Broadband News
Fri, 23rd Jul 2010
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
Telcos won't wait for digital dividend for 4G: Ericsson
Telecommunications operators likely won't wait for the digital dividend spectrum sell-off to start rolling out fourth-generation mobile infrastructure, according to Ericsson's head of strategic market, Kursten Leins.
Source: Computerworld
Coalition's three-prong broadband plan
The Coalition' broadband and communications policy will be based on three steps to improve internet access in areas with poor service.
Source: Australian IT
Telstra call centres jammed by speech recognition outage
Telstra customers were unable to reach the telco by phone yesterday due to a malfunctioning interactive voice response (IVR) system.
Source: iTnews Australia
Expert to check each banned web page
The federal government will hand-pick an "expert" to manually check up to 10,000 blacklisted online web pages.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet pushes into small business market
ASX-listed ISP, iiNet, is ramping up its efforts in the SMB market. The ISP recently released its Bonded DSL product that provides small business customers with the ability to double the speed of their ADSL2+ network.
Source: ARN
Christians get filter plan tip-off
The Australian Christian Lobby was briefed one day before Labor's major announcement on delaying its controversial internet filter plan.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 19th Jul 2010
Conroy, Smith, Ludlam invited to debate
It'll be one to watch if Labor's Stephen Conroy, Liberals' Tony Smith and Greens' Scott Ludlam all accept the Australian Computer Society's invitation to debate ICT issues at the National Press Club on 10 August. We should expect to see Conroy defend his performance, Smith finally outline his party's policies and Ludlam reveal how the Greens will hold both parties to account.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Poll: Will the internet filter impact your vote?
The Federal Government's recently postponed plan for an Internet content filter is opposed by a vocal segment of the Internet community. But now that Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called an August election, the key question is: "would it change your vote?"
Source: iTnews Australia