Broadband News
Sun, 06th Mar 2011
Nation of unrepentant pirates costs $900m
Almost 5 million Australians illegally downloaded films, television shows, music and other content online last year, a new study shows.
Source: SMH
Sat, 05th Mar 2011
Finding the ring of confidence in city's great beep test
On your marks. Get set. Download. Telstra has won a speed test of mobile phone providers in Sydney, narrowly beating second-place Optus and blitzing rival networks Vodafone and 3.
Source: SMH
Fri, 04th Mar 2011
Watchdog thaws price freeze on Telstra cable
The competition watchdog has thawed its 15-month freeze on the price of accessing Telstra's copper access network.
Source: Australian IT
ACCC draws mixed response on $16 copper access
The competition watchdog's interim decision to set a flat $16 a month charge for most wholesale access to Telstra's copper network has attracted a mixed response from the industry.
Source: iTnews Australia
Disasters could cut NBN comms: Internode
In the event of a natural disaster, fixed-line and mobile phone customers may be cut off because the National Broadband Network won't build redundancy into its network under proposed points of interconnect, Internode's general manager of regulatory and corporate affairs John Lindsay has warned.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra's Plan B if NBN collapses
Telstra has been working on a contingency plan should the Gillard government's mammoth national broadband project fail.
Source: Australian IT
Energy industry attacks Coalition position on NBN wholesale changes
The energy utilities industry has attacked the Coalition's proposed NBN legislation amendments that would stop NBN Co from selling network access directly to selected companies and agencies.
Source: ARN
Opinion: NBN Co has more ACCC hurdles to jump
NBN Co has been distributing its product and price list noting that the prices still have to be accepted by the competition watchdog. David Havyatt outlines the challenges NBN Co will face in getting the prices accepted.
Source: iTnews Australia
Analysis: ISPs must sharpen customer agreements
The latest interpretation of copyright law by the Full Bench of the Federal Court should compel internet service providers to revisit their customer relationship agreements (CRAs), according to legal experts.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 03rd Mar 2011
ACMA outlines five-year spectrum licence outlook
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published a new report aimed at helping the Government's plan for the digital television switchover and reviewing major elements of Australia's wireless spectrum.
Source: Computerworld
ACMA looks abroad in mobile broadband spectrum study
The Australian Communications and Media Authority will begin a series of consultations this year to examine future spectrum bands for mobile broadband, amid concerns that spectrum "re-farmed" from defunct services won't be enough to meet future demand.
Source: iTnews Australia
Net pirate ruling may force ISPs to cut off cheats
Australian households now face the very real possibility of having their ISP disconnect or suspend them from the internet if they pirate films or music online.
Source: SMH
Fusion Broadband offers NBN like speeds from DSL bonding
Start up Fusion Broadband is offering a service that provides small businesses with increased Internet bandwidth and redundancy by bonding together up to six broadband services that can be from the same or different service providers.
Source: iTWire
Rights group eyes ISP anti-piracy roundtable
Rights holders have wasted no time seeking an audience with internet service providers in the wake of the iiTrial appeal judgment, calling for a "roundtable" to deal with online piracy just a day after AFACT's appeal in a case against iiNet was rejected in the Federal Court.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 02nd Mar 2011
Exchange upgrades may cost NBN: Telstra
A concentration of National Broadband Network points of interconnect (POI) at existing exchange locations and a focus in metropolitan areas rather than regional areas risks making the network inefficient and increasing the costs for NBN Co and access seekers, according to Telstra.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC splits up NBN Points of Interconnect sites
Australia's competition watchdog will split two large NBN points of interconnect in NSW and Queensland and expand or relocate several others in a revision announced today.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACMA to roll out spectrum auction system
The Federal Government is moving forward with its plan to sell off Australiaâs 700 MHz spectrum, with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) signalling its intention to source an auction system to allocate spectrum licences.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Bills now with added transparency
The Greens last night celebrated after successfully moving amendments to the current NBN legislation before parliament that will open up NBN Co to scrutiny through Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet on online film piracy: We're not the 'ISP Police'
Last week's judgement in the iiNet vs AFACT case has opened a few interesting cans of worms - including the possibility that ISP providers may be charged with disconnecting people who pirate. So what does iiNet think about this?
Source: PC Authority
Telstra's fault warning on NBN service
Telstra has warned that a key design feature of the National Broadband Network could raise the costs of the $36 billion project.
Source: Australian IT
Tue, 01st Mar 2011
No Labor majority on NBN oversight group
The Joint Committee tasked with overseeing the roll-out of the National Broadband Network (NBN) will not have a Labor majority, as part of a deal between the Greens and the Federal Government.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet calls 'cherry-picking' at South Brisbane exchange
ISP iiNet has made a bid to have Telstra's fibre upgrade of the South Brisbane exchange captured by anti-cherry-picking rules being debated in Canberra.
Source: iTnews Australia
Greens finalise NBN joint committee
The Australian Greens today revealed it had reached an agreement with the Government to create a new parliamentary Joint Committee to oversee the rollout of the National Broadband Network.
Source: Delimiter
No investor would touch NBN: Liberals
Debate on legislation surrounding access and ownership in relation to the National Broadband Network heated up in the House of Representatives last night.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Railways under siege for spectrum
Australia's peak rail authority is battling to protect billions of dollars worth of investment in the safety of national rail networks.
Source: Australian IT
Telstra: Re-open digital radio block for microwave links
Telstra has called on Australia's communications regulator to reclaim an allocation of 1.5 GHz spectrum reserved for digital radio, advocating its return for use by point-to-point microwave services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 28th Feb 2011
Photos: Field trip to NBN site in Willunga, SA
Sydney University's Dr Melissa Gregg travels to Willunga, South Australia to canvas attitudes to technology and the national broadband network as the first fibre gets deployed on Australia's mainland.
Source: iTnews Australia
'Unlimited' war just pedantic semantics?
Just what do telcos mean by 'unlimited'? And why do they insist on using loaded words to sell 'unlimited' and 'infinite' services that are in reality offering something much different? Is it just business as usual in marketing, or is it time to hold them to account for their chronic abuses of the English language?
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN critics misunderstand wireless: NetComm
The chief executive officer of Australia’s oldest modem maker has added his voice to those backing fibre for the National Broadband Network, saying there was room for it and wireless to coexist.
Source: iTnews Australia
AIIA: NBN should be prioritised as part of ICT's Queensland flood response
The scale of flooding in Queensland this year came as a shock to Australia and the world. The loss of life alone makes this year's flooding a terrible tragedy in the history of the state. Add to that a repair bill in excess of $5 billion and a likely impact on National GDP of as much as $9 billion in export revenues alone and clearly this is one of the worst national disasters the country has seen.
Source: ARN