Broadband News
Wed, 09th Feb 2011
NBN Co fights inferior image of fixed wireless services
NBN Co has been forced to defend its planned use of fixed wireless and satellite infrastructure in Tasmania after the state's new infrastructure minister appeared to infer the technologies weren't long-term solutions to broadband availability.
Source: iTnews Australia
"Fat" Internode's plan changes a "joke", claims Linton
The outspoken chief executive of broadband provider Exetel has blasted a series of plan changes by rival Internode yesterday as a "joke of an announcement", claiming the move represented "desperation" in the face of Telstra's recent attempt to win back market share in broadband.
Source: Delimiter
100Mbps NBN uptake surprising: Hackett
The take-up of 100 megabits per second services on the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Tasmania was much higher than originally expected, according to Internode managing director Simon Hackett.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 08th Feb 2011
Internode touts Power Packs for upload, shaping boost
ISP Internode has given users of its Easy Broadband plans an option of unmetered uploads and faster shaping of excess traffic with two power pack add-ons launched today.
Source: iTnews Australia
Anti-NBN junkies need to go to rehab
Like the junkie who can't quite quit their harmful habit, the haters of the NBN project just refuse to give up the object of their fervent hatred, fumbling around in the dark continuously for their next fix; the next flawed argument that might just prove once and for all that the project is a dud.
Source: Delimiter
Greens to pursue Government on NBN Co FoI exemption
Two key bills to be reintroduced to Parliament this week could result in increased pressure on the Federal Government to explain a number of decisions it has made on its National Broadband Network (NBN) in the past several months.
Source: Computerworld
Telcos scramble to restore lines
Australia's major telcos were scrambling yesterday to restore mobile and landline services to customers caught in Cyclone Yasi's path.
Source: Australian IT
NBN Co details network of spares
NBN Co plans to hold inventories of spare parts at points of interconnect and maintenance depots across its network to cut response times for its technicians to attend and repair geographic failures.
Source: iTnews Australia
Changeover to IPv6 is no time to panic
In about three months, Australia will run out of its last batch of internet addresses under the old IPv4 naming system.
Source: Australian IT
Alcatel creates tiny base stations for data surge
Alcatel-Lucent showed off technology on Monday that shrinks mobile phone base stations to barely bigger than a golf ball.
Source: iTnews Australia
Underground power better than NBN: Opposition
Putting power cables underground in cyclone prone areas would be a better investment than the National Broadband Network, the Queensland opposition says.
Source: ARN
Mon, 07th Feb 2011
Vividwireless hits 128Mpbs in first TD-LTE trials
Wireless broadband provider vividwireless this week signalled further moves away from the WiMAX network it debuted with, hitting peak speeds of 128 megabits per second (Mbps) in live trials of rival mobile technology, Time Division Duplex Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE).
Source: Computerworld
Vividwireless looks to increase coverage
Vividwireless is planning to expand its east coast mobile broadband services in the next 18 months, via either its existing WiMax technology or Time Division Duplex Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) technology, the company revealed today.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mobile network 'operational' in Yasi affected areas: Optus
Optus has announced it will provide assistance packages to its small business and personal customers who were hard hit by Cyclone Yasi last week.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra's fixed-line revenue broken
Telstra will this week reveal that the rot in its fixed telephony business has continued to drag down earnings.
Source: Australian IT
NBN Co to open 24x7 network surveillance centre
NBN Co plans to open a round-the-clock network surveillance operations centre in Melbourne at the end of April that will house three tiers of network support including a specialist tactical response unit.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 04th Feb 2011
Photos: NBN Co network termination units
Regular Delimiter reader and all-round telco commentator Michael Wyres was at a NBN Co briefing this week and took these shots of the company’s internal and external network termination units, which will be installed in homes and businesses. Michael has kindly supplied us with the shots, but we recommend you visit his excellent blog for a fuller explanation of how everything works.
Source: Delimiter
SEA-ME-WE4 cable capacity upgraded
The SEA-ME-WE4 submarine cable connects Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Laid in 2005, the capacity of the cable has now been upgraded to 40 Gbps.
Source: iTWire
Opinion: Why no IPv6 panic among Aussie telcos?
Ever wondered why most of Australia’s telcos aren’t in a panic about the impending exhaustion of IPv4 internet addresses?
Source: iTnews Australia
Global net crackdown to shatter 'utopian' internet: expert
Egypt's internet shutdown is just the tip of the iceberg and a global net crackdown is inevitable, leading internet experts say.
Source: SMH
iiNet: the iiSP that's the new number ii?
iiNet has embarked on a huge advertising drive that looks like its inspired by the old "Avis - We're Number Two!" campaign, as the company with two i's says it wants to be the number two company that's number one ISP in your life.
Source: iTWire
Internet runs out of addresses - for now
The non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers doled out its last five batches of "IP" numbers that identify destinations for digital traffic.
Source: Australian IT
IPv4 dump a historical day in net history
The online overseers bid adieu to the last 83.9 million addresses needed to bring devices online, marking the occasion as "one [of the] most important days in the history of the internet".
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telcos send in repair teams
Tens of thousands of people caught in the destructive trail of Cyclone Yasi were without communication services yesterday as telecoms companies worked to restore their networks.
Source: The Australian
Key Telstra transmission link down in North Queensland
Loss of mains power and backup generators has brought down one of Telstra's key link in Ingham, in the north of Queensland.
Source: ARN
Thu, 03rd Feb 2011
iiNet's IPv6 is on its way too
National broadband provider iiNet today said it was well advanced in its planning for the expected Internet Protocol version 4 address global shortage, and the shift to version 6 of the long-lived protocol.
Source: Delimiter
Conroy: No Townsville NBN delays from Yasi
Communications minister Senator Stephen Conroy has rejected suggestions that Cyclone Yasi will have a major impact on the NBN testbed project in Townsville, saying that the nature of the project meant it would not suffer major delays.
Source: iTnews Australia
No internet "kill switch" for Australia, says Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this morning said the Australian Government wouldn't take the sort of action its counterpart in Egypt has over the past week, in attempting to block communication between protesters in the country by shutting down all access to the internet.
Source: Delimiter
iiNet to be one of few to benefit from NBN: Malone
ISP iiNet will be one of the few to benefit from the NBN, according to managing director Michael Malone.
Source: Computerworld
TIO: Mobile and Internet convergence fuelling consumer complaints
Internet services are increasingly being used on mobile phones and they are driving up the number of consumer complaints, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsmen (TIO).
Source: ARN