Broadband News
Wed, 14th Mar 2012
Australia-Japan cable picks Ciena for upgrade
The Australia-Japan Cable is upgrading its subsea cable route and has signed networking vendor, Ciena, to help out.
Source: ARN
Telstra predicts 1800MHz LTE device boom
Telstra has predicted that an "explosion" of devices will operate on long-term evolution (LTE) in the 1800MHz spectrum band, despite Apple's new iPad not being one of them.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus names Huawei as LTE supplier for Newcastle area rollout
Optus has named Huawei, the supplier of LTE equipment for its 700MHz trail and the current vendor for its 900MHz and 2100MHz 3G networks as the LTE supplier for its 1800MHz first commercial services in Newcastle, but has yet to confirm any vendor commitment beyond that initial service area.
Source: iTWire
Australian Internet filter puts us on 'surveillance' list
Australia has been added to a list of "countries under surveillance" maintained by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), due to the Government's "dangerous content filtering scheme".
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra to help James Cameron boldly go where no film director has gone before
Telstra is to play a key role in a plan by film director James Cameron (he of Titanic & Avatar fame) to pilot a submersible to the deepest part of the world's oceans, film what he finds and produce a documentary.
Source: iTWire
Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in disarray
A US-led proposal to tighten intellectual property rules in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement has been rebuffed at the latest round of negotiations in Melbourne.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 13th Mar 2012
Australian home Internet users at risk from cyber threats
Canberra's Centre for Internet Safety has issued a warning that, despite around 80 per cent of Australian homes having internet access, it believes too few end users take the necessary steps to keep themselves safe online.
Source: iTWire
Will 4G LTE devices ever roam internationally?
The widespread acceptance of 4G LTE was supposed to unite wireless operators around the globe. But the worldwide spectrum crunch is making international roaming a tough problem to solve.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Group test: 12 dual-band routers reviewed
Unhappy with your wireless network performance? With the 2.4GHz frequency band becoming ever-more congested, the best way to give your Wi-Fi the boost it needs is with a dual-band router.
Source: PC Authority
4G claims could put Apple under watch
Apple could face a consumer backlash and scrutiny by Australia's consumer watchdog if it continues to advertise its new iPad in Australia as 4G-capable, when it is not 4G-capable here.
Source: The Australian
NBN Co aims to slash broadband activation times
NBN Co and Australia's internet service provider community will spend this weekend testing a system that aims to dramatically reduce the delay consumers face when signing up to a broadband service.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 12th Mar 2012
Qld election policies an NBN wasteland
Neither the incumbent Queensland Labor government led by Premier Anna Bligh, nor the Campbell Newman-led Liberal National Party (LNP) have launched any official policy detailing how they will harness the National Broadband Network (NBN) in the state if elected in the upcoming Queensland election.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ICANN's grip over IANA in danger
The US Government has rejected all bids it received to run the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), putting ICANN's decade-long grip over the technical contract in jeopardy.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus broadband ads penalty reduced to $3.61 million after appeal
Optus has successfully won an appeal to have fines for breaching the Trade Practices Act in relation to broadband advertising campaigns reduced by more than $1.6 million.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 09th Mar 2012
FetchTV fetches Cantonese TV to Australia
IPTV provider FetchTV has added a Cantonese pack to its range of options.
Source: iTWire
iiNet applies for .iinet TLD
iiNet will become the first Australian telecommunications company to apply for its own top-level domain (TLD), seeking to obtain the .iinet TLD.
Source: ZDNet Australia
3 customers roam to Voda 3G
Vodafone Hutchison Australia has given the green light to a new roaming strategy that will see 3 subscribers roam onto Vodafone's 3G network for the first time.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone steps up marketing to win back users
Vodafone is gambling on freer contracts as a way to win mobile customers deterred by the telco's coverage woes in recent years.
Source: SMH
Thu, 08th Mar 2012
Symbio signs NBN Co wholesale broadband agreement
Symbio Networks - a provider of white label VoIP services has signed NBN Co's wholesale broadband agreement and says that it will shortly complete the accreditation process to become an NBN wholesale aggregator.
Source: iTWire
iiNet launches relief package for NSW flood-affected customers
iiNet has announced a relief package which include cancellation of service without penalty and extended payment options for customers affected by the NSW floods.
Source: ARN
Foxtel Austar merger: ACCC flags Telstra competition concerns
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has flagged concerns over the increased power Telstra would get in fixed broadband and voice markets if cable TV provider Foxtel acquires regional satellite TV provider Austar. Foxtel has offered an undertaking to address the competition issues and the ACCC is calling for submission of views from Telstra's competitors.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 07th Mar 2012
NBN marathon talks end with landmark deal
Twenty-seven months of negotiations between Telstra and NBN Co ended today when the two parties finalised a definitive agreement.
Source: SMH
Freight rail operator brings trains onto Telstra NextG
The government-owned operator of Australia's freight rail network has started replacing the disparate communications systems used in 704 privately owned trains in a bid to remove one of the few remaining obstacles to interstate shipping.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra finalises $11b NBN deal
Telstra has finalised its $11 billion agreement with the federal government over the rollout of the country's high speed internet network.
Source: The Australian
Internode boosts Qld team
National broadband company, Internode, has strengthened its business partner channel in Queensland with a boost to its businesses development team in the state.
Source: iTWire
Govt opens NBN-based legal program
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy opened the first round of the $4 million National Broadband Network (NBN) regional legal assistance program on Tuesday to provide regional communities with access to legal services online.
Source: ZDNet Australia
84Mbps HSPA demonstrated
The world's first successful demonstration of 84Mbps WCDMA downlink and 23Mbps uplink has been performed, showing the mobile broadband speeds that may soon be available.
Source: iTWire
Mobile network satisfaction levels decline, survey says
As smartphones and tablets surge in number, mobile workers are less satisfied with their wireless network services, a new poll from iPass has found.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 06th Mar 2012
Telstra signs first 3G wholesale customer
Numerous established players have been keen to resell Telstra's 3G service but the first to do so is a relatively unknown startup, iTelecom Wholesale.
Source: iTWire
Govt considers detailing NBN deals
The government will consider revealing details about the costs and delays caused by NBN Co's negotiations with Telstra and Optus, but has not committed to full disclosure.
Source: ZDNet Australia