Broadband News
Tue, 10th Aug 2010
Coalition: Australians will get 12Mbps or more if they win
The Coalition reveals $6 billion rival broadband policy to Labor's National Broadband Network project. The central planks are a competitive backhaul network, regional and metropolitan wireless networks and an ADSL enrichment program that will target telephone exchanges without ADSL2+ broadband.
Source: ARN
Mon, 09th Aug 2010
Business' access to capital, not the NBN, key to future productivity: Hockey
Federal Opposition Treasurer, Joe Hockey, has delivered a half hour sermon on Australia's dire need to boost productivity, arguing that the freeing up of capital for business investment, rather than the Government's investment in its National Broadband Network (NBN), would be more beneficial to the country.
Source: Computerworld
Why the NBN is better than sex
We're spending over $1 billion per year just to convince hundreds of thousands of Australians to have unprotected sex - then spending several times as much to deal with the consequences. Tony Abbott considers this perfectly acceptable but won't allocate enough to give Australia a proper NBN. As they say in the classics, perhaps someone should ask him to Please Explain.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Opinion: Mr Turnbull, you need to do the numbers
Malcolm Turnbull's recent claim that Australians will not want a 100Mbps connection, as offered under Labor's National Broadband Network, ignores the entire history of our access to the Internet and is recklessly misleading.
Source: Computerworld
VHA hits $49 in wireless broadband price war
Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has cut the price of its prepaid mobile broadband start kit to under $50 as it faces stiff price competition from rivals Telstra and Optus.
Source: iTnews Australia
Want mobile broadband? Try Vodafone's $49 for modem and 1GB
The 3G mobile broadband war is hotting up again. Following on from Optus' Peak/Offpeak offerings, Vodafone brings out a new Starter Pack at a very tasty $49.
Source: PC Authority
Filter will be "exorcised" if it returns, says Turnbull
Liberal MPs Malcolm Turnbull and Paul Fletcher flayed Labor's mandatory internet filter project at an anti-filter forum held by the former Opposition Leader on August 7 in Sydney, where not a single voice was raised in praise of the controversial policy and Turnbull claimed the idea was now in the past
Source: ARN
Sun, 08th Aug 2010
Opposition pledges to offload NBN
The opposition will carve up the government's $43 billion National Broadband Network should it win the election on August 21.
Source: Australian IT
Sat, 07th Aug 2010
Australia doesn't want 100Mbps Internet, says Turnbull
High-profile Liberal MP, Malcolm Turnbull, has slammed Labor's National Broadband Network Policy in impassioned comments to a Sydney audience, describing it as "a gigantic torching of taxpayers' money" and claiming most of Australia doesn't want 100Mbps fibre internet.
Source: ARN
Fri, 06th Aug 2010
AFACT v iiNet: Copyright holders continue to push industry code
The appeal case between Internet service provider, iiNet and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) has come to a close after four days, with the panel of judges expected to reveal its decision sometime after 20 August, pending further documents from legal counsel.
Source: Computerworld
Exetel close to Telstra ADSL2 deal
ISP Exetel was expected to reveal new plans for ADSL2 broadband services on Telstra infrastructure over the weekend as it moved to finalise contract negotiations with the incumbent.
Source: iTnews Australia
TPG error leaks customer emails
Internet service provider TPG has accidentally revealed the email addresses of hundreds of its business customers in a billing email sent out today.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiTrial: Judges call for "decision tree" in iiNet-AFACT case
The full bench of the Federal Court has requested iiNet and the film studios put together a detailed "decision tree" to help it work through a mountain of evidence and legal arguments delivered in Court this week.
Source: iTnews Australia
iiTrial: Appeal ends with studios seeking cooperation on piracy
An anti-piracy regime would cost both the film industry and ISPs money to implement, but compliance on the part of ISPs was not without benefit, representatives of Hollywood studios told the Federal Court yesterday.
Source: iTnews Australia
Liberals to slash net filter
The Federal Opposition has moved to trash the Government's highly controversial mandatory ISP-level Internet Filter.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 05th Aug 2010
NBN to underpin economic growth: Albanese
Investment in the National Broadband Network was the "clear point of distinction" between the Gillard Government and the opposition, and was the investment that would underpin nation building projects from energy to transport to the environment, Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese says.
Source: iTWire
Coalition won't support internet filter: report
The Liberal-National Coalition will scrap Labor's mandatory internet filter proposal should it gain power in this month's election, according to reports.
Source: iTnews Australia
Will AFACT's appeal solve anything?
Should the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) appeal against the iiNet copyright case verdict be happening at all?
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiTrial: iiNet moves to strengthen first judgement with Telco Act
Barristers for ISP iiNet and Hollwood film studios clashed today in the Federal Court on whether the Telecommunications Act could be relied on by ISPs as a reason not to action infringement notices issued by rights holders.
Source: iTnews Australia
AFACT v iiNet: Innocent account holders held responsible
Legal counsel for the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) has argued that the account holder should be held accountable for alleged copyright infringement, even if they weren't the one to actually download infringing material.
Source: Computerworld
AFACT v iiNet: 'Reasonable belief' defence may be incorrect
It has been revealed that iiNet's defence of 'reasonable belief' against acting on evidence of copyright infringement was potentially based on a misinterpretation of relevant legislation.
Source: Computerworld
iiNet: Telco Act was not used as convenient excuse
iiNet has argued the Telecommunications Act 1997 was not used as a convenient defence against the copyright case brought on by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).
Source: ARN
iiNet's naked DSL left this man exposed
Gary Mallin is no technophile. He would be the first to admit that he was attracted to the idea of moving to naked DSL because of the savings of more than $400 which would accrue due to not needing a landline any more.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 04th Aug 2010
AFACT: Time to change business model?
The long-running copyright case between ISP iiNet and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) looks to have come full circle, with one Federal Court judge musing out loud that there is a commercial solution to the issue, regardless of what is decided by the bench.
Source: iTWire
Why not do the NBN better, cheaper, faster?
When you are faced with an opponent that has a great game, sometimes the best offence is to just do what they are doing, but better.
Source: Computerworld
AFACT didn't explain notices to iiNet
On the morning of the third day of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) appeal against the iiNet copyright case verdict, iiNet barrister Richard Cobden said that the federation had passed infringing customer data to iiNet without explaining it.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Will the Coalition preside over the No Broadband Network?
It's crunch time for the Australian Liberal Party and its coalition partner, The Nationals, as Australians are faced with an awful Federal election choice: the socialist Labor party with its plan to spend $43b building a national broadband network at 100Mbps speeds, only to cruel it with a freedom-killing filter, or the freedom-loving, capitalist Liberal Party which still hasn't stated what its NBN policy is, or whether it truly is 100% opposed to a filter.
Source: iTWire
iiNet: AFACT did not ask for gradual steps against pirates
iiNet has attempted to rebuke claims by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) in the Full Federal Court that the ISP could have - and should have - taken gradual steps against copyright infringements by its customers.
Source: ARN
Optus revamps mobile broadband plans
Optus has announced a new range of mobile broadband plans starting at $A20 that differentiate between peak and off-peak usage.
Source: iTWire
iiTrial: Concerns iiNet could be re-sued even it it wins appeal
One of three judges presiding over the appeal between the film studios and ISP iiNet over alleged copyright infringement on ISP networks has questioned whether a decision by the full bench of the Federal Court will actually solve anything in the war between the two sides.
Source: iTnews Australia