Broadband News
Mon, 10th Jan 2011
Vodafone will report to Privacy Commissioner within 24 hours
The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, has been tasked with investigating Vodafone's latest security breach and will receive a report from its CEO within 24 hours.
Source: ARN
Vodafone may be liable on privacy breach
Vodafone faces compensation payments to up to 4 million customers after confirming it is investigating a security breach that has put billing and call records on a publicly accessible website protected only by passwords that change monthly.
Source: SMH
NBN roll-out in action: Kiama
Work is well underway in putting fibre in the ground of the first mainland roll-out sites for the Federal Government's $37.5 billion National Broadband Network project. ZDNet Australia took a trip to one of the sites to see how the project was unfolding.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone security outrage a reason to switch carriers?
Compromising the security of more than 4 million Vodafone customers is nothing short of an outrage and may even be a reason for another class action against the company. But could it also be final grounds for a mass migration to another mobile carrier?
Source: iTWire
NBN Co to sub-contract new housing estates
NBN Co has revealed it will provide the passive fibre, active electronics and cabinets to any company it subcontracts to help meet a mandate for the deployment of fibre in new housing estates.
Source: iTnews Australia
Sun, 09th Jan 2011
Mobile security outrage: private details accessible on net
The personal details of millions of Vodafone customers, including their names, home addresses, driver's licence numbers and credit card details, have been publicly available on the internet in what is being described as an ''unbelievable'' lapse in security by the mobile phone giant.
Source: SMH
Fri, 07th Jan 2011
New estates to get NBN first but how fast for how much?
Government funded National Broadband Network operator, NBN Co, has reiterated its plans to provide fibre broadband infrastructure in new estates to property developers going forward. New estates will be among the first to get fibre to homes, although what that means in terms of broadband bang for buck is still fuzzy.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co begins scheme to pay for most new buildings' fibre
The company responsible for the rollout of the National Broadband Network, NBN Co, has released key details of its plan to pay for the fibre of all new developments with over 100 premises. The changes begin on January 1, 2011.
Source: ARN
Optus offers 24-month handset warranties
Optus has agreed to provide 24-month warranties for all of its mobile handset customers - including those on plans bundled with Apple iPhones - following an ACCC crackdown.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vic opt-out block no big deal, says NBN chief
Nbn Co chief executive Mike Quigley isn't fazed by the Victorian Government's decision to reject the 'opt-out' policy which would have seen every premise in the state receive fast broadband by default, noting today Australians could make their own decision to sign up to his company's planned new network or not.
Source: Delimiter
NBN Co fibre takeover inevitable: Quigley
NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley has admitted that some existing fibre developers will be disadvantaged by the company offering last resort fibre to some new housing developments, but said that was inevitable, because the industry was being transformed by the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wireless vs Fibre debate: a personal experience
One of the most annoying NBN debates is whether we really need fibre when wireless is supposedly the future. I tried to run a business using wireless, and it was a nightmare.
Source: APC Magazine
TPG to escape ACCC fines for unlimited ads
ISP TPG will not face the same fines meted out by the competition watchdog to fellow ISP Dodo yesterday, despite being pulled up for what appeared to be a similar advertising campaign for unlimited ADSL2+ services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Opinion: NBN and the art of planning
We Australians are a pretty cynical lot. Despite having above average health and education outcomes in the OECD for below average expenditure, we tend to bemoan the state of our hospitals and schools.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mandatory ISP filter still on the agenda: Gillard
The Federal Government's mandatory internet service provider (ISP) level filter is still on the agenda, according to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 06th Jan 2011
Budget NBN offering unlikely to hit it big
A new entry-level broadband offering planned for introduction by internet service providers over the National Broadband Network is unlikely to boost adoption, according to Internode.
Source: Computerworld
BigAir buys ISP AccessPlus for $5m
BigAir has bought ISP AccessPlus for $5 million in a bid to expand its share of the internet market servicing tertiary students.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dodo cops $26K fines for misleading ads
Internet service provider Dodo has copped $26,400 in fines from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over advertisements for its ADSL2+ Unlimited broadband plan, which the regulator deemed misleading to consumers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Election result boosted Kiama NBN opt-in
NBN Co received a 9 per cent surge in homeowners opting to have their homes connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN) in the first mainland roll-out site of Kiama following the 2010 Federal Election.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Broadband Dept loosens iron grip on documents
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy loosened its grip on secret documents ever so slightly in the past year, according to a new report.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 05th Jan 2011
Internode customers get NBN uplink win
ISP Internode has brought uplink speeds on broadband services delivered over Tasmania's NBN network up to the minimum national standards proposed in the NBN Co business case last month.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone could be sued by over 9000 users
Around 9000 Vodafone users have registered their interest in suing the telco for call drop-outs and poor service according to law firm, Piper Alderman.
Source: ARN
We'll fix the network, promises Vodafone
Mobile telco VHA has pledged to implement a series of rolling upgrades this year to the network of its troubled Vodafone brand, following a series of outages and problems in 2010 that bought the company a tsunami of customer complaints.
Source: Delimiter
Tue, 04th Jan 2011
2010 Whirlpool survey focuses on the NBN
Australia's most controversial and perhaps largest internet forum has just opened the doors of its flagship annual survey, which will poll readers throughout January on their broadband purchasing habits and general opinion about the telecommunications market in general. And the focus in 2010? The National Broadband Network.
Source: Delimiter
NBN at risk from spies and hackers
The National Broadband Network could be vulnerable to attack unless it is backed by tougher counter-measures, says a cyber security report.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 03rd Jan 2011
Australian Broadband Survey 2010
The Australian Broadband Survey is now online, so consumers can once again have their say about the state of broadband in Australia.
Source: Whirlpool
Sun, 02nd Jan 2011
Lay off NBN smears, PM warns
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has leapt to the defence of two NBN Co executives, accusing Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of playing smear politics.
Source: SMH
Gillard rubbishes Libs' NBN, Alcatel questions
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has rubbished Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's questioning of the handling of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sat, 01st Jan 2011
Gillard dismisses Abbott's NBN claims
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has rubbished Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s questioning of the handling of the national broadband network (NBN).
Source: SMH
Coalition targets NBN over bribes scandal
The two top executives of the company rolling out the national broadband network have tried to distance themselves from an international corruption scandal that is engulfing their former employer, the French telco giant Alcatel.
Source: SMH