 staff, but Mobile accounts for 66% of revenues and almost 70% of EBITDA.
Source: iTWire