Broadband News
Wed, 23rd Feb 2011
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
Analysis: Did NBN Co pay too much for wireless spectrum?
There is probably a good reason Senator Conroy avoided mentioning the $120 million price NBN Co paid Austar for wireless spectrum last week in his otherwise laudatory press release.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra to open 100 new stores
Telstra says it will open 100 new stores over the next three years.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet's BoB Lite: Review
Can iiNet's first in-house developed device compete with the big boys -- Linksys, Belkin, NETGEAR, and even the FRITZ!Box being marketed by Internode, or is this first effort from the Australian company a lemon?
Source: Delimiter
Conroy: NBN, Internet sales, will cost more jobs
Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has told an event in Sydney that job losses will happen as businesses adopt new technology.
Source: ARN
Telstra wants to get more customers online
Telstra has announced one of its most ambitious attempts to allow its customers do more online as part of the push by the chief executive, David Thodey,to transform Telstra into a service-focused business and reduce its reliance on call centres.
Source: SMH
Stanford Researchers Double Wireless Networking Speeds
Researchers at Stanford University have shown it's possible to double the data rate of communication networks without the need for additional frequencies, something that could lead to significantly faster wireless networking.
Source: Computerworld
Sun, 20th Feb 2011
93% of Australians to get NBN fibre by 2015: Schmidt
Google chairman Eric Schmidt raised a few eyebrows during his keynote presentation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, claiming Prime Minister Julia Gillard had announced that 93% of Australians would get NBN fibre by "2015 or 2016." Schmidt praised the NBN and said Australia was leading the world.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 18th Feb 2011
EFA to AFACT: your numbers don't add up
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has delivered a virtual slap in the face to the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), picking a string of holes in research released yesterday by the group which suggested internet piracy was costing Australia's economy $1.37 billion annually.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Back in your box, EFA tells AFACT
Electronic Frontiers Australia has delivered a virtual slap in the face to the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, picking a string of holes in research released yesterday by the group which suggested internet piracy was costing Australia's economy $1.37 billion annually.
Source: Delimiter
Mobile data growth driver behind $2 trillion telecoms market
A new report forecasts that mobile data services will push the global telecommunications market to US$2.4 trillion by 2014, more than compensating for the collapse of fixed line voice revenues.
Source: iTWire
Comment: Plenty of room for NBN wireless and Telstra's LTE
You have to feel for Mike Quigley when dealing with the vexing questions posed by the growth of wireless broadband connectivity: NBN Co has to simultaneously rebut the suggestions that wireless is a threat to the case for fibre connectivity, but at the same time respond to concerns that fixed wireless for the first 4 percent outside of fibre range is not an "inferior technology."
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 17th Feb 2011
$120m too much for $65m spectrum: Libs
The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) is paying twice the price for spectrum that the government rejected when it cancelled the OPEL network, according to the Opposition.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Keneally pledges free Wi-Fi for CityRail
The NSW Government has pledged to deploy free Wi-Fi on all Sydney buses and trains from next year should it win the looming state election, Minister for Transport John Robertson said today.
Source: ZDNet Australia
LTE now, NBN when?
So much nonsense has been written about the so-called 4G versus NBN debate that it seems that everyone except some serious telecoms pundits have overlooked a key fact - the NBN is still years away. Therefore, the debate is really 4G versus DSL, a debate that looks to start heating up very soon.
Source: iTWire