Broadband News
Tue, 01st Feb 2011
Telcos count the cost of flood damage
Telstra and Optus have begun cleaning and repairing damage from Queensland's floods, but full restoration of infrastructure is weeks off.
Source: Australian IT
Asia gets US$430m submarine link
Japanese giant NTT will launch a US $430m undersea cable linking business hubs in East Asia in June 2012.
Source: iTnews Australia
Small ISPs make a dash for the door
Small ISPs are a dying breed, as many as 200 having disappeared last year, as fixed-line broadband reaches saturation levels.
Source: Australian IT
Poll: 28 per cent want NBN scrapped for Queensland floods
A poll conducted by Essential Research has found 28 per cent of voters questioned believe scrapping or postponing the National Broadband Network is the best way to help fund the Queensland flood recovery.
Source: ARN
Mon, 31st Jan 2011
Is a net blackout possible down under?
After internet connectivity in Egypt was reportedly severed for political reasons, what would it take to blackout network access in Australia?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sign it, or we'll shout 'sign it!' again
Despite 18 months of "we're working on it", Telstra still has not signed off on the deal that will enable the NBN to proceed - even though nearly everybody recognises it's the right thing to do. Is David Thodey stalling in hopes of torpedoing the whole project? And if so, what exactly should Stephen Conroy do about it?
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co appoints head of marketing
NBN Co has appointed Hitachi Data Systems Australia and New Zealand senior marketing manager Tim Smith to head up marketing at the National Broadband Network (NBN) wholesaler.
Source: Computerworld
Sydney ferries get more free internet
The NSW Government will offer free wi-fi services on about 70 percent of the Sydney ferry fleet from today, giving 200,000 passengers up to 60MB of free quota a day.
Source: iTnews Australia
Hackett exits iiNet's Top Geek poll; appointed judge
Internode managing director Simon Hackett has made a graceful exit from a competition being held by rival broadband provider iiNet to find Australia's 'Top Geek', accepting an invitation to help judge the winner instead of potentially taking out the top prize himself.
Source: Delimiter
Speaking out: Exetel's view of telco issues
To describe Exetel chief John Linton as outspoken in the telecommunications industry would be an understatement. The chief of the telco that boasts 125,000 customers and 100 employees based in Australia and Sri Lanka was against the NBN even before it was cool.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co publishes draft NBN B2B framework
NBN Co has published the draft framework for the business-to-business gateway for ISPs utilising the National Broadband Network.
Source: Computerworld
Sat, 29th Jan 2011
NBN Co releases first draft of service provider B2B interface specs
NBN Co has released a series of documents detailing its proposals for the automated business-to-business interface that access seekers will use to deliver, monitor and bill for services provided on the NBN to end user customers.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 28th Jan 2011
Mobile broadband is killing free Wi-Fi
After spending two weeks in Japan scrounging for free Wi-Fi, I've come to the conclusion that mobile broadband is killing free Wi-Fi.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN: Conroy blasts 'ignorant & dangerous' Abbott
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has delivered a verbal double barrel shotgun blast in the direction of Tony Abbott, claiming the Opposition Leader has displayed a "woeful ignorance" regarding Labor's vaunted National Broadband Network project.
Source: Delimiter
Turnbull reveals what he'd do to the NBN
Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has outlined what he’d do to the Government’s National Broadband Network if the Coalition took control at the next election.
Source: ARN
Time running out for IPv4
Remember Y2K? The internet today is facing a similarly big problem all over again, but nobody knew exactly when it would hit - until now.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN: Abbott slams 'interactive gambling' waste
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has again called for the Federal Government's National Broadband Network project to be scrapped, claiming Queensland residents suffering in the wake of the state's catastrophic floots would rather have transport infrastructure rebuilt than the "interactive gambling" that he said the NBN would offer.
Source: Delimiter
Thu, 27th Jan 2011
One billion mobile-only Internet users forecast for 2015
There will be as many as one billion people using mobile broadband as their exclusive means of Internet access according to one industry analyst.
Source: iTWire
Huston: Address shortage threatens the open internet
APNIC chief scientist Geoff Huston has delivered a pessimistic view of the future of the internet, with no obvious solution in sight to the looming shortage of IPv4 addresses.
Source: iTnews Australia
When overseas Internet purchases go wrong
If you're buying from a website based in Australia, you're covered by Australian consumer law. But what if something goes wrong with an online purchase from an overseas website?
Source: PC Authority
Gillard confirms: NBN won't be cut to help rebuild after Queensland floods
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has confirmed the National Broadband Network will not be cut or slowed down to help fund rebuilding after the devastating Queensland floods. The Government estimates the recovery will cost $5.6 billion.
Source: ARN
Internet users to hit 2bn, landline drops
The number of internet users worldwide has mushroomed to reach the 2 billion mark, the head of the United Nations' telecommunications agency, Hamadoun Toure, has announced.
Source: ZDNet Australia
The end to global mobile roaming rip-offs? your own base station
Ubiquisys - a developer of femtocells - has gone one step further with the attocell: a cellular base station designed for the iPhone that you can plug into your Internet-connected laptop anywhere in the world and connect your cellphone direct to your home operator's network.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 25th Jan 2011
NBN: Who will be connected last?
Now that Labor's ambitious National Broadband Network project has finally cleared all of the regulatory, commercial and political hurdles that have stood in the way of its path to universal bandwidth nirvana, it's time to ask the most important question of all about the project. Who will be connected last?
Source: Delimiter
Follow Dodo or go the way of the dodo
Dodo may not have the most unblemished customer service record as an ISP, but the entry of this internet survivor into Victoria's retail electricity market marks an important point in the evolution of deregulated markets. Taken to extremes, internet service providers will eventually become just service providers as new networked products let them offer everything from Foxtel to insurance - but can the vision become reality?
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN looming: network vendors ramp up service provider marketing
Network equipment vendors Juniper Networks and Brocade have both made new appointments to their service provider marketing teams, with Juniper saying there is renewed momentum in the Australian market as service providers prepare to exploit the National Broadband Network.
Source: iTWire
Cerf: IPV6 crisis is imminent
Internet luminary Vint Cerf has urged the Internet community to speed up its move to IPv6 during his keynote speech to the Linux.conf.au conference, also using the opportunity to cast doubt over the Australian government's controversial plans to censor the Internet.
Source: iTnews Australia
Abbott eyes NBN cable contracts for flood relief
Opposition leader Tony Abbott has stepped up his campaign to divert NBN funds for flood relief by citing NBN Co's $500 million outlay on fibre as money that could have been used for relief efforts.
Source: iTnews Australia
An Australia Day NBN joke
The following telecommunications-related joke was sent to us by a friend. It's unknown who wrote it, but we think Malcolm Turnbull, in particular, might find it amusing :)
Source: Delimiter
Mon, 24th Jan 2011
Internet pioneer Vint Cerf to push Aussie NBN in the US
Internet pioneer Vint Cerf - now chief Internet evangelist at Google - told an Internet industry gathering in Sydney that he was envious of the NBN and would be pushing for the US take a similar approach.
Source: iTWire