Broadband News

Wed, 17th Aug 2011

NBN the answer to disability and disadvantaged: Conroy

Communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has sought to position the National Broadband Network (NBN) as a means to connect those who are digitally isolated as a result of age, illness or disability.

Source: Computerworld

Turnbull: We should not to look at information in the digital age through rose coloured glasses

Many have argued that information in the digital age is creating the most transparent and efficient markets by increasing our capacity to store and compute and elevating the ability to send information at great speeds.

Source: ARN

Conroy compares NBN cross-subsidy to postage stamps and ATMs

If Australia Post can have national uniform pricing for postage stamps and banks can have it for ATM transaction charges, then the cross-subsidy scheme for the National Broadband Network (NBN) wholesale pricing is perfectly acceptable, according to Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy.

Source: ARN

Tue, 16th Aug 2011

Treasury docs show NBN worries evolve

While the Treasury did raise serious concerns about the financial risks posed by the National Broadband Network (NBN) two years ago, it seems that the government has gone a long way towards addressing those concerns in the intervening two years.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra blamed for iiNet regional decline

Iinet has blamed expensive Telstra port prices in regional and rural Australia for a portion of the 43,000 off-net broadband customers that it lost in the last financial year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra squeezes regional customers from iiNet

Internet service provider iiNet has attributed a significant loss of off-net customers over the 2011 financial year to continuing price squeezes from Telstra in regional areas.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 15th Aug 2011

Acqusitions lead iiNet to 48% revenue hike

Perth-based ISP iiNet (ASX:IIN) has recorded a 48 per cent increase in revenue for the year ending 30 June 2011, citing acquisitions of both Netspace and AAPT's consumer division as the driving factors behind the growth.

Source: Computerworld

Optus appeals $5.26m misleading ad fines

Optus has confirmed that it has lodged an appeal against the $5.26 million fine imposed upon it by the Federal Court for misleading advertising aired last year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

iiNet revenue soars, profit down marginally

Perth-based ISP, iiNet, has returned a 48 per cent hike in revenue for the 2010/11 financial year.

Source: ARN

There are no NBN apps: Turnbull

Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been spruiking coalition broadband policy this month. A core point, he says, is that there are no applications for National Broadband Network (NBN) speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps). Is he right?

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 12th Aug 2011

Bid for greater NBN roll-out power too much to bear?

The NBN saga continues unfolding, with the latest exciting development seeing the Federal Government propose the alarming utilisation of "Commonwealth regulation rather than State and Territory planning laws" in its quest to cable up the country.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co multicast service to launch mid-2012

NBN Co has today provided more detailed plans for a new multicast feature that will allow National Broadband Network (NBN) service providers to offer HD video channels over the high-speed network.

Source: iTWire

AFACT wins iiNet High Court hearing

The High Court of Australia has granted the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) special leave to appeal the Federal Court ruling of its long-running piracy case against iiNet.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN rollout may bypass planning laws

The NBN Co would be given sweeping powers to bypass state and local laws and install broadband infrastructure without the consent of landowners.

Source: Australian IT

Pique up as phone companies spark ire

Disgruntled customers often make at least five attempts to have complaints resolved by their phone companies and most spend hours trying to sort out problems before giving up, a report has revealed.

Source: SMH

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