Broadband News

Wed, 27th Mar 2013

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

Telstra reigns 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

NBN fibre splicers in strong demand

As part of its efforts to recover from a three-month delay NBN Co yesterday announced it will train and employ extra fibre splicers.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 21st Mar 2013

NBN Co to miss June fibre target

NBN Co has downgraded the number of premises it expects to pass with fibre by the end of June to between 190,000 and 220,000.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus sheds 290 jobs

Optus has confirmed it will cut around 290 jobs as part of a restructure initially flagged last month.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co names new chairperson

Ten Network Holdings director, Siobhan McKenna, has joined NBN Co as its newest chairperson.

Source: ARN

TPG to offer consumers 'military grade' data security

TPG is to offer its business and consumer customers "military grade" security of their data under a partnership with Cocoon Data Holdings, a company founded in Australia but now headquartered in the US. It has made an investment in Cocoon and has forged a technical partnership with Cocoon and its subsidiaries, Covata Australia and Covata USA.

Source: iTWire

TPG to bid for spectrum?

ISP TPG has emerged as a possible bidder for some of the 'digital dividend' spectrum to be auctioned off next month.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co's contract crisis

When NBN Co pushed back on the prices it was offered by construction companies in 2011, NBN Co's Terry Brown said the organisation was building an national broadband network, "but not at any price".

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 20th Mar 2013

Conroy media reforms could harm Internet investment: IIA

The proposed media reforms drafted by Broadband Minister Senator Conroy and currently being rushed through Parliament could harm Internet investment if passed into law the peak Internet industry body in Australia warned today.

Source: iTWire

Telstra eyes Perth-Singapore fibre link

Telstra has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with SubPartners to acquire capacity on the APX West submarine cable connecting Perth to Singapore.

Source: Computerworld

Conroy skirts commitment to NBN target

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has avoided directly answering questions in the Senate over whether NBN Co remains on track to pass 286,000 premises with fibre cables by the end of June.

Source: iTnews Australia

Beyond limits: Kogan Mobile under fire

Outspoken technology entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan is under fire over his new mobile plans after disconnecting customers for sending too many texts or making too many calls on supposedly "unlimited" plans.

Source: SMH

Antarctic division asks for fibre optic cable

Australia’s Antarctic division is hoping to buy a fibre optic cable to link its ice breaker ship and towed environmental sampling devices.

Source: iTnews Australia

Should NBN Co be reporting more frequently?

The outside disclosure of the number of premises that NBN Co has passed with fibre has revealed that NBN Co isn't being completely transparent.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Syntheo exits NT NBN build

Syntheo will hand construction of the National Broadband Network in the Northern Territory to NBN Co, the company announced this morning.

Source: Computerworld