Broadband News
Fri, 08th Apr 2011
Telstra, NBN Co tussle on pit-and-pipe ownership
Greenfields developers are caught in the crossfire of an unfolding spat between Telstra and NBN Co over pit and pipe ownership that threatens fibre rollout in new housing estates.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fears NBN bill could top $44bn
Fresh fears have emerged that the peak funding of the National Broadband Network could balloon beyond $44 billion.
Source: Australian IT
Thu, 07th Apr 2011
NBN Co urged to be more transparent
The company rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN) has been urged to be more transparent about who will eventually lay its high-speed cables.
Source: ARN
Kokoda: Regulation essential to curb "criminal" ISPs
The Director of the Kokoda Foundation has stepped up calls for government regulation of the internet industry, to counter what he describes as "criminal" elements within the ISP community.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN builders fear blowout
Construction companies pitching to build Labor's NBN say the cost of capital works for the project could surge more than 50 per cent above forecasts.
Source: Australian IT
Wed, 06th Apr 2011
NBN Co, name that vendor: union
The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union has called for the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) to name the construction firm it is in talks with to take over construction of the $37.5 billion project.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra blames US router issue for degraded internet
Telstra has attributed a "router issue" in the United States to the degraded web browsing experienced by some cable and ADSL users in the past three days.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co buys Comptel code for OSS project
NBN Co's operations support system architecture has started to take shape after acquiring software and services from Finnish vendor Comptel and the project's systems integrator IBM.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN costing turning into Archilles heel of Government
The remarkable cancellation of the National Broadband Network building tender, followed by the dramatic resignation of the head of network construction at NBN Co, Patrick Flannigan, shows that all is not well with the costing of Australia’s biggest ever infrastructure project.
Source: iTWire
Conroy circles shock jock in NBN debate
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has gone head-to-head with one of the conservative Sydney shock jocks he last week singled out as muddying the debate around the roll-out of the National Broadband Network (NBN): 2UE Afternoons host Mike Smith.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra unveils new mobile hotspot device
Telstra has released its Elite Mobile Wi-Fi battery-powered hotspot 3G device for business and prepaid customers.
Source: ARN
Pacific Fibre goes to tender without PacNet
Pacific Fibre, a potential competitor to the Southern Cross Cable, today announced a tender for the build of its proposed cable connecting Australia and New Zealand to the United States, despite losing the funding of proposed joint venture partner PacNet.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 05th Apr 2011
NBN to help keep communities together
The National Broadband Network will help in retaining residents in low-density communities, according to the Southern Adelaide Economic Development Board (The Board).
Source: ARN
NBN resignation vindicates contractors
Contractors are taking as vindication the decision by NBN Co's construction chief to quit after the suspension of building tenders.
Source: Australian IT
Darwin telco faces regulator over network coverage
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) this week instituted its third Federal Court case against Darwin telco EDirect for misleading conduct.
Source: iTnews Australia
Bad telcos must pay up: ACCAN
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman should be given beefed-up powers to impose harsher penalties on telcos that have been found to have breached consumer protection obligations, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
Source: ZDNet Australia
Flannigan quits as NBN construction head
Patrick Flannigan has quit as NBN Co's head of construction, the national broadband network developer said today.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 04th Apr 2011
Internode urges free peering of govt data
Since the government is unlikely to offer citizens a separate free internet connection to government services via the National Broadband Network (NBN), access to government content should be free to all retail service providers, Internode has told Federal MPs.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Is Labor digging a hole on NBN labour?
NBN Co's hard stop has many observers wondering if the company hasn't bitten off more than it can chew - or whether construction bosses are just building too much fat into their contracts. Yet as NBN Co works to recover its momentum, it's worth considering whether Labor's determination to complete the project could see an alternative plan following the lead of our Asian neighbours.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Internode tells Conroy: you got it wrong
Internet service provider, Internode, has reiterated to the Federal Government its repeated warnings about the anti-competitive impact of the proposed structure of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ARN
NBN controversy? We know nothing: Government
The Federal Government is trying to distance itself from a controversy attached to the company building the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ARN
We predicted NBN construction blow-outs: Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull late last week claimed the Opposition and sections of the telecommunications industry had predicted the NBN construction costs would blow out beyond the Government's estimates, in the wake of news that NBN Co had been forced to halt its tendering process in the area, after negotiations with suppliers broke down over price.
Source: Delimiter
Huawei to set up Australian board
Huawei will create an Australian board of directors to run its local business, appointing an executive headhunter to locate three independent local directors.
Source: iTnews Australia
Killing the fixed-to-mobile substitution myth
Opponents of the National Broadband Network (NBN) have been arguing that mobile access will replace demand for faster fixed-line connections. The latest ABS statistics tell a different story.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Apprentices on notice, NBN plans put at risk
New apprentices are struggling to pass tests that were breezed through a decade ago, with skills in maths and physics so poor as to endanger plans for the national broadband network, an industry skills council says.
Source: SMH
Small ISPs should start small: Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has dismissed Internode's concerns about National Broadband Network (NBN) pricing smaller ISPs out of the national market, stating that new players wouldn't necessarily be national right away.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Conroy backs NBN as tender put on hold
Stephen Conroy has defended a shock move by the NBN Co to suspend a crucial network building tender.
Source: Australian IT
Fri, 01st Apr 2011
Small ISPs can thrive in NBN's regions
The National Broadband Network (NBN) will mean massive change for the telecommunications industry, with a range of industry players already looking at their future business models. We want retail service providers (RSPs) and others to seriously consider the opportunities of the NBN.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co explores options
Nbn is talking with a single constructor about building the entire network in the wake of the cancelled first tender.
Source: Australian IT
Union fears NBN workers face wage squeeze
The union representing workers laying out the national broadband network believes their wages will be squeezed as the project manager seeks to tighten up construction contracts.
Source: ARN