Broadband News

Mon, 20th Sep 2010

Wireless Internet connections exceed fixed line

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its latest Internet Activity Report. It has included mobile handsets for the first time putting mobile connections well ahead of fixed.

Source: iTWire

Labor's NBN should learn from the Snowy Mountains Scheme: Turnbull

Opposition communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has co-opted the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme to attack Labor on its own would-be iconic piece of infrastructure, the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: Computerworld

Opposition broadband plan could be changed, says Pyne

Opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne has flagged that the Coalition may change its broadband policy.

Source: SMH

iiNet rules out multiple billing systems

iiNet planned will merge customers it bought from AAPT on one billing platform "in the long run", said its chief executive officer Michael Malone.

Source: iTnews Australia

Greens put Labor's NBN plan in doubt

Labor's plan to privatise its $43 billion National Broadband Network is in jeopardy.

Source: Australian IT

Sat, 18th Sep 2010

Call charges set to fall as Telstra price gouging revealed

The price of both fixed line telephone rentals and local calls are likely to fall under new pricing calculations that significantly undercut the price Telstra charges for access to its network.

Source: SMH

Fri, 17th Sep 2010

CSIRO plans week-long broadband event

The CSIRO 's ICT Centre is to stage - in Tasmania, the birthplace of Australia's FTTH network - a week long event designed to help Australia realise the full potential of the broadband future.

Source: iTWire

'Everything back to normal', says BigPond

Telstra's BigPond internet service provider is back online and "everything is back to normal", a spokesman said today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Aussie ISPs and telcos warned to overhaul consumer protection rules

Australian ISPs and telcos have been put on notice that they must lift customer service standards following a call from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) that consumer protection rules be overhauled.

Source: Computerworld

NBN must avoid becoming 'failed state'

Service providers were obliged to defend their networks against security attacks but not to the point they became security police, Arbor Networks solution architect Roland Dobbins told an audience of ISPs today.

Source: iTnews Australia

The Broad picture: Why AAPT opposes the NBN

The National Broadband Network (NBN) has been the darling of the broadband industry since it was given a $43 billion dollar budget and the goal of being a wholesale-only network.

Source: ARN

We need fast broadband to compete: Swan

Australia won't be able to compete economically in years to come without a super fast broadband network, Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

Source: Computerworld

Deal with the bush puts NBN further off

Julia Gillard's deal with the independents to prioritise connecting rural Australia to high-speed internet will delay the rollout of the NBN.

Source: Australian IT

Thu, 16th Sep 2010

BigPond users 'frustrated' by severe email outage

Telstra's BigPond internet customers have suffered significant email outages this week with some still complaining they are unable to use their email accounts four days later.

Source: SMH

100Mbps internet's dirty little secret

Getting a 100Mbps internet service might seem like the Holy Grail, but is it all that it's cracked up to be? No, actually. But does that mean the NBN isn't worth building? Again, no.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Internode cuts terabyte pricing by $30/month

Internode has cut the prices on its new terabyte broadband plans by $30 a month, bringing them into closer in line with what the national broadband provider's competitors are charging, although it will no longer offer the plans to customers using Optus' wholesale infrastructure as it had previously planned to.

Source: Delimiter

Pros advise on Optus 64Kbps 'supersonic'

The Federal Court in Sydney will next month hear experts determine if 64Kbps internet access can really be called "supersonic" broadband.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Conroy: Turnbull knows dial-up, not broadband

Newly appointed Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has experience in the dial-up business, not the broadband industry, according to Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy.

Source: ARN

NBN plan makes 'heroic' assumptions: Turnbull

Government must urgently publish the financial model it used in developing its National Broadband Network plan so the assumptions on which it is based can be properly debated, newly-appointed Coalition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says.  

Source: iTWire

NBN Co reveals IT rollout progress

NBN Co has reported "massive progress" in its IT infrastructure rollout as it started work on the first of two data centres and embarked on a second wave of recruitment to support the deployment program.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 15th Sep 2010

Conroy lashes Turnbull on NBN, Telstra bill

The Federal Government will push to get its stalled telecommunications reform bill passed this year, and says the Opposition will be held to account for any delays and cost escalations for the National Broadband Network if the legislation is held up.

Source: iTWire

Ericsson first with 21Mbps embedded HSPA modem

Ericsson has released what it says is the first embedded HSPA modem to support 21Mbps downstream bandwidth, and a new version of its 7.2Mbps product with half the power usage of its predecessor.

Source: iTWire

Wilkie, Oakeshott won't sway over NBN

Rob Oakeshott has lined up behind fellow independent Andrew Wilkie by ruling out the prospect of switching sides to support the Coalition over the NBN.

Source: Australian IT

Opposition trying to trash NBN: Gillard

The Opposition is trying to trash Labor's $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) initiative because they don't understand what it means to the economy, according to Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

Source: Computerworld

Ludlam warns Turnbull: Don't be a "NBN wrecker"

Greens Communications Spokesman Scott Ludlam today welcomed Malcolm Turnbull's appointment as Shadow Communications Minister but warned the Liberal heavyweight against "wrecking" Labor's National Broadband Network project.

Source: Delimiter

IPv4 shortage dawning on ISPs

The difficulties of adopting the next-generation internet standard so far have outweighed its advantages, but one key part of the computing industry is showing signs of beginning the IPv6 transition in earnest: internet service providers.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN: Abbott sets Turnbull on independents

Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, says one of Malcolm's roles as the new Shadow Communications Minister will be to expose problems with Labor's National Broadband Network project with the aim of wooing independent MPs back to the Coalition's camp.

Source: ARN

Tue, 14th Sep 2010

Election delay extends free NBN deadline

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) announced today that it will extend the deadline for those in first release sites to sign up to have their houses connected to the fibre network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Widespread problems with Telstra BigPond

Telstra was experiencing widespread problems with user login and email on its BigPond internet and Foxtel cable services.

Source: PC Authority

Turnbull blasts NBN waste, internet filter

Freshly minted federal shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull has criticised the Federal Government over its NBN investment, likening it to the '90s subsea cable boom that led to a "massive destruction of wealth".

Source: iTnews Australia