Broadband News

Fri, 25th Feb 2011

Five things you need to know about LTE

Like it or not LTE is not going away - here are five reasons why.

Source: ARN

Vodafone fuels sharp rise in new TIO complaints

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has reported a 96 percent rise in complaints lodged against Vodafone in the second half of last year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 24th Feb 2011

iiNet fights off AFACT's piracy appeal

The full bench of the Federal Court today dismissed an appeal by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft following its loss against iiNet in a high-profile copyright infringement and internet content piracy case decided early in 2010, handing a second victory to the ISP in its battle against the organisation and its movie studio backers.

Source: iTWire

iiNet v AFACT: Federal Court dismisses appeal

The Federal Court today dismissed an appeal by Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) in its claim that Perth-based internet service provider iiNet had infringed on the copyrights of the film studios the body represents.

Source: Computerworld

Conroy out of step with NBN chief

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy denies the National Broadband Network is overburdened by a dysfunctional level of oversight.

Source: Australian IT

Greens win FOI concession on NBN Co

NBN Co will be subject to freedom of information laws under a deal negotiated by the Greens with the Federal Government.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus opens up about its own upgrades

SingTel subsidiary Optus has laid out progress on its own network upgrade efforts in a statement this week following announcements from rivals Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia detailing massive network expansion plans.

Source: ZDNet Australia

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 “sterile”.

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