Broadband News

Thu, 17th Feb 2011

Film industry eyes legal streaming services

The Australian film industry has considered legal, online content delivery in its longstanding battle against movie piracy.

Source: iTnews Australia

EFA shoots down 'unproductive' AFACT movie piracy study

A damning report commissioned by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) on movie theft’s impact on the economy will do little to discourage film piracy online, according to Internet advocacy group, Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA).

Source: ARN

Piracy costs $1.4bn a year: AFACT

Piracy is costing the Australian economy a whopping $1.37 billion a year, according to research by anti-piracy organisation the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

Source: ZDNet Australia

4G: How Telstra will ROFLstomp Optus, VHA

When the reality of a working LTE deployment hits Australia through late 2011, with all mobile phone owners increasingly being smartphone owners ... Telstra's Next G network will become nothing short of irresistable.

Source: Delimiter

NBN vs 4G: war not over yet

An article over at the ABC says the NBN vs 4G contest is "already over", but wireless is currently winning the race for coverage, with the cost of wireless connections in Australia already lower than ever, although speed, as always with wireless, is an issue.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co buys AUSTAR spectrum for $120 million

The company responsible for rolling out the National Broadband Network, NBN CO, has purchased pay TV provider, AUSTAR’s, 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum to roll out wireless broadband to rural and regional areas.

Source: ARN

Wed, 16th Feb 2011

NBN kills 4G on cost for the data-hungry

Many people have taken Tuesday morning's announcement from Telstra to downplay the need for the National Broadband Network, but they're ignoring Australia's growing hunger for data.

Source: ZDNet Australia

VHA breached Privacy Act, says Commissioner

The Australian Privacy Commissioner today said although Vodafone (VHA) didn't make customers information publicly available on the internet during its recent security scandal, it was nontheless in breach of its obligations under the Privacy Act.

Source: iTWire

Telstra LTE versus Vividwireless LTE: what's the difference?

February is the month of Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless broadband technology with both Telstra and Vividwireless announcing they will roll out 4G LTE networks across Australia.

Source: ARN

Turnbull secretly 'loves' the NBN, claims Internode

National broadband provider Internode this morning claimed Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull secretly "loves the NBN as a concept", despite having been given an order by Opposition Leader to "demolish" the project.

Source: Delimiter

Government blows away wireless threat to NBN

The federal government has dismissed suggestions wireless technology is a threat to the national broadband network (NBN)as Telstra plans to boost mobile internet speeds.

Source: ARN

Broadband Dept earns rebuke over rural subsidy scheme

The Department of Broadband has railed against an audit of the Australian Broadband Guarantee scheme that concluded it had not kept pace with the prices and download quotas offered by metro-comparable internet services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 15th Feb 2011

LTE? We've got that too, say Optus, VHA

Telstra's rivals have issued a muted reaction to the company's plans announced overnight to upgrade its flagship Next G mobile network to the Long-Term Evolution family of fourth generation (4G) wireless technologies, pointing out they were also in trials of the standard.

Source: Delimiter

Telstra won't lack 4G spectrum: Ericsson

Telstra will not be at risk of running out of spectrum for its new Long Term Evolution networks, thanks to multiband technology and the upcoming digital dividend, according to Ericsson.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra upgrades metro Next G network to LTE

Telstra has revealed plans to commercially deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile technology on its Next G network by the end of the year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra not insured for disaster

Telstra has restored its fixed-line and mobile networks  following  Queensland's floods and Cyclone Yasi.

Source: Australian IT

yARN: Will Telstra's LTE launch kick NBN Co where it hurts?

Telstra has recently announced an ambitious program to roll out "4G" LTE throughout Australia. The obvious and crucial question is what this will do to the Government's National Broadband Network, which remains venerable to high-speed wireless technology.

Source: ARN

Telstra to launch LTE by end 2011

Telstra will have LTE services available in capital city CBDs and major regional centres operating at 1800MHz and using network infrastructure from incumbent supplier Ericsson and dual LTE/HSPA USB dongles from Sierra Wireless by the end of 2011.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 14th Feb 2011

Optus hit for misleading broadband ads

The Federal Court has once again hit Optus for misleading advertising for its "unlimited broadband" TV and newspaper advertisements.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Turnbull: Greenhill report backs up anti-NBN arguments

Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has used the independent report by Greenhill Caliburn into NBN Co's business case, to back up his arguments against the National Broadband Network.

Source: ARN

Wireless takeup threatens NBN: report

Wireless internet services could significantly threaten the NBN's long-term viability an independent commercial assessment has revealed.

Source: Australian IT

Telstra slims down 'exchange' data centres

Telstra has detailed a multi-year, multi-million dollar data centre consolidation project that would merge up to 68 sites into two or three large facilities.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN is 'visionary', congratulations: Wu

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a "visionary" project and Australia should be congratulated, according to the author of a history of large-scale communications technologies. The challenge will be in the execution, he said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Port Mac council seeks free NBN access points

A NSW North Coast council has called on the Government to fund free NBN public access points to get rural residents excited by the prospect of superfast broadband.

Source: iTnews Australia

Caliburn rubber-stamps NBN business case

Corporate advisory firm Greenhill Caliburn has delivered a positive appraisal of NBN Co's business case in a report published this morning by the Federal Government, with the firm labelling the broadband company’s assumptions of its future operations as "reasonable".

Source: Delimiter

Highland folk battle cable guys

There's something special about Wingecarribee Shire, something about the rolling green hills of the NSW southern highlands and the town's leafy streets.

Source: Australian IT

Business Council favours cutting NBN to fund flood recovery

The Business Council of Australia - which is made up of the CEOs of Australia's 100 largest companies - has added its voice to those calling for spending on the National Broadband Network to be redirected to restoring Australia's disaster damaged infrastructure.

Source: iTWire

Backlash looms over NBN rollout

A survey by The Australian of 12 councils near NBN test sites found the majority reporting a mixture of apathy, scepticism and hostility towards the NBN among residents.

Source: The Australian

Fri, 11th Feb 2011

NBN Co to pay $5m for second datacentre

The National Broadband Network Company will shell out $5 million over five years for the use of Queensland's Polaris datacentre, the company announced today.

Source: ZDNet Australia

2011 a year of 'network development' for AARNet: CEO

Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet) will attempt to expand its international access network in coming years in an attempt to stretch its reach for research projects, according to the service provider's chief executive, Chris Hancock.

Source: Computerworld