Broadband News
Mon, 27th Sep 2010
Turnbull pledges to push forward NBN debate
Newly instated Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Malcolm Turbull, has promised to push forward the debate of the National Broadband Network (NBN), and fulfil his role in keeping the government to account.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra playing favourites, Internode boss claims
Internode boss, Simon Hackett, has speculated that Telstra's wholesale division may be giving some retail Internet service providers better deals because they hadn't built out their own competitive broadband infrastructure as some like Internode, iiNet and TPG had.
Source: ARN
Internode slays other ISPs in customer ratings, Telstra comes last
Fast rising broadband provider Internode has thrown down the gauntlet to its larger rivals by clearly beating them in a new customer satisfaction survey of Australian internet users. In a survey of ten leading ISPs, Internode was the only broadband provider to get an overall five star rating, the highest possible score, while heavyweights Telstra and Optus brought up the rear of the field.
Source: iTWire
Staged approach better than a blanket NBN rollout
Out appetite for broadband capacity appears insatiable; build a bigger pipe and we will find ways to fill it up.
Source: The Australian
Sat, 25th Sep 2010
Video: Turnbull lays out case for NBN cost-benefit
Malcolm Turnbull was looking forward to building a relationship with NBN Co chief executive officer Mike Quigley when they meet at the beginning of next month for the first time since he assumed the role of Opposition spokesman on broadband.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN opposition not pointless, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday denied his party was attempting to "wreck" Labor's National Broadband Network project, insisting opposing the project was the right thing to do, despite apparent widespread support for the project from both the public and critical minor parties and independents in parliament.
Source: Delimiter
Fri, 24th Sep 2010
Conroy on front foot on NBN, reforms
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has rejoined the fray in the growing battle over broadband in Australia, telling the World Computer Congress in Brisbane that there are times when Government's have a responsibility to step in and shape the nation's future.
Source: iTWire
NBN "Hayman solution" may see it split in two: Coutts
The increasingly apparent split between the financially attractive urban fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) rollout and the obligatory wireless and satellite deployments to rural and regional areas under the National Broadband Network (NBN) may effectively and operationally split its wholesaler, NBN Co, in two.
Source: Computerworld
Did anti-filter voters put Conroy last?
Prior to the 2010 Federal Election, a campaign opposing the Australian Labor Party's mandatory internet filter policy was held to send Labor a message by putting Senator Stephen Conroy, the minister responsible for the policy, last on their Senate ballot paper when voting below the line. But did it work?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra to stop kilobyte-charging on prepaid wireless
Telstra planned to revamp its prepaid wireless broadband plans next month.
Source: iTnews Australia
Delay to NBN laws threatens home building
The government's failure to prioritise crucial legislation to implement the $43bn National Broadband Network has raised further fears about its timing.
Source: Australian IT
Thu, 23rd Sep 2010
Coalition broadband expert, Paul Fletcher, retains key advisory role
Former Optus executive and Liberal MP, Paul Fletcher, remains a key advisor to the Coalition on broadband, despite his role in helping craft its controversial policy during the election campaign.
Source: ARN
Put case for NBN, Telstra man urges
Telstra chief financial officer John Stanhope has questioned Labor's refusal to build a business case for the National Broadband Network.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet fixes customer's naked DSL problem
Western Australia-based internet service provider iiNet has finally resolved the problems faced by one of its naked DSL subscribers which got an airing in these columns.
Source: iTWire
vividwireless debuts WiMAX connected pocket WiFi access point
vividwireless, the operator of WiMAX networks in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, has added a battery-powered multi-user WiFi device, the ViViFi, to its line up of access devices.
Source: iTWire
Little joy for Telstra investors
Telstra shares plunged to new lows yesterday amid uncertainty over its deal with NBN Co and a poor outlook for profit margins in a more competitive telecommunications industry.
Source: SMH
Wed, 22nd Sep 2010
Telstra reform: Pressure mounts on Turnbull
Pressure is growing on newly-appointed Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull to deal with the industry reform legislation that will enable the $9 billion Telstra structural separation deal to proceed.
Source: iTWire
NBN talks progressing: Telstra
Talks between Telstra and the federal government on the National Broadband Network are moving towards how an agreement will be implemented.
Source: Australian IT
Optus still thinking about NBN Tasmania offering
The nation's second-largest telco Optus has again stated it is still considering whether to provide retail fibre to the home services over the Tasmanian leg of the fledgling National Broadband Network, despite its biggest rival Telstra joining the party.
Source: Delimiter
Huawei squeezes 700Mbps from DSL
Huawei has showcased, in Hong Kong what it claims is the world's first technology able to deliver 700Mbps over copper pair phone lines.
Source: iTWire
BigPond emails still await delivery to some
While Telstra maintained that its BigPond services returned to normal late last week for most of its customers, that was little comfort to Ken Hargreaves who was still waiting on crucial e-mails that were lost during the ISP's four-day national outage.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra Ultimate USB modem
Though so much depends on where you use it, the Ultimate USB modem has the potential to be faster than a fixed-line ADSL connection and doesn't cost much more than any other Telstra wireless broadband modem.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Web guru joins attack on NBN
One of Australia's most successful dotcom entrepreneurs has branded the National Broadband Network a potential "$43 billion hi-tech babysitter".
Source: Australian IT
Tue, 21st Sep 2010
Our growth is blitzing iiNet, claims TPG
National broadband provider TPG today claimed it was signing up customers faster than any of its rivals, including fast-growing iiNet, as well as the nation's two major telcos Telstra and Optus, with the upstart telco on track to crack the half a million customer level by the end of September.
Source: Delimiter
NBN sums don't add up: Wotif founder
Wotif founder Graeme Wood has questioned the government's sums on the $43 billion NBN, saying the return on investment just doesn't add up.
Source: Australian IT
Telstra offers free NBN trial in Tasmania
The nation's largest telco Telstra has revealed plans to hold a three-month free trial of fibre to the home services over the fledgling National Broadband Network rollout in Tasmania, bringing the total number of ISPs to sign on in the state to five.
Source: Delimiter
TPG posts huge profit margin
TPG Telecom has reported a 216 per cent rise in full year profit after absorbing fellow telco Pipe Networks, but said it would have exceeded guidance anyway.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC proposal 'threatens Telstra revenue, NBN deal'
The recent ACCC proposal to lower the price Telstra charges its rivals to access its copper network will hurt the telco's revenues.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 20th Sep 2010
Fast broadband best served by market: UN
Malcolm Turnbull has seized on a UN report that urges a competitive, market-based approach to the development of highspeed broadband networks.
Source: Australian IT
Video: Virus scanners not probing IPv6
The chief scientist of a group responsible for providing a stable online infrastructure in Australia says the evolution in the internet's lingua franca is safer from web nasties than that in use today.
Source: iTnews Australia