Broadband News
Wed, 14th Oct 2009
Telstra split may endanger NBN
Telstra has urged a Senate inquiry to delay debate on proposed changes to telecommunications laws until it had concluded its behind-closed-doors discussions with the government.
Source: Australian IT
Government returns fire at telco critics
The Labor Party has hit back at large shareholders who have cried foul over plans to dismember Telstra.
Source: Brisbane Times
Telstra player not so clued up on Optus
The former Howard government finance minister who pushed for the full privatisation of Telstra appears a little rusty on his knowledge of the wider Australian stockmarket.
Source: WA Today
Tue, 13th Oct 2009
Kazaa witness takes iiTrial stand
Nigel Carson, a computer forensics investigator and a key witness in the 2004 Kazaa case, was called to the witness box today by iiNet's legal team to answer questions on whether an IP address was enough to identify a movie pirate.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN an opportunity for wholesalers: Telstra
Predictions of the demise of Telstra Wholesale in the face of an open access, wholesale-only National Broadband Network are vastly premature, the company's new wholesale chief Paul Geason said.
Source: iTWire
iiNet IPTV on track for Q1 2010 launch
iiNet has installed Juniper Networks' MX series routers in all capital cities to, amongst other things, better enable it to deliver video to its broadband customers, in particular its planned IPTV service which is on track for commercial launch in Q1 of 2010.
Source: iTWire
Day Six: iiNet strikes licensing deal with Roadshow
ISP iiNet had entered an "arrangement" with Roadshow Entertainment to license some of its content legally for its freezone, the Federal Court heard today.
Source: iTnews Australia
iiNet vs. AFACT, week 1: Video
Check out our video coverage of the iiNet versus AFACT trial in Sydney last week, as well as what the man on the street thinks of the whole mess.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra makes its appeal to the Senate
Telstra has appeared before the Senate in an attempt to resist legislation that would force it to split its business in half.
Source: ARN
BigAir expands fixed WiMAX network to Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast
Fixed WiMAX network operator, BigAir (ASX: BGL) is expanding its network into Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast using equipment from its current WiMAX gear supplier, Airspan Networks.
Source: iTWire
Legal win for iiNet
Embattled Perth internet service provider iiNet has won an important victory in its legal battle against a group of entertainment companies suing it for copyright infringement in the NSW Federal Court.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet to boost video delivery
iiNet has put the finishing touches on a $1.5 million network capacity upgrade that will allow the internet service provider to improve video content delivery to customers.
Source: Australian IT
Day Six: Internet Industry Association subpoenaed by AFACT
The film industry plans to subpoena the Internet Industry Association (IIA) for documents relating to plans and meetings it held with ISPs on how to handle notices of alleged copyright infringement and peer-to-peer abuse on their networks.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co's Quigley hangs hat in North Sydney
The NBN Company says it won’t have a headquarters operation "in the traditional sense," but that hasn’t stopped executive chairman Mike Quigley renting a place to hang his hat in North Sydney.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 12th Oct 2009
Day Five: Federal Court closed for DtecNet evidence
The iiNet case ended day five in a closed court session as the chief technology officer of third-party investigator DtecNet was cross-examined on the inner-workings of his firm's anti-piracy software.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACS calls for more content filtering
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has called for more filters and measures on top of the Government's controversial plans for an ISP filter, stating that it alone will not stop illegal content.
Source: ARN
CCC slams Telstra separation fightback
The Competitive Carriers Coalition (CCC) has slammed Telstra's announcement that it will fight the Federal Government's structural separation legislation.
Source: Computerworld
WiMAX to remain 'niche,' says analyst
Wimax is destined to remain a niche technology, even in emerging markets. That's the judgement of a major analyst firm.
Source: iTWire
Day Five: Film industry monitored Internode, Exetel and Optus
Representatives from the film industry paid investigators to become customers and monitor the IP ranges of ISPs Optus, Internode, iiNet and Exetel for alleged copyright infringements, the Federal Court heard this morning.
Source: iTnews Australia
Gotalk offers 2.8GB via mobile broadband for $10 per month, but...
...there is a catch: you need to be signed up to Gotalk's Xtreme fixed line broadband plan delivering 14GB peak and 36GB off peak downloads.
Source: iTWire
ACS: ISP-filtering could affect Internet speeds and prices
The Federal Government's Internet filtering scheme is likely to impact ISP networks speeds, and ultimately, the cost of Internet access for consumers, a new report from the Australian Computer Society e-security Task Force has found.
Source: Computerworld
Put all TV on NBN
The federal government should work to shift all of Australia's free-to-air and pay-TV networks on to the national broadband network to create a level playing field for all broadcasters.
Source: Australian IT
Telstra rivals urge changes to access
Telecommunications firms are urging the Federal Government to push ahead with changes to trade practices rules forcing Telstra to give its rivals easier access to its network.
Source: The Age
Sun, 11th Oct 2009
Telstra's HFC network should be open access, says ACCAN
The draft Telecoms legislation, now under scrutiny by a Senate enquiry, provides for the divesture of Telstra's HFC network but does nothing to ensure that change of ownership would make what is now a closed network an open access network, says ACCAN.
Source: iTWire
ACCAN lobbies for
ACCAN is proposing an amendment to the telecoms legislation that would be "truly historic for enhancing end-user welfare, both for consumers and business, and in so doing strengthen the development of a networked information economy."
Source: iTWire
AFACT has already notched up a win in copyright case
The film studios and TV stations represented by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) have already notched up a win in their civil case against Internet service provider, iiNet, whichever way you look at it. AFACT has considerable runs on the board regardless of what happens at the outcome of the case, which will run for one more week in Sydney at the Federal Court of Australia, have two weeks off and return for a final two weeks.
Source: Computerworld
Sat, 10th Oct 2009
Q&A with Senator Nick Minchin
South Australian Senator Nick Minchin has the job of representing the Liberal party on all things tech-related. ARN caught up with him to discuss about the importance of the ISP filtering trials, his reluctance to roll-back Labor party changes and his preference for Conroy as Communications Minister.
Source: ARN
Telstra bites back over plans for split
Telstra has savaged the Federal Government's attempt to split it in two, arguing the proposal will reduce competition, harm consumers, destroy shareholder value and make the $43 billion national broadband network more difficult to achieve.
Source: SMH
3 Mobile network crippled by national outage
Hutchison 3's mobile network has been crippled by a major national outage preventing users from making or receiving voice calls and text messages.
Source: iTnews Australia
Video: What does Pipe's new cable mean for consumers?
At Pipe Networks' PPC-1 launch on Thursday iTnews asked Bevan Slattery from Pipe Networks, John Lindsay from Internode, and Michael Mickel from iiNet: What will Pipe Networks' PPC-1 cable mean for broadband subscribers?
Source: iTnews Australia