Broadband News
Wed, 09th May 2012
Budget 2012: Govt pushes for productivity through NBN
The 2012 Federal Budget has been expectedly conservative with investments to IT, but the Government has poured money into driving productivity gains through services that would be delivered through the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ARN
ACCC: NBN won't kill internet competition
ACCC commissioner Ed Willett has refuted industry suggestions that the costs of providing services over the National Broadband Network will reduce competition for retail internet services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 08th May 2012
Budget includes $20m for NBN ads
Budget papers have revealed the Australian Government is spending upwards of $20 million to counter right-wing opposition to the National Broadband Network with a series of media and marketing campaigns.
Source: iTnews Australia
Up to Speed: that holiday traffic
The average speed experienced by home broadband users slowed over Easter, as more users jumped online. Does this mean ISPs are struggling to cope with peak demand?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra still deciding fate of copper post NBN rollout
Despite signing a conclusive agreement with the national broadband network builder - the NBN Co - to decommission its copper access network in parallel with the NBN rollout, Telstra has yet to finalise plans for copper scrap that could be worth more than half a billion dollars for its bottom line.
Source: SMH
Mon, 07th May 2012
NBN Co picks Primus for voice trial
After strong lobbying, Primus has been selected by NBN Co to test a software fix that will allow retailers to provide voice-only services over the National Broadband Network's (NBN) fibre.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co prepares voice services for prime-time
NBN Co has revealed plans to automate user authentication for voice services in the coming weeks, in an effort to ramp up support for its dedicated VoIP platform.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co and Primus to test telephone migration software
Software would ease the copper to fibre fixed-line phone service migration process for NBN customers.
Source: ARN
ICANN goes slow on gTLD system repair
The organisation in charge of expanding the number of internet address suffixes - the ".com" part of domain names - is apologising for delays, but says that it's favouring "quality, not speed".
Source: ZDNet Australia
First NBN era ISP AusBBS signs Utilibill as cloud-based billing provider
Australian Broadband Services (AusBBS), the recently launched ISP that describes itself as the first new player to emerge specifically to exploit the NBN - with a cloud based business model - has signed up Australian billing technology developer Utilibill to provide its billing platform.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 04th May 2012
To ISPs: Expand in business segment or die in consumer space
ISPs need to target the business and mobile segment as the fixed-line consumer category becomes increasingly less profitable, according to Ovum research director and telco analyst, David Kennedy.
Source: ARN
Virgin shaves excess data fees for smartphones
Virgin Mobile has made a surprise move to reduce excess data usage fees on its postpaid mobile phone plans.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co eyes 100 GB satellite plans
NBN Co has indicated plans to build its long-term satellites with a capability of providing an average download capacity of up to 100 gigabytes to users.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 03rd May 2012
VPN boon as young Swedes seek anonymity
A survey by researchers from the Swedish Cybernorms group has found a surge in the use of paid online anonymity services by young people.
Source: iTnews Australia
Copyright lost in the cloud
KPMG reckons that cloud computing will add $3 billion to our GDP in 10 years. But will the opportunities of the cloud be constrained if we don't fix copyright law?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus and Vodafone strengthen shared network agreement
Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) have fortified their existing network partnership by agreeing to share even more mobile sites.
Source: ARN
Optus job cuts may affect services: Union
Plans to slash 750 jobs at Optus will result in poorer customer service and could lead to jobs being sent offshore, the communications union has warned.
Source: ARN
Wed, 02nd May 2012
Google proves mobile web can be SPDY
Google's new experimental protocol that theoretically transports web content faster than HTTP has attracted interest from users and developers - but the web giant has now come up with proof, not theories, that it will work for mobile devices.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra flexes muscles over NBN rollout
Telstra is in a better position to exploit the national broadband network than other carriers because of its national retail presence and experience connecting 10,000 Brisbane households to fibre-optic cables, chief executive David Thodey says.
Source: SMH
Conroy's pricing inquiry a waste of time?
I was pretty excited when I heard about the Australian government's inquiry into price discrepancies between what Australians are charged for tech versus what the rest of the world pays for the same products. Unfortunately, since then, I've been fed a dose of reality.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Conroy 'comfortable' with filter recommendations
Communications minister Stephen Conroy has indicated initial acceptance of key recommendations made by a review of the Australian classification system that is likely to have an impact on the Federal Government's mandatory internet filtering proposal.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus cuts 750 jobs in restructure
Most of the roles to be made redundant will be in senior and middle management as well as operations, back office, and support divisions.
Source: ARN
Tue, 01st May 2012
Conroy to visit Google in data centre push
Communications minister Stephen Conroy will visit Google's US headquarters in coming weeks in an attempt to push discussion around Australia as a potential cloud hub.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internode begins DSL blackspot migration
Internode has extended the reach of its broadband network overnight, allowing more customers to directly access its cheapest 'Easy Broadband' plans for the first time.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 30th Apr 2012
Police find 15,400 Aussie credit cards on hacker forums
More than 15,000 Australian credit cards worth an estimated $3.75 million in total were salvaged from underground hacker forums in a global police sting.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus offers free broadband with mobile
Over the weekend, Optus announced a new offer: free fixed broadband with some of its mobile plans.
Source: ZDNet Australia
yARN: It's time for AFACT to accept the facts
Recently, the highest court in Australia unanimously dismissed AFACT's appeal that ISP iiNet was accountable for the bittorrent file-sharing occurring on its network. It was the final skirmish in the entertainment industry's three-year fight to try and change the role of the ISP in its fight against piracy.
Source: ARN
Google Drive will help kill Microsoft Office
Google's hard drive in the sky, Google Drive, is a big threat to other cloud storage products like Dropbox and Box. But it's also a stab straight at the heart of Microsoft's mainstream business software, Microsoft Office.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sun, 29th Apr 2012
Conroy announces tech price inquiry
Australian Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy has announced a parliamentary inquiry into high product prices in the Australian IT and technology sector.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 27th Apr 2012
Niche satellite providers fear backhaul squeeze
Small satellite service providers have urged the competition watchdog to rethink its 121 point of interconnect model for the National Broadband Network amid fears the cost of leasing backhaul to regional nodes could squeeze them out of the market.
Source: iTnews Australia