Broadband News
Sat, 11th Sep 2010
Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, gets promoted with more responsibilities
Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has retained his position in the Gillard Government's cabinet with an increase in responsibility.
Source: ARN
Fri, 10th Sep 2010
Optus stays mum on 21 Mbps upgrade
Optus has declined to put a date on an upgrade of its 3G network to HSPA+, believing that access devices and consumer demand for the speeds it promised wasn't there yet.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dodo thinks NBN wholesale
Telecommunications company Dodo's CEO Larry Kestelman has said that he thinks it will be difficult for small players to operate on the National Broadband Network (NBN), but the company would consider becoming a wholesaler for the network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
AAPT-iiNet user migration on track: Broad
The migration of AAPT's consumer business to iiNet is tracking to schedule and will be complete by the planned 30 September deadline, according to AAPT CEO, Paul Broad.
Source: Computerworld
Distressed Optus starts Open Network
Optus marketing chief Michael Smith has hinted at concerns about damage to its brand after the regulator again launched legal action against it.
Source: Australian IT
Conroy's net filter still alive and kicking
The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, is ploughing ahead with his internet filter policy despite there being virtually no chance any enabling legislation will pass either house of Parliament.
Source: SMH
Telstra deal secures employee pay rise
After a 20-month-long battle between Telstra and its unions, employees have voted in favour of an enterprise bargaining agreement that will lead to an 8 per cent increase in wages over the next two years.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Clear path forward for NBN: Greens
Whatever other complications minority government might create, in communications policy there is a clear path forward, according to Greens communications spokesman Scott Ludlam.
Source: iTWire
iiNet deals with unlimited fallout
Plans to axe unlimited quota plans for AAPT customers on the iiNet network has sparked fierce debate among those fearful they will be forced onto a relatively limited monthly quota.
Source: Computerworld
So we have an NBN ... where's my television 2.0?
Righto. So. Now we're getting our 21st century internet (thank Messrs Oakshott, Windsor and Wilkie). Can we also get our 21st century television?
Source: Delimiter
Industry demands NBN cost analysis
The country's third-largest internet service provider has renewed calls for a cost-benefit analysis of the National Broadband Network.
Source: Australian IT
Thu, 09th Sep 2010
NBN Co restarts recruitment machine
NBN Co has sprung back into action after its election hiatus by employing three new staff and posting 35 job advertisements since the formation of government on Tuesday.
Source: iTnews Australia
Slattery: NBN Co now a wireless telco
Labor's deal with the independents to roll out the National Broadband Network to regional areas first means it will now necessarily have to place a big emphasis on the wireless component of the network's construction, according to Pipe Networks managing director and long-time NBN critic, Bevan Slattery.
Source: ARN
TPG counts uploads in ADSL2+ changes
An ISP's plans to fundamentally alter how it counts users' activity has sparked outrage among its customers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Much cheaper NBN wins it by a whisker
The green light has been turned back on for the NBN, perhaps because the Independents were told the cost to the taxpayer was considerably less than $43 billion.
Source: ZDNet Australia
City won't pay for bush broadband: Swan
The Gillard government insists the city won't be slugged to fund affordable broadband in the bush.
Source: Computerworld
Telco sees NBN pitfalls
The head of the nation's third-biggest telco has warned that the National Broadband Network could duplicate existing fibre in some areas.
Source: Australian IT
Deal on NBN to cost billions
Julia Gillard's promise to deliver the ambitious NBN to regional areas before major cities will cost taxpayers billions of dollars, the opposition warns.
Source: Australian IT
Wed, 08th Sep 2010
Internode: leave us, but it's not our fault
Internode's managing director Simon Hackett has said he understands that his company will lose customers to BigPond because the internet service provider's ADSL2+ broadband plans using Telstra ports continue to be more expensive than the telco's retail prices, but added that he isn't prepared to go broke selling plans lower than Telstra Wholesale's (TW) cost price.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Photos: Nextgen shows off 100 Gbps test network
Nextgen Networks has demonstrated IP traffic running at 100 Gbps across a fibre optic test network of the kind being deployed for the Government's $250 million backhaul blackspot program.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internode accuses Telstra of wholesale price bias
ISP Internode has accused Telstra of giving more favourable wholesale pricing and terms to service providers not rolling out competing DSLAM networks.
Source: iTnews Australia
Conroy to rejig NBN rollout schedule
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will meet with NBN Co in coming days to "re-design" its rollout timetable in a way that prioritises regional deployment of fibre.
Source: iTnews Australia
Independents' deal sees NBN watchdogs
Independent monitoring groups will be established at a number of universities to keep a watchful eye over the delivery of Labor's promises to the regional independents, including the delivery of the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to Independent MP Tony Windsor.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus targeted by ACCC for latest broadband ads
Telco giant, Optus, is under fire from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for its latest series of advertisements targeting high-speed broadband customers.
Source: ARN
Bush NBN focus gets rebel group's tick
A chief member in the Alliance for Affordable Broadband, which shattered industry consensus on broadband by aiming harsh criticism at Labor's $43 billion National Broadband Network, has backed the scheme's regional priority roll-out schedule.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN will be cheaper than $43b: Nextgen chief Phil Sykes
The National Broadband Network (NBN) will cost "significantly" less than the proposed $43 billion price-tag, according to the head of the company responsible for the fibre rollout in regional 'blackspot' communities.
Source: Computerworld
Critics say fast reform key to NBN success
The National Broadband Network has helped save the Labor government from a first-term defeat.
Source: Australian IT
God help Australia, says Linton on NBN
The outspoken chief executive of internet service provider Exetel has issued a blunt reaction to the news that the National Broadband Network project is likely to go ahead: “God help us all”.
Source: Delimiter
Tue, 07th Sep 2010
Optus responds to NBN and Labor Gov't win
Australia's other several hundred pound telco gorilla, Optus, has issued a statement responding to the victory of Australia's Labor party in winning government and commenting on regulation and the National Broadband Network.
Source: iTWire
Abbott pledges sleepless NBN vigilance
Tony Abbott has warned Julia Gillard's government-in-waiting that the Opposition will be "hyper-vigilant" in its monitoring of Labor's National Broadband Network project for screw-ups.
Source: Delimiter