Broadband News
Mon, 26th Jul 2010
Hanging up on broadband not way to go
A coalition policy to cancel the national broadband network would "take Australia back to 2004" and prolong Telstra's monopoly, according to Telstra's competitors.
Source: The Age
Google fibre method "could save NBN $10 billion"
A fibre-laying technique being used by Google in an experimental US fibre network project could reduce the cost of the NBN by up to $10 billion, according to a local company that has licensed the technology.
Source: iTnews Australia
Sun, 25th Jul 2010
IPv4 addresses to run out in 12 months or less
According to the chief executive of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) the remaining IPv4 addresses available to the industry will run out in less than a year..
Source: PC Authority
BigPond massively cuts broadband plan costs
Telstra's BigPond internet service provider arm has dramatically cut prices on a range of its broadband plans, including a massive chop on its 200GB Elite plan which will see monthly prices drop from $179.95 to $89.95.
Source: ARN
Fri, 23rd Jul 2010
Election 2010: what ISPs want
The election date is set. It's pistols at dawn on August 21 as voters decide on who they want in the next Federal Government. The spotlight will inevitably be on the new Labor Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and her arch nemesis, Liberal Party leader, Tony Abbott.
Source: ARN
Greens slam govt data retention secrecy
Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam described the decision by the Federal Attorney-General's Department to black out the majority of its response to a freedom of information request as "extraordinary".
Source: ZDNet Australia
AFACT touts BitTorrent study ahead of iiNet appeal
A regional university lab has produced a study on copyright infringing uses of BitTorrent that was partly financed by one of the film studios set to appeal a Federal Court judgement on the subject in just over a week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internode: Voluntary filter an empty promise
SA-based ISP, Internode, claims the Federal Government's voluntary filter will not happen any time soon.
Source: ARN
No Minister: 90% of web snoop document censored to stop 'premature unnecessary debate'
The federal government has censored approximately 90 per cent of a secret document outlining its controversial plans to snoop on Australians' web surfing, obtained under freedom of information (FoI) laws, out of fear it could cause "premature unnecessary debate".
Source: SMH
NBN coverage increased to 93pc
The federal government will extend the fibre footprint of the NBN to an additional 1.6 million premises should it regain power at this year's election.
Source: Australian IT
Thu, 22nd Jul 2010
Contractors big winners at NBN Co
NBN Co staff pocketed an average of $14,300 each in January as the national broadband builder continues to grow at breakneck speed.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet eyes long-term Basslink transit deal
ISP iiNet is pursuing a long-term capacity contract with Basslink Telecoms to satisfy its National Broadband Network interests in Tasmania.
Source: iTnews Australia
Anti-NBN policy proves Abbott's Luddism
Howard-era comms minister Richard Alston was famously labelled as an ICT Luddite - but Tony Abbott's anti-NBN campaigning suggests Alston wasn't alone. Yet as details of Abbott's alternative policy become clear and pushes many voters towards Labor, it appears Abbott may want to reconsider his position if he actually wants to win the election.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN key to Greens' Labor support
The Australian Greens have rehashed hopes of a publicly owned National Broadband Network (NBN) in a statement of support for the incumbent Labor Party (ALP).
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN to get green light with Senate support
The Liberal Party's move to crush the National Broadband Network (NBN) has suffered a blow with the Greens pledging to support the legislation in the Senate and block a private sell-off.
Source: Computerworld
Pirate Party to launch ISP
Predicting more pressure will be applied on small ISPs in Sweden to block peer to peer sharing site The Pirate Bay, the Pirate Party has revealed that it is well on its way to launching its own ISP, using two open access networks in the city of Lund in southern Sweden.
Source: iTnews Australia
Abbott's cuts are reckless, says Conroy
Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, has described Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, as "reckless" and election promises to save millions by dropping a training fund for Telstra employees and other sections of NBN Co's deal with Telstra as "senseless cuts".
Source: ARN
Wed, 21st Jul 2010
Don't ditch NBN: minister
The national broadband network is the single most important infrastructure development in regional NSW for a generation, a state minister said.
Source: Australian IT
AIIA: The IT industry will vote for Labor, Stephen Conroy and the NBN
The Australian ICT industry has little to gain from the Liberal Party and is likely to get behind the Labor Party and Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, according to AIIA CEO, Ian Birks.
Source: ARN
More delays to filter plan
The ISP filter legislation faces a further lengthy delay following the cancellation of a meeting of state attorneys-general scheduled for this week.
Source: Australian IT
Japan, Australia enter broadband agreement
Communications minister, Stephen Conroy, has signed an agreement with Japan's minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, Kazuhiro Haraguchi, that would see Australia and Japan strengthen bilateral cooperation in broadband technology and other ICT matters, according to reports.
Source: Computerworld
Q&A with former Communications Minister, Michael Lee: On ISP filtering and browser history data collection
Australia's Communications Minister from 1993 to 1996 under Paul Keating spoke about the need for filtering and why he thinks Stephen Conroy is doing a great job.
Source: ARN
Ditching NBN hurts rural Oz: minister
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is the single most important infrastructure development in regional NSW for a generation, according to state Rural Affairs Minister Steve Whan.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra makes pre-paid Next G broadband more affordable
Telstra wants to tempt the many pre-paid mobile broadband users, some of whom are experiencing dial-up speeds in heavily populated areas on competing networks, with a new "Telstra Turbo" Next G USB modem and affordable no-contract pre-paid per gigabyte pricing, although naturally still at higher prices than the competition.
Source: iTWire
NBN chief well connected
One year ago, Mike Quigley was shuffled into a telephone-less office of a government department in Canberra.
Source: Australian IT
Tue, 20th Jul 2010
Nextgen networks to roll out new Darwin fibre next month
Nextgen networks is set to start construction on a fibre link between Darwin and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory early next month.
Source: Computerworld
Conroy plugs NBN at CA conference
Despite being in the midst of a Federal election, Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy took a remarkably non-partisan approach when he opened CA Technology's customer conference in Melbourne this morning.
Source: iTWire
Filter not part of preference talks: Greens
The internet filter was not up for negotiation when the Greens cut its preference deal with Labor for the upcoming federal election.
Source: Australian IT
SMEs still in the dark on NBN's benefits
Despite the government's efforts to tout the benefits of the NBN, a survey by ISP Pacnet suggests that most have little understanding of how it will impact their business.
Source: iTWire
iiNet ups ADSL speeds with two lines
While the super-fast speeds associated with the National Broadband Network are still a while off for those outside the first sites to be rolled out, iiNet is set to offer businesses faster ADSL, with today's launch of its bonded DSL.
Source: ZDNet Australia