Broadband News

Wed, 25th Aug 2010

Comms Alliance NBN Project to forge ahead

The Communications Alliance NBN Project will seek to assist the Coalition’s broadband plan should it win support of the independent ministers that hold the balance of power to form a minority government.

Source: Computerworld

Government under fire from independents over $43 billion NBN price tag

The Labor Government is set to get intense scrutiny over its $43 billion National Broadband Network with key independent politician, Tony Windsor, singling it out as having a 'fictitious' cost.

Source: ARN

Coalition mulls broadband options

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has remained tight-lipped on any changes to his broadband policy to woo regional independents, but an analysis of his plan shows he could boost rural services in the next three years without a budget blowout.

Source: The Age

Tue, 24th Aug 2010

Spin offers first 2TB ADSL plan - UPDATED

ISP Spin has trumped iiNet and Primus with the announcement of Australia's first 2TB ADSL2+ plan.

Source: iTWire

Katter: Abbott's broadband plan has too much private ownership

Independent politician, Bob Katter, has arrived in Canberra for talks with the major parties and described the Opposition's broadband plan as having 'too much private ownership'.

Source: ARN

Filter takes back seat for independents

As the nation eagerly awaits the outcome of the parliamentary stalemate, only one of the three independent MPs at the centre of the uncertainty has provided an opinion on controversial cyber-security policies.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Internode readies high quota broadband plans

Internode's managing director, Simon Hackett, has acknowledged that the service provider will provide "substantial" upgrades to its broadband plans in response to the recent influx of competetive plans with high monthly data quotas, but said it would be a few weeks until anything is announced.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co ceases all new operations

The company responsible for the rollout of the Labor Government’s National Broadband Network, NBN Co, has all but frozen new operations. It comes after the company was given a $300 million equity injection.

Source: ARN

Independent gives big tick to NBN

Independent MP Tony Windsor has once again given a big and very public tick to the National Broadband Network, and while he stopped short of making it the absolute kingmaker in terms of which party would win his support to form the next federal government, it is clear that the NBN will play a central role in negotiations between the independents and the main parties.

Source: iTWire

NBN important 'but you can't eat it'

Labor may be quietly rejoicing that regional telecommunications is shaping as a key bargaining chip in the battle to form government.

Source: Australian IT

Mon, 23rd Aug 2010

Could election stalemate revive FTTN NBN?

As Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott scramble to woo the support of independents, could a broadband compromise help Abbott fulfil his dream of killing Labor's National Broadband Network?

Source: ZDNet Australia

Analysis: Did the NBN rollout plan win seats?

Voters in seats named as first and second release sites for Australia's National Broadband Network appear to have focused on issues beyond the NBN during the 2010 Federal Election, with the ALP gaining additional votes in only a handful of these electorates.

Source: iTnews Australia

Coalition refuses to budge on broadband

The Coalition has signalled it will not budge on its broadband policy to suit a clutch of country independents who will decide which of the major parties will form a minority government.

Source: SMH

Opinion: The Filter is dead, but it'll be back

The Greens' success over the weekend in cementing their hold on the balance of power in the Senate has sounded the death knoll for the government's controversial ISP-level internet content filter.

Source: Computerworld

Rural broadband finally gets some bandwidth

Anyone who thought that Australian politics was boring before last weekend is probably now having second thoughts. Whichever party gets to form government, however, one thing is certain: rural and regional Australia are finally going to get decent broadband. The question remains what sort?

Source: iTWire

Abbott set to shift policy ground

Tony Abbott has revealed he is prepared to alter his election promises -- including on his proposed broadband network.

Source: Australian IT

Independents to decide government warm on NBN

The likelihood of a hung parliament after the weekend’s Federal Election has left the fate of the National Broadband Network (NBN) up in the air, but supporters may take heart at comments from independent members set to hold the balance of power.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra in limbo on NBN

A shifting customer landscape and poor financial results had prepared Telstra to adapt to the advent of the National Broadband Network.

Source: Australian IT

Sun, 22nd Aug 2010

Election outcome to favour bush broadband

A cursory look at the platforms of independent members of parliament would suggest a hung parliament could favour the prioritised rollout of broadband services in regional and rural Australia.

Source: iTnews Australia

Coalition broadband to woo independents?

Senior Liberal Senator Nick Minchin believes the Coalition's $6 billion broadband plan will be more attractive to three country-based independent MPs than Labor's planned $43 billion network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Hung Parliament - what it means for tech and broadband

The results are in and neither side has emerged as a clear winner. With two such different broadband policies at play from both parties, what will a hung parliament do to our technology and the IT industry?

Source: ARN

Govt chaos: Has NBN Co stopped the rollout?

The NBN Co would not confirm this morning whether it would continue rolling out fibre while Australia's political future is in turmoil.

Source: APC Magazine

Broadband may help net independents

Last night when ABC television was trying to contact Rob Oakeshott, the re-elected independent member for Lyne, the patchiness of mobile reception in his northern NSW electorate made contact difficult.

Source: SMH

Fri, 20th Aug 2010

Julia on NBN: Don't risk jobs, economy

Julia Gillard has used her last set-piece speech of the campaign to warn that Australia will lose jobs to offshore markets if it does not go ahead with the construction of a high-speed national broadband network.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co received extra $300m before election

The Federal Government has injected over $300 million in equity into NBN Co, it has come to light this week, doubling the capital available to the company responsible for rolling out the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

NBN no cost to homes: Gillard

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has denied people would have to pay thousands of dollars to rewire their homes to get Labor's national broadband network.

Source: Australian IT

NBN a pie in the sky: Morgan

The $43 billion national broadband network (NBN) is a "purely political cover up" of the failure of the original FTTN proposal and a repeat of decades-old, failed nation-building technology Labor policy, according to independent telco consultant and long-time trade unionist, Kevin Morgan.

Source: Computerworld

iiNet brings terabyte broadband plan to NBN

ISP iiNet has raised the bar on its "terabyte" broadband plans by extending the offer to new sign-ups on national broadband network (NBN) infrastructure.

Source: iTnews Australia

AAPT to push ahead with fibre network upgrade

Telecom NZ has decided to push ahead with an upgrade of AAPT's national fibre network, to help the soon-to-be wholesale and business-only carrier compete in an NBN world.

Source: iTnews Australia

1TB plans are simply a headline seeking announcement: Exetel

Exetel chief executive, John Linton, has dismissed hefty new plans from fellow internet service providers (ISPs) iiNet and Primus Telecom arguing that they are more about marketing than sustainable business.

Source: Computerworld