Broadband News
Tue, 07th Sep 2010
NBN full steam, regional areas prioritised
The roll-out of Labor's $43 billion National Broadband Network project is set to resume following the announcement earlier today that Labor had secured the requisite number of votes to form a minority government with three independents and one Greens MP.
Source: ZDNet Australia
IT industry applauds as NBN proves key to Australia's political future
The issue of broadband has decided the future of Australia's Government with key independent, Tony Windsor, naming Labor’s NBN as the most important issue in his decision.
Source: ARN
Broadband 'main influence' to Windsor's Labor backing
Labor's national broadband network was one of the "main influences" for Tony Windsor's backing of the Labor Party, the independent MP said today.
Source: SMH
Labor wins broadband election
Independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor have backed Labor to govern Australia, with both saying the national broadband network was critical to their decisions.
Source: iTnews Australia
TPG returns fire in broadband battle
Internet service provider (ISP) TPG has fired the latest volley onto the bandwidth battlefield, offering "unlimited" broadband plans available from today.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Katter backs NBN, but goes with Coalition
Independent MP for Kennedy, Bob Katter, has announced he will side with the Coalition to form a minority government, but has continued to affirm his belief that the National Broadband Network (NBN) is the stronger of the two broadband plans.
Source: Computerworld
NBN is good for Gillard, not taxpayers
Labor's $43 billion National Broadband Network may be the most politically rewarding pork barrel of all if it gets Julia Gillard over the line with the country independents.
Source: The Australian
Katter pays tribute to the "no vote" NBN
Independent MP Bob Katter has paid tribute to Federal Labor for pursuing the National Broadband Network even though there were "no votes in it for them".
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 06th Sep 2010
Sydney rail travellers get free WiFi - for three months
RailCorp - operator of the NSW rail network is offering train travellers at Circular Quay station in Sydney free Internet access via WiFi for a three month trial period.
Source: iTWire
Back to the future: Analysys Mason recommends FTTN over FTTH
UK based consultancy Analysys Mason has lobbed another hand grenade into the NBN camp, telling telcos that they should reconsider costly plans for fibre to the home (FTTH) and focus on copper-based technologies such as FTTN combined with VDSL.
Source: iTWire
WA regional mobile blackspots under the hammer
The Western Australian Government has committed a total $120 million to eliminating mobile phone blackspots and overhauling emergency communications networks.
Source: Computerworld
ACTA leak cuts out ISP liability
Countries that were party to an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) may now be relieved of the obligation to impose third-party liability on internet service providers, according to leaked notes.
Source: iTnews Australia
Independents firm with NBN favour
Australia might still be waiting to find out which of the major parties will form Government following the election two weeks ago, but one thing appears clear: The three independents yet to make up their mind which side they will support are still giving off signs they view Labor's National Broadband Policy with enthusiasm.
Source: Delimiter
Internode now offering 1TB broadband
Internode has become the latest internet service provider (ISP) to launch an ADSL broadband plan featuring a terabyte of broadband quota.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Internode to offer terabyte plans next week
ISP Internode will join the terabyte internet craze next week with a revamp of its ADSL2+ Easy Broadband plans.
Source: iTnews Australia
Sun, 05th Sep 2010
Windsor backs Labor on broadband
In a blow to the Coalition, key independent Tony Windsor has backed Labor's $43 billion national broadband network, criticising the opposition's cheaper alternative as a "retrograde policy" that would create a digital backwater in rural Australia.
Source: The Age
Fri, 03rd Sep 2010
TransACT nets its 1000th FTTP customer
It's not exactly an NBN-scale milestone, but TransACT has connected its 1000th FTTP (fibre to the premises) customer.
Source: iTWire
Analysis: Net gambling next on ISP filter hitlist?
The Communications Law Centre (CLC) has called for a tightening of Australian laws to more effectively prohibit access to online casino-style games like poker, blackjack and roulette.
Source: iTnews Australia
Broadband not on Katter's wish-list
Rural independent MP Bob Katter has made public his 'wish-list' of issues he wants addressed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard or Opposition leader Tony Abbott before he is prepared to offer his support to either in forming a minority government - and it doesn't include broadband.
Source: iTWire
NBN key to open government: Lundy
Labor senator and technology advocate Kate Lundy has told a New Zealand conference that only high-speed broadband offered by the National Broadband Network will lead to a true open government in Australia.
Source: ZDNet Australia
AAPT shooting blanks over email
ISP AAPT has sent blank emails to customers in an attempt to advise them of the impending sale of their consumer broadband or phone account to iiNet.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra move worries rivals
The closure of a South Brisbane telephony exchange has Telstra's competitors fuming.
Source: Australian IT
Thu, 02nd Sep 2010
Internode flags business market push
Internet service provider, Internode has flagged its intention to increasingly target the business market, announcing the opening of a Brisbane office to dirctly service its existing and expanding customer base in the sunshine state.
Source: Computerworld
Treasury claims $900m Coalition NBN shortfall
The Coalition's promised savings from scrapping the National Broadband Network were $900 million out over four years, a Treasury analysis claimed.
Source: iTnews Australia
No one is selfless in NBN debate
One of the signatories to a national broadband proposal unveiled at the eleventh hour to rival Labor's own long-running NBN project has accused vendors and telcos of stirring up hype for a fibre-optic cable future in line with a view to serving their own interests in generating massive contracts and gaining operating certainty.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Treasury costings scant on NBN details
You might have expected that the Treasury's costings of the two major party's election policies - released to the Independents and the media late yesterday - would contain a fair amount of detail about how much each party's wildly differing broadband policy would cost.
Source: ARN
Wed, 01st Sep 2010
If NBN 3.0 can promise "up to 100Mbps" by wireless why can't NBN Co?
We now have two new acronyms in the every growing lexicon of telecommunications - NBN 3.0 and AAB, the Alliance for Affordable Broadband - along with the promise of near FTTH performance from wireless networks: all from a 'gang of seven' CEOs who, with two exceptions, are exclusively providers of wireless communications services.
Source: iTWire
Telstra overhauls Torres Strait broadband
Telstra has embarked on a $5.3 million project to improve broadband services for islands in the Torres Strait region of far northern Queensland.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Business leaders call for NBN
A group of telecommunications executives yesterday made an 11th-hour plea to independent MPs over the National Broadband Network.
Source: Australian IT
Analysts explains why some telcos don't want an NBN
Analysts have provided lukewarm responses to an open letter from senior telco executives that criticises the Government's National Broadband Network.
Source: ARN