Broadband News

Tue, 09th Feb 2010

Exetel drops infringement policy after iiNet win

ISP Exetel had modified its policy for privacy infringement processes in the wake of Justice Cowdroy's landmark ruling in favour of iiNet last Thursday in the Federal Court.

Source: iTnews Australia

Rudd non-committal on copyright law change chances

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has shied away from committing to legislative change to copyright enforcement in the wake of the AFACT v iiNet decision at the Federal Court of Australia last week.

Source: Computerworld

iiNet ruling casts cloud on web media

The Federal Court's decision last week not to hold Perth-based internet service provider iiNet liable for peer-to-peer online copyright infringement has created uncertainty for providers of legal internet movie and TV services.

Source: Australian IT

Mon, 08th Feb 2010

Conroy meets with Google for YouTube filtering

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy had entered discussions with Google to block access to video content that was not technically feasible to filter at the ISP level.

Source: iTnews Australia

TIO website hit by malware

The website of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has suffered a malware attack that caused it to be taken offline today.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co hunt for test sites, NOC and data centre

NBN Co is finalising the selection of several "first release sites" across Australia where it will validate its network design in areas it believes replicate the challenges it will experience nationwide.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet: The whys and what nows

Last week the Federal Court ruled that internet service providers are not responsible for copyright violation by their customers. This is an important decision not just for iiNet, which spent around $4 million defending the case, but for all ISPs in Australia and, indeed, globally.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Speculation grows on Seven's 4G push

Kerry Stokes is best known for his media interests, a sizeable collection that spans newspapers, radio, magazines, online as well as pay and free-to-air television.

Source: Australian IT

Industry: Conroy's urge for piracy code of conduct is premature

Broadband Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy's calls for the ISP and movie industry to formulate a bilateral code of conduct does not address the root cause of copyright disputes, according to industry watchers.

Source: ARN

Fee cuts to boost networks' revenues

Stephen Conroy has slashed licence fees in a deal ahead of the spectrum sale.

Source: Australian IT

Internet TV braces for Australian push

In the US it's often referred to as "over-the-top TV", but in Australia, it lurches along with the humble handle of internet protocol TV.

Source: Australian IT

ACCC trying to regulate the NBN, and much more, warns Telstra

Telstra has warned that rule changes proposed by the ACCC to 'declared' data transmission services could effectively extend regulation to "NBN Co's proposed new bitstream ethernet services...wholesale DSL, broadband cable Internet, IP-VPN, and VPLS services in the access network." Most of Telstra's competitors disagree.

Source: iTWire

INTERVIEW: Michael Malone still excited, after 16 years

We spoke to Michael Malone shortly after the iiNet court victory.

Source: APC Magazine

Will the AFACT v iiNet case help reduce the rate of online piracy?

A Federal Court judge last week through out a high-profile copyright infringement case against ISP, iiNet, brought by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

Source: Computerworld

Sat, 06th Feb 2010

Australian Democrats calls for radical overhaul of Internet legislation

The Australian Democrats says the current legislative framework for the Internet and related industries is "ill-fitting and ill-serving making it difficult and prohibitive for the Australian Industry to operate with certainty." The party is proposing a radical overhaul.

Source: iTWire

All you ever wanted to know about LTE but were afraid to ask

3G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the GSM family of technologies including LTE, has published what is says is a "highly anticipated resource report" on the evolution of mobile technologies to LTE and beyond and designed to be read by "interested members of the general public."

Source: iTWire

Ericsson readies demo of 84Mbit/s HSPA

Ericsson has announced that it will give the world's first demonstration of 84Mbit/s High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona later this month.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 05th Feb 2010

Pipe shareholders to decide on TPG merger

Pipe Networks has scheduled a Scheme Meeting, set down for March 12, in which its shareholders will be able to vote on whether to proceed with a $373m takeover offer from TPG.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra separation announced next Thursday?

The eerie quiet that has descended over the once very public stoush between the Federal Government and Telstra (ASX:TLS) could be the clearest indication yet that a deal on the separation of the telco is close at hand.

Source: Computerworld

Optus buys more radio spectrum for mobile broadband

Optus has announced it has bought up all the remaining 2100MHz mobile spectrum to give its 3G/HSPA mobile services in metro areas a speed boost.

Source: APC Magazine

Net piracy fight takes body blow

Hollywood studios and record labels are being forced to go back to the drawing board to come up with a new way of combating online piracy after the Federal Court ruled that internet service providers are not required to police copyright infringement on their networks.

Source: SMH

Legal experts expect appeal in iiNet judgement

Lawyers have predicted that the film industry would appeal its Federal Court loss to ISP iiNet - if only to press the case for Government intervention in the battle against piracy.

Source: iTnews Australia

OECD queries cost of new broadband network

The OOECD has questioned Labor's $43 billion national broadband network as the Communications Minister Stephen Conroy fends off an Auditor-General's report that shows $30 million was lost after he ignored public service advice that his original scheme risked failure.

Source: The Australian

Fibre-optic network backbone begins

The federal government is a week away from seeing the first sod of soil turned in the construction of fibre-optic backbone links for its ambitious $43 billion national broadband network.

Source: The Australian

Thu, 04th Feb 2010

iiNet outcome an "application of common sense": EFF

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFF) has hailed the outcome of the iiNet vs AFACT case in favour of iiNet, calling the decision an "application of common sense".

Source: Computerworld

All eyes on Conroy: iiNet ruling begs questions

The ruling in favour of the ISP iiNet in its long running court battle with Hollywood movie studios presents a whole new set of issues for Government on how to provide adequate protection for intellectual property in the emerging digital economy.

Source: iTWire

iiTrial verdict: Telstra applauds legal clarity over user piracy

Australia's largest telco has welcomed the Federal Court verdict against a consortium of film and TV studios that tried to sue iiNet.

Source: APC Magazine

Document: Judge's summary of iiNet trial

ZDNet.com.au has obtained Justice Dennis Cowdroy's summary that he read in the NSW Federal Court this morning.

Source: ZDNet Australia

AFACT demands Government curb online piracy

Representatives from the film industry have called on the Federal Government to step in to police online piracy after losing a vital civil battle with ISP iiNet in the Federal Court today.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet welcomes Federal Court decision

We have never supported or encouraged breaches of the law, including infringement of the Copyright Act of the Telecommunications Act. Today's judgment is a vindication of that and the allegations against us have been proven to be unfounded.

Source: Computerworld