Broadband News
Tue, 24th Aug 2010
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
TPG offers $69.99 1TB plan with home phone
TPG has joined the terabyte fray, serving up a 1TB broadband and home phone bundle for $69.99.
Source: ARN
Homes to pay heavy price for internet
Home owners face a heavy slug to distribute the ultra-fast internet access promised by Labor's National Broadband Network around the house.
Source: Australian IT
To NBN or not to NBN, that is the question
Was the National Broadband Network (NBN) an election strategy quickly sketched out on the back of an envelope by political strategists with no real intent on building the thing, or is it a well-conceived idea that could become a vital part of Australia's telecommunications infrastructure?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 19th Aug 2010
Optus confirms 6Mbps satellite plans
Optus has confirmed it will soon launch a premium satellite service, delivering downstream speeds of up to 6 megabits per second (Mbps) and upstream speeds of 1Mbps.
Source: Computerworld
Coalition broadband policy has merit: iiNet's Malone
Despite being lambasted by much of the ICT industry, the Coalition's broadband policy has some merit, according to the chief executive of Australia's second largest ISP, iiNet.
Source: Computerworld
1TB plans: That's huge, but who's going to use it?
iiNet and iPrimus brought out their 1TB broadband plans yesterday but analysts agree they won't appeal to the mass market.
Source: ARN
'Unlimited' broadband dead in the water: iiNet, iPrimus
iiNet chief executive, Michael Malone, has come out with a definitive statement on the recent emergence of unlimited broadband plans in Australia: they’re unsustainable and can’t work.
Source: Computerworld
Election rant 5: Can we even use a Terabyte a month?
The Coalition got a lot of things wrong with its election broadband policy, wireless being the chief one. But Finance Spokesperson Andrew Robb got one thing dead right: Australia's telecommunications market has not failed.
Source: Delimiter