Broadband News

Fri, 12th Aug 2011

NBN key to Labor's plan for the arts

The future of the arts looks wired and inspired under Labor, with a discussion paper identifying key planks of a federal cultural policy.

Source: Australian IT

Thu, 11th Aug 2011

LTE: Telstra cost-cutter, Optus cash river

Telstra CEO David Thodey has revealed that the company's plans to launch long-term evolution (LTE) broadband devices later this month are aimed at reducing the cost of transporting data on Telstra's network, while Optus says it sees LTE as a new source of revenue.

Source: ZDNet Australia

iiNet renews call for industry collaboration on copyright

On the eve of a the High Court hearing an appeal application from the movie studies that have been waging a long running legal battle with iiNet over copyright issues, iiNet has called for the industry as a whole to get together and make content legitimately available online.

Source: iTWire

Proposed NBN laws to bypass state rules

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy yesterday proposed amendments to existing legislation that would make it easier for the National Broadband Network Company to connect premises to the network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra forges ahead with NBN deal approval

Telstra has flagged plans to hold a shareholder vote on its $11 billion agreement with NBN Co in October, even if it does not receive approval on a structural separation undertaking lodged with the competition watchdog.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN: demand-side folly or supply-side win?

The NBN has spent so much time as a political football that we've forgotten to think of it in the simplest terms: as a way to right the imbalance of supply and demand. Getting this wrong, as we've seen in other industries, can be disastrous, which should be reason enough to support making the right investment now.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus net profit falls 5pc

Optus posted a 5 per cent fall in quarterly net profit as revenue jumped to $2.3 billion, its parent, SingTel, said.

Source: Australian IT

Telstra: Profit down, shares up

Telstra shares are one of the top performers on the Australian market after the company reported a 17 per cent fall in annual profit but forecast improvements in revenue and earnings in the year ahead.

Source: ARN

Internode completes IPv6 deployment

Internet service provider Internode has moved to a production IPv6 environment for all subscribers, two years after trials began on the protocol.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 10th Aug 2011

NBN fibre splits renters and landlords

For Australian renters, fighting with the landlord might take on a new dimension as the National Broadband Network (NBN) rolls out, unless NBN Co does something about it.

Source: ZDNet Australia

New study a fillip for NBN

The case for a National Broadband Network (NBN) has been given a fillip by research findings that show by 2015 there will be an almost six-fold increase in internet traffic in Australia.

Source: Computerworld

AARNet launches five-year plan

The Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet) has announced a wide range of initiatives around network upgrades, collaboration, and mobility as part of a new five-year plan.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra and AAPT advocate flexibility in NBN Co wholesale contracts: Optus says no

Both Telstra and AAPT are calling for NBN Co to be given some flexibility in the terms and conditions of its contracts with its wholesale customers. In contract, Optus says no discrimination should be permitted.

Source: iTWire

NBN providers clamour over Telstra exchanges

Service providers AAPT and Optus have warned of the potential for continued discrimination in Telstra's favour at points of interconnect under the National Broadband Network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Net too expensive for seniors: study

More than 40 per cent of older Australians say that the internet is too expensive, leaving them at risk of being shut off from health and other online services.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Large ISPs face $2m penalty over service guarantees

Large internet service providers could face fines of up to $2 million if they do not meet performance benchmarks for customer connections, fault repair and appointments.

Source: iTnews Australia

Backlash forces NBN rebates

One-third of the revenues NBN Co had hoped to derive over the next 15 years from a controversial pricing structure will come under pressure.

Source: Australian IT

Tue, 09th Aug 2011

NBN Co calls truce in wholesale cost fight

NBN Co has reached a compromise in its public war on network connection costs by agreeing to rebate the first 150 Mbps of connectivity virtual circuit charges in the early stages of the build.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN listens to Hackett, cuts prices for now

After months of fierce criticism from Internode founder Simon Hackett, the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) has rejigged its connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) charge, waiving the charge for usage under 150 megabits per second in areas where less than 30,000 premises have been passed.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Issues raised over NBN's role in disaster communications

The National Broadband Network (NBN) will play a minor role in providing communications in a major natural disaster due to its low levels of redundancy and availability, according to the country's fifth largest ISP, Internode.

Source: Computerworld

Gyppedsland: NBN's too hard basket meets 'install different'

The news that several towns in Gippsland will miss out on a piece of the moral broadband challenge of our generation is joined by the NBN Co shifting responsibility for getting consent to get the fibre connected from itself, to ISPs, although renters will still need the landlord's consent.

Source: iTWire

Telstra: 800MHz better for public safety than 700MHz

While emergency services organisations (ESOs) continue to fight for the 700MHz spectrum, Telstra has insisted the 800MHz spectrum is an even better substitute for a high-speed public safety mobile broadband network.

Source: ARN

Mon, 08th Aug 2011

Global recession fears to put pressure on NBN: Turnbull

Unstable global financial markets will put more pressure on the government to cut the cost of delivering its National Broadband Network (NBN), according to opposition communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull.

Source: Computerworld

Police declares Govt's 800 MHz plan unviable

The Police Federation of Australia has stepped up criticism of a Government proposal to shunt a planned emergency services mobile network into the 800 MHz band, saying it could take "decades" to clear a suitable block.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tas schools, govt access NBN via Aurora

Tasmanian utility Aurora Energy has been picked to provide internet services to Tasmanian schools and government on the National Broadband Network (NBN), following a month of controversy over the deployment of internet in the region.

Source: ZDNet Australia

IPv6 technology guide

Our four-part IPv6 migration, budgeting, technology issues and IPv6 products.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra 4G to launch end-August

Telstra will begin selling USB modems for its 4G network from August 29 but refuses to nominate the speeds the new network will achieve.

Source: Australian IT

Fri, 05th Aug 2011

Internode rescinds forced plan changes

Internode managing director Simon Hackett has revoked recent plan changes after they largely affected the service provider's most loyal customers.

Source: iTnews Australia

Online tax ruling triggers a barrage

Retailers have slammed the Productivity Commission's recommendation to keep purchases from foreign internet sites tax-free.

Source: Australian IT

Conroy defends take-up of NBN service

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has defended the tiny numbers of NBN customers in the scheme's first inner-city trial area.

Source: Australian IT