Broadband News

Fri, 27th Nov 2009

iiNet CEO heads 'back into the real job'

iiNet CEO Michael Malone has emerged "more confident" of his company's position and the strength of its defence after almost five weeks of hearings in the copyright case against the film industry.

Source: iTnews Australia

Minchin quits shadow communications portfolio

Communications shadow minister Nick Minchin has resigned his portfolio in protest over the Coalition's stance on emissions trading.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 26th Nov 2009

Telstra release slew of new plans, Earth fails to shake

New broadband plans from Telstra with bigger download quotas are welcome, though you'll still find better value with the competition.

Source: PC Authority

NBN Committee suggests NBN debate

The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network has recommended to the Federal Government that debate on the high-speed network "not proceed" until after its implementation study was completed.

Source: iTnews Australia

When will Conroy release filter report?

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will likely release a censored version of Enex Testlabs' report into the technical feasibility of ISP-level internet filtering, in an attempt to minimise the fallout on his political career.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Day 22: Film studios issue ultimatum to ISPs

Internet service providers that shirked responsibilities to prevent copyright infringement on their networks should consider exiting the business, the Federal Court heard today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Day 22: Film studios target iiNet business model change

Internet service provider iiNet could be forced to change its business model if the Federal Court rules in favour of the film industry in the copyright case against it, the court heard today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra drops broadband prices, but is it enough?!

Telstra, Australia’s dominant telecommunications company, and admitted serial overcharger, has finally delivered some of the price cuts its CEO, David Thodey, recently promised, and while any price cut is always welcome, has Telstra really done enough?

Source: iTWire

Is wholesale-only backhaul just a pipedream?

The potential acquisition of Pipe Networks by SP Telemedia has raised the question about whether vertically integrated backhaul providers will mean higher wholesale prices for ISP customers.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Internode again the choice ISP

South Australian-based national ISP, Internode, has trumped 42 competitors to again top the Choice magazine customer satisfaction survey of broadband providers.

Source: iTWire

Extract: Telstra's twin bites at AARNet cherry

Academic research network AARNet today launched a book that documents how the Internet was established in Australia.

Source: iTnews Australia

IIA snubbed in iiNet case

The NSW Federal Court has told Australia's peak internet lobby group it won't be allowed to intervene in a landmark copyright trial against internet service provider iiNet.

Source: Australian IT

Conroy can relax as hot air obscures phone bill

The rising temperature over Capital Hill and the scheming, trading and emissions emanating from a Federal Opposition intent on destroying itself has helped obscure what was to be one of the most important parliamentary debates of the year.

Source: SMH

Wed, 25th Nov 2009

AFACT opposes IIA's intervention in iiNet case

A group of copyright holders suing Perth ISP iiNet for copyright infringement today opposed the IIA's application to intervene in the trial.

Source: Australian IT

AFACT fight costs iiNet $4 million

The legal stoush between the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) and iiNet will cost the ISP $4 million.

Source: ARN

Coroneos takes iiTrial heat

Internet Industry Association (IIA) chief Peter Coroneos faced heated questions in Federal Court yesterday over a "knockout blow" the IIA had planned for an increasingly prolific copyright movement.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tassie fibre testers get free TiVo

Hybrid Television Services has announced a partnership with the Tasmanian Government to trial its TiVo device on the TasCOLT test-bed fibre network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Q&A: ISPs in 2010 - Unwired

With the revelation of the NBN, the potential break up of Telstra, the AFACT vs iiNet and ISP-level filtering trials, 2009 has shaped up as quite a year for ISPs. What could be in store in 2010? We ask some of the leading internet service providers. In this edition, Unwired's CEO David Spence.

Source: Computerworld

Tue, 24th Nov 2009

Day 21: IIA chief Peter Coroneos grilled on the stand in iiNet case

Internet Industry Association chief Peter Coroneos has fronted a fiery cross-examination in the Federal Court today, as representatives of the world's major film studios attempted to portray the IIA's application to enter the iiNet copyright case as providing "nothing new".

Source: iTnews Australia

Conroy readies fibre-for-greenfields draft

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy will release within days the discussion draft of legislation that would mandate fibre connections for all greenfield sites, a key indicator for developers and infrastructure providers in making near-term investment decisions.

Source: iTWire

TransACT unveils 100 Mbps fibre exchange

TransACT has unveiled a fibre exchange facility that will provide connectivity of up to 100 Mbps to 16,000 premises in new housing estates in Canberra.

Source: iTnews Australia

Day 21: iiNet tackles the Telecommunications Act

Barristers for ISP iiNet have sought to dispel inferences by the film industry that the ISP’s Telecommunications Act defence is a recent invention - insisting that it was something iiNet staff had in mind when the internet service provider refused to take action on infringement notices.

Source: iTnews Australia

Organisations should prepare for the NBN now: Gartner

Enterprise network users must evaluate their attitudes, relationships and approaches to sourcing networking services in Australia, because of the radical NBN-fuelled changes emerging in the telecommunications environment.

Source: Computerworld

Day 21: iiNet attacks film industry's freezone claims

ISP iiNet attempted a systematic deconstruction of a number of arguments put forward by the film studios in the Federal Court today in an attempt to demonstrate authorisation of copyright infringement on the ISP's network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Day 21: iiNet sample users didn't take up quota offers

ISP iiNet's sample of 20 customer accounts surfaced in the copyright case showed there was "no correlation" between infringing activity and download quotas, the Federal Court heard today.

Source: iTnews Australia

ISPs gear up for Tasmanian NBN

Internode and iPrimus have flagged their involvement with the $43 billion National Broadband Network's (NBN's) initial rollout in Tasmania.

Source: ARN

Mon, 23rd Nov 2009

Ludlam: Telstra-split Bill unlikely in '09

The Bill that will decide whether Telstra remains vertically integrated is set for debate in parliament this Thursday, but Greens Senator Scott Ludlam doubts it will happen this year and blames Shadow Communications Minister Nick Minchin for it.

Source: ZDNet Australia

BigPond redirects typos to 'unethical' branded search page

Telstra has begun redirecting failed domain name lookups on its BigPond broadband network to a Telstra-branded search page which includes advertisements and pay-per-click links.

Source: iTnews Australia

Forget the NBN, 100Mbps is already here

Telstra and TransACT will shortly begin offering 100Mbps broadband to many customers. By moving early, the companies have not only raised the bar for Australia's broadband services, but thrown down a challenge to a government that now faces increased pressure to deliver the NBN as promised.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Local net content in line for review

The federal government has opened the door for regulation of local content on the internet after Minister for Broadband Stephen Conroy confirmed the government's intention to commence a review of convergent media regulation.

Source: Australian IT