Broadband News
Fri, 18th May 2012
ACMA eyes Telstra microwave spectrum for broadband
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is considering re-farming spectrum that underpins Telstra microwave links and radiotelecommunications services in rural Australia.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 17th May 2012
New homes dudded over NBN: Turnbull
Opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, says the government's "prejudice" against the private sector left about 35,000 new homes connected to copper instead of fibre cable last year.
Source: Computerworld
Five pros and cons of the NBN
It's fast, ubiquitous and it boosts productivity. Are there any downsides to the National Broadband Network (NBN)?
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA probes 1.5GHz for spectrum shortfall
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has taken a step towards addressing what it thinks will be a 300MHz shortfall in spectrum for mobile services by 2020, releasing a discussion paper on the usage of 1.5GHz spectrum for mobile.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus scores five year, $15m contract to deliver NSW distance education via satellite
The NSW Department of Education and Communities has awarded Optus a five year contract worth around $15m to provide satellite services for its distance learning programme.
Source: iTWire
TravelSIM lowers US data roaming charges
Pre-paid international roaming provider TravelSIM has cut its data rates for the US to $1 per megabyte while roaming over AT&T's network in the country.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mobile data consumption set to skyrocket: Finding
Mobile data consumption is projected to increase, by 2016, ten times more than its current usage rate, according to research conducted by business intelligence firm, Informa Telecoms and Media.
Source: ARN
Wed, 16th May 2012
NSW Northern coasts to get fixed wireless NBN by mid-2013
Residents and businesses around Coffs Harbour, Taree, and Port Macquarie are slated to have access to high-speed fixed wireless broadband as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to NBN Co.
Source: ARN
Tue, 15th May 2012
ICANN names 'Independent Objector" to new gTLDs
ICANN has named Alain Pellet, a former chairperson of the International Law Commission, to the curiously titled role of 'Independent Objector' for its new generic top-level domain program.
Source: iTWire
NBN FUD: will Abbott ever learn?
I am, of course, not privy to the private conversations between Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, but I would assume that at some point, over the past two and a bit years, Abbott would have sat Turnbull down and said something like, "Please, Mal, tell me what we're doing wrong with this National Broadband Network (NBN) thing, and why it cost us the election. Give me the facts, so I can correctly explain to the Australian people why it is a bad, bad idea".
Source: ZDNet Australia
Malaysia trumps Australia in NBN connection race
Malaysia's equivalent of the National Broadband Network is "comfortably outpacing" Australia's rollout effort but a lack of independence at the wholesale level from the country's incumbent could bite its market later, according to analyst firm Informa.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 14th May 2012
Full Spectrum: Optus 'free' broadband
Despite being slapped on the wrist for its last big advertising campaign, Optus is confident that its new "free" broadband ads won't catch the eye of the industry watchdog.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra, Vodafone turn on iPad Personal Hotspot
Telstra and Vodafone have released carrier setting updates to iPad owners, enabling the Personal Hotspot feature on the new iPad, and allowing users to share the data available through the SIM card with other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sun, 13th May 2012
Apple's iPad goes 'cellular' to avoid ridiculous 4G lawsuits?
After Apple was forced in Australia to note that its genuinely 4G capable iPad wasn't compatible with local 4G networks, even though its marketing materials had already made the distinction clear, Apple has now renamed its 4G iPad as "WiFi + Cellular".
Source: iTWire
Sat, 12th May 2012
Australian copyright law will be decided in Washington
Another round of talks to finalise the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement will conclude next week, this time in Dallas, Texas.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 11th May 2012
NBN contracts may be left alone: Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that a coalition government may let current National Broadband Network (NBN) contracts run their course, rather than face a multibillion-dollar termination payout bill.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Doubts cast over Pacific cable
The former joint venture partner in the Pacific Fibre initiative has cast doubt on the viability of the project, which aims to link Australia, New Zealand and the US with a new submarine cable.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fibre maker to hire 400 staff in Victoria for NBN
Fibre manufacturer, Corning Cable Systems, has pledged $40 million to add 300 to 400 jobs in Victoria in preparation for the peak rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ARN
Bourke one step closer to NBN - after a three-year wait
Bourke will be home to a satellite ground station to help it get on-board the National Broadband Network (NBN), but the remote NSW town will have have to wait up to three years until it is connected.
Source: Computerworld
Bourke to host NBN satellite ground station
The north-western NSW town of Bourke has been picked as one of 10 towns across Australia to host a satellite ground station as part of the national broadband network.
Source: SMH
Thu, 10th May 2012
ICANN targets May 22 for reopening gTLD application system
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) hopes to reopen on May 22 its system that will allow people to apply for a variety of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).
Source: Computerworld
Time to come clean on NBN costs
NBN Co is presenting a new corporate plan at the end of this month. Could it be bad news for the government?
Source: ZDNet Australia
EFA demands data breach disclosures
Electronic Frontiers Australia is calling for organisations to be required to notify data breaches where personal details of individuals are compromised.
Source: iTWire
Optus TV Now case may reach High Court
The legal battle between Optus and the two major football codes, along with Telstra, over the Optus TV Now recording service may end up in the High Court.
Source: ARN
Can the NBN thrive in the age of austerity?
It was hardly a surprise that the Liberal Party's response to Labor's new Budget would mention the National Broadband Network (NBN) as an example of the financial chicanery of which it has been accusing Labor for years: "there would be no surplus if the NBN was on the books", the party's official budget reply noted. It is, like so much NBN opposition, like Groundhog Day all over again (last year's Budget also drove Malcolm Turnbull to slam Labor's NBN accounting "charade").
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN to blow out by $400m: Turnbull
Shadow communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has claimed that the 2012-13 budget, announced Tuesday night, has revealed that the price tag of the National Broadband Network (NBN) has jumped by as much as $400 million.
Source: Computerworld
Treasury offloads Budget web traffic
The Federal Treasury has credited its recently deployed content delivery network for keeping its website online during Budget frenzy this week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 09th May 2012
NBN sinks surplus to $12b deficit: Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has suggested that the 2012-13 Budget would actually blow out to a $12 billion deficit, if the National Broadband Network (NBN) was on the books.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telco watch: NBN rolls out, at last
In 2009, then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, with Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, by his side, announced the $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN). Originally put up for tender to the private sector, the decision to make the lucrative - not to mention expensive - network a 100 per cent Government project has garnered much praise and criticism.
Source: ARN
NBN rollback to cost at least $1.8 billion
The Federal Government has revealed taxpayers would be liable for at least $1.8 billion, should the National Broadband Network project be culled in the future.
Source: iTnews Australia