Broadband News
Thu, 24th Feb 2011
Timeline: iiNet vs AFACT - the path to decision day
More than two years after it began, there may finally be a definitive outcome in the historic AFACT vs iiNet court case.
Source: ARN
NBN fixed focus is reckless: Turnbull
The internet world is turning wireless yet the federal government is fixated on fixed connections, opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says.
Source: Computerworld
Conroy defends oversight of NBN
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy denies the National Broadband Network is overburdened by a dysfunctional level of oversight.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet piracy appeal decided today
After over six months wait, a judgement on the appeal for the landmark copyright infringement case between internet service provider (ISP) iiNet and 34 film and television studios represented by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) is due to be handed down at the Federal Court in Sydney at 2:15pm today.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus has misgivings on deal with NBN
Optus has renewed calls for "forensic" scrutiny on the legislation that sets out governance arrangements of the National Broadband Network.
Source: Australian IT
NICTA on the hunt for NBN application developers
NICTA is looking for partners to get on board its Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation (ACBI) initiative.
Source: ARN
Wed, 23rd Feb 2011
NBN opt-in hurt by rentals, language
NBN Co admits struggling to drive opt-ins for the National Broadband Network in Brunswick, Victoria, because it has to rely on local authorities to provide property owners with consent forms.
Source: ZDNet Australia
AFACT: Stamping out piracy levels the playing field
The film industry wants to tackle movie piracy to level the playing-field, not to avoid implementing new content delivery models, according to the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).
Source: ARN
iiNet, film industry copyright decision due
The federal court will tomorrow hand down an anxiously anticipated ruling in a landmark online copyright case between Hollywood studios and ISP iiNet.
Source: Australian IT
Good news for NBN Co: users put speed ahead of price and bundles
A survey of UK broadband users undertaken by comparison web site, Cable.co.uk claims to have show that users will forego bundles and lower prices for higher broadband speeds.
Source: iTWire
Blame backhaul, not NBN, for slow speeds
Tasmanian customers who have experienced lower than advertised download speeds on the National Broadband Network can blame their retail service provider (RSP) for not buying enough backhaul capacity, according to National Broadband Network Company CEO Mike Quigley.
Source: ZDNet Australia
$65m only half of OPEL story: NBN Co
People who claim that NBN Co was ripped off when it closed the $120 million deal to buy 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum from Austar do not know the true value of the original OPEL deal, according to NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co rejigs plan for mainland rollout
NBN Co is replanning parts of its strategy to connect the second batch of mainland sites to the $36 billion project while the agreement for Telstra's participation in the new network is finalised.
Source: Australian IT
All five mainland NBN sites to go live by April
NBN Co has announced that all five first release sites will be activated for trials by April. NBN Co is the company responsible for rolling out the Government's National Broadband Network.
Source: ARN
CSIRO wireless to get 10Gbps backhaul
The CSIRO has made plans to field test 10Gbps backhaul for its wireless-over-TV technology next year.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone upgrade keeps it in LTE race
Technology analysts agreed that VHA's network replacement unveiled yesterday was a win for the telco, but disagreed on the reasons behind the investment.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra and NBN Co in greenfield fibre deal
NBN Co has struck an interim deal to use Telstra's systems to process applications from new housing developers seeking NBN fibre infrastructure for their estates.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co chief attempts knock-out blow in fibre vs wireless fight
NBN Co chief executive, Mike Quigley, has sought to drive the final nail into the fibre versus mobile wireless contest stating that politics surrounding the technology debate had become âsterileâ.
Source: Computerworld
3G issues didn't force upgrade: VHA
VHA chief technology officer Michael Young has said that the deal with Huawei to revamp its mobile network was not in response to the customer uproar over network issues, but instead something that had been in planning since the middle of last year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN raises labour concerns
The company building Australia's National Broadband Network is to seek advice on whether to proceed if labour shortages blow out the cost of the project.
Source: Australian IT
Brisbane flushes i3 sewer fibre network
Brisbane City Council has cancelled its dealings with fibre provider, i3 Asia Pacific, citing a lack of progress. The $600 million scheme was meant to supply fibre optic cabling through Brisbane's sewerage system.
Source: ARN
Tue, 22nd Feb 2011
In-depth: Senator Stephen Conroy on the NBN, voluntary Internet filter, Telstra and Turnbull
Let's face it: Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, drives the Government's National Broadband Network and Internet filtering measures. They are his initiatives and their future depends - to some degreee - on his performance and imagination. In this in-depth interview he discusses why natural disasters will never affect NBN's funding and the voluntary Internet filter's introduction.
Source: ARN
Vodafone caught on the hop by smartphone surge
Vodafone has issued an apology to customers for its recent problems, admitting that it failed to respond swiftly enough the surge in smartphone popularity and the resulting load on its network, and has detailed plans to improve its network and customer service.
Source: iTWire
Vodafone to overhaul entire network
Troubled mobile telco Vodafone Hutchison Australia has revealed it will replace the radio equipment at all of its 8000-odd mobile base stations around the nation, in a giant network roll-out which will see incumbent suppliers Nokia Siemens Networks and Ericsson dumped in favour of Chinese vendor Huawei.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mobile carriers warn spectrum curbs
Australian consumers may not get the best deal out of next-generation mobile broadband services because of problems with spectrum allocations.
Source: Australian IT
Decision close on wireless part of NBN
The National Broadband Network Company is nearing the end of its selection process to appoint a vendor to supply equipment for the wireless portion of the $36 billion project.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet booms on back of acquisitions
National broadband provider iiNet's latest set of financial results released yesterday showed the company was still expanding rapidly, with the acquisitions of Netspace and the consumer division of AAPT over the past 12 months fuelling both revenue and gross profit growth, although net profit remained even for the company.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 21st Feb 2011
Wireless to outnumber fixed broadband connections 5 to 1 by 2015
New projections from the telecoms research group that provides market intelligence for NBN Co has forecast that wireless broadband growth will easily outpace that of fixed line connections in Australia for the next five years. By 2015, projections show that the number of wireless broadband connections will outnumber fixed line connections by more than 5 to 1.
Source: iTWire
Acquisitions drive iiNet growth
iiNet has reported significantly increase revenue, NPAT and EBITDA for the half year to 31 December, on the back of its acquisition of AAPT's consumer business and Netspace.
Source: iTWire
FetchTV and iiNet: recipe for a good night in?
Here's a new reason to jump on the Internet TV train - dialing-up new release movies from Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures using a FetchTV box.
Source: PC Authority