Broadband News
Tue, 25th May 2010
CeBIT 2010: CSIRO serves up NBN alternative to WiMax and LTE
The CSIRO has developed new wireless broadband technology that it claims will render WiMax and LTE technologies obsolete.
Source: ARN
Optus 3G accelerator spawns blurry pics
Optus yesterday confirmed to ZDNet Australia that technology deployed in late 2008 on its 3G network not only reduces the time to download a website, but also reduces image quality.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Federal Government will "never" release NBN Co business plan
The Federal Government will "never" release NBN Co’s business plan according to communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy.
Source: Computerworld
FetchTV announces IPTV details
Fetchtv has announced the details of its IPTV wholesale packages, which will be available to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from late June 2010. The wholesale provider will be offering its subscribers a number of services, including a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) with a 750GB hard drive.
Source: Computerworld
Filtering by computer fails on judgment
The plan to filter the internet for material refused classification under Australian law is legally flawed. Australia's classification law is not compatible with the Rudd government's proposal, and in fact has its own problems that make it unsuitable as a basis for any internet "clean feed".
Source: SMH
CeBIT 2010: Industry experts play down NBN cancellation impact
The impact of the Coalition's planned cancellation of the NBN on Australia's education and research sectors has been played down by industry experts.
Source: Computerworld
Service providers mull NBN pricing
Retailers are checking numbers for their offers on the national broadband network when its first stage goes live in Tasmania.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 24th May 2010
Telstra updates business ADSL plans
Telstra has capped excess usage charges on its fixed broadband plans for business at $400 per month as part of a range of updates announced today.
Source: PC Authority
NICTA chief says use Telstra as NBN test bed
NICTA chief David Skellern says companies should consider using Telstra's 100 Mbps pilot network in Melbourne as a test bed for applications they might develop for the national broadband network.
Source: iTWire
Maps: Quigley offers NBN update
NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley gives the industry an update on National Broadband Network plans at CeBIT 2010.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fibre allocation in govt hands: Quigley
The government has to make the decisions about where and how much fibre optic cable it rolls out, NBN Co boss Mike Quigley says.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NSW govt gears up for NBN build
The NSW government is considering amendments to its planning laws in order to accommodate the construction of the NBN.
Source: Australian IT
NSW mulls fibre for public housing
The NSW Government is examining the potential upgrade of internet infrastructure in multi-dwelling units (MDUs) owned by the state Department of Housing from copper to fibre.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra chases internet TV sport
Telstra has lobbied the Rudd government to reduce the number of "protected" sports covered by anti-siphoning legislation and reconsider plans to extend the rules governing sports broadcasting to the internet.
Source: The Australian
BYO Linux router to the NBN
What do tomatoes and penguins have to do with the Australian government's nationwide fibre-to-the-home project?
Source: APC Magazine
Mobile operators advised to scrap VoIP bans
Mobile phone operators should not delay their entry into the mobile VoIP market, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra's pricing ploy justified
Telstra says the premiums it charges for services are justified with the telco sector becoming increasingly competitive.
Source: Australian IT
Sun, 23rd May 2010
Nextgen starts laying Perth to Geraldton cable
Nextgen Networks has commenced construction, under the Backhaul Blackspots programme, of a 426 kilometre, fibre optic cable that will serve an addressable market of 35,000 people along its route from Perth to Geraldton.
Source: iTWire
AARNet upgrades Queensland network
AARNet is to upgrade its network between Cairns and Brisbane to a dual link 10Gbps service, under an agreement with the Queensland Government's electricity distribution company, Powerlink.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 21st May 2010
Conroy starts WA blackspot build
The Federal Government today marked the start of construction on a fibre-optic communications backbone that will link Perth and Geraldton as part of its $250 million Regional Backbone Blackspots Program.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Greens, carriers, question NBN privatisation
The Greens have questioned the Federal Government's long-term plans to privatise NBN Co, warning that privatisation could "lands us back in the same mess we're in today".
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co signs up to Metro Ethernet Forum
NBN Co has joined the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), a global industry alliance that aims to standardise wholesale carrier Ethernet services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Libs are handing Telstra the reins
No matter how many times it happens, it's still amazing to see how consistently and effectively politicians seem capable of putting their feet in their mouths. Yet in demonstrating their aversion to forward-looking ICT policies, the Liberals are not only proving their knee-jerk policy-making - but effectively threatening to hand the reins of Australia's telecommunications industry back to Telstra.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Asymmetric speeds plague first NBN plans
Residential customers of the stage 1 trial sites for the national broadband network (NBN) in Tasmania will receive committed upstream speeds of two to eight megabits per second (Mbps) on the iPrimus network, the service provider's chief executive officer, Ravi Bhatia, has revealed.
Source: Computerworld
NBN doesn't have to wait on laws
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) revealed yesterday in a senate hearing that the National Broadband Network (NBN) could continue to be rolled out without legislation being passed in parliament.
Source: ZDNet Australia
New Server
We have just completed our server move. If you are reading this you are seeing us at our new home.
Source: Oz Broadband Speed Test
Thu, 20th May 2010
Public locked out for McKinsey's Senate briefing
Members of the public were excluded from one session in an otherwise open hearing by the Senate Select Committee for the NBN today, after the Federal Government requested that representatives from consulting group McKinsey and Co deliver their evidence in private.
Source: iTnews Australia
Warnings over unfair ISP and phone bills
If you've ever had an error with your credit card, made a late payment or had a direct debit refused for insufficient funds on your phone or internet account, then you've probably been hit with a penalty fee.
Source: PC Authority
Telstra's Thodey relishes role
If you believe what you read in most of Australia's media, Telstra chief executive David Thodey is just one step away from sinking into the hideous quagmire of corporate oblivion.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ISPs: Opposition axing the NBN is "laughable"
The Federal Opposition's plan to dump the $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) if elected has raised the ire of Australian ISPs, who have labelled the decision "laughable".
Source: ARN