Broadband News

Sat, 10th Oct 2009

Some of the top posts on iiNet vs AFACT case

Controversy over the iiNet vs AFACT case has sparked an influx of comments on online articles and forums. The wide range of comments stem from readers' views on whether Internet Service Providers should be liable for copyright infringements. While some comments are insightful and backed by analogies and factual references, others comments are pure entertainment. Below are what we thought are 10 of the best posts in the heated cyber debate.

Source: Computerworld

Fri, 09th Oct 2009

Optus sinks the boot in over Telstra delay proposal

Telstra rival Singtel Optus has taken the opportunity to launch a broadside at the incumbent fixed line carrier over its public submission to the Senate inquiry into regulatory reform, which urges the Senate to delay debate on the National Broadband Network until after the Government's implementation study is complete.

Source: iTWire

No BitTorrent contracts: studios

A group of entertainment companies suing iiNet for copyright infringement in the NSW Federal Court has accused the Perth ISP of trying to turn the trial into a "political forum".

Source: Australian IT

iiNet v AFACT: Court adjourned early, AFACT chief to front court again next week

Day four of the copyright case between film studios, represented by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), ended early due to conflict over the use of confidential documents.

Source: ARN

Telstra reforms will proceed this year: Conroy

The Rudd Government remains committed to having its telecommunications regulations passed this year, despite calls from Telstra to delay debate on the issue until Australia's largest carrier had completed its negotiations with authorities over the proposed changes.

Source: iTWire

Telstra urges Senate to delay NBN debate

Telstra has come out swinging in its submission into the Senate inquiry into regulatory reform, urging the Senate to delay debate on National Broadband Network until after the Government's implementation study is complete.

Source: iTWire

Telstra to fight separation Bill

Telstra said today it will oppose the passage of the government's Bill which would allow it to force separation on the big telecommunications company.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra goes on the offensive against separation moves

Telstra has gone on the offensive and rejected plans to split the organisation up in a submission to the Australian Senate.

Source: ARN

Day Four: Film industry claims BitTorrent contracts terminated

The film industry's lawyers have lambasted ISP iiNet's general counsel for linking several film studios with BitTorrent in the Federal Court yesterday.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet CEO Michael Malone to be ISP's first witness

iiNet CEO Michael Malone will be the Internet service provider’s (ISP) first witness in its civil case against the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

Source: Computerworld

AFACT had hidden agenda: iiNet

Lawyers representing Perth-ISP iiNet, which is currently fighting a landmark copyright trial against a group of movie and music companies, yesterday argued that the only purpose of the barrage of notifications sent to the ISP was to contrive legal grounds to sue the company.

Source: Australian IT

NBN Tasmania overhead cables 'foolish'

Tasmanians, guinea pigs for the national broadband network, could lose their high-speed internet for days on end because overhead cabling is vulnerable to the state's wild climate, a senate inquiry has heard.

Source: Australian IT

TV networks demand a free broadband ride

Commercial free-to-air television networks are urging the Federal Government to make pay TV companies give them air time on the proposed national broadband network.

Source: SMH

Thu, 08th Oct 2009

PPC-1 delivers more speed than expected

Pipe Networks today launched its PPC-1 cable after a twenty month journey that saw the company threatened by competing carriers.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra struggle to meet separation submission deadline

Telstra has missed a crucial deadline of midnight last night to hand over its submission to a Senate Standing Committee into Senator Stephen Conroy's proposal to split the company into a wholesale and retail arm.

Source: iTnews Australia

IIA to AFACT: 'We offered to help'

The Internet Industry Association wrote to copyright owners more than two years ago seeking to address piracy concerns, only to be told the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft would instead start taking service providers to court.

Source: iTWire

iiNet: 3000 pages of copyright breach notices from 1350 emails in 7 days

Iinet has hit back in its civil case against the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) at the Federal Court of Australia with a statistical retort.

Source: Computerworld

iiNet v AFACT: Film studios had contractual agreements with BitTorrent partners

Iinet has used contractual relationships between movie studios and BitTorrent websites to counter AFACT's accusations the ISP is guilty of "authorising" copyright infringements by customers through inaction.

Source: ARN

Day Three: iiNet deals with thousands of "robot notices"

ISP iiNet has revealed it received 1,356 notifications from a variety of sources seeking action on alleged copyright infringements in just one week last year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Day Three: iiNet lawyers link film studios to BitTorrent

Several film studios listed as applicants in the copyright case against ISP iiNet had "contractual relationships" with BitTorrent, counsel for iiNet alleged in court today.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN: Pipe presses Feds for better facilities access

Even as Pipe Networks partied in Sydney Thursday night to celebrate the launch of its PPC-1 trans-Pacific cable, the company was pressing Government for changes to proposed legislation to give it better access to interconnect facilities.

Source: iTWire

Blog: Separation: The UK experience

How can the UK experience of BT's separation inform our understanding of Telstra's future? In this week's Twisted Wire podcast, we talked to the key UK players to get the lay of the land.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Quigley quenches Malone's NBN scepticism

After "a healthy debate" with NBN Co chief executive, iiNet supremo Michael Malone has been convinced that the National Broadband Network will be delivered.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Tasmania announces fibre contract

NBN Tasmania today announced Corning Cable Systems Pty Ltd will provide fibre optic cable for the construction of Tasmania’s backhaul network in the first tender issued under the Australian Government’s National Broadband Network (NBN) project.

Source: iTnews Australia

PPC-1 submarine cable switches on

The PIPE Networks undersea cable system, PIPE Pacific Cable (PPC-1), stretching from Sydney to Guam, was officially launched today at an event at Sydney’s Australian Technology Park.

Source: Computerworld

AFACT director to take the stand in civil case against iiNet

The civil action between the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) and ISP iiNet continues today, with AFACT's executive director, Neil Gane, likely to take the stand as the first witness.

Source: Computerworld

iiNet says no laws were breached

iiNet yesterday told the NSW Federal Court that movie studios accusing it of sanctioning illegal file sharing on the internet had vastly exaggerated the extent of copyright infringement carried out on its service.

Source: Australian IT

Telstra investors take a stand

Telstra shareholders have railed against the government's plans to split the telco giant, describing the action as a betrayal of trust, vindictive and a monumental swindle.

Source: Australian IT

Wed, 07th Oct 2009

iiNet lawyers pan film industry figures

Almost six-figure sums of copyright infringements alleged to have taken place on iiNet's network were "pings" by an investigator rather than downloads of a file, the ISP's general counsel told the court today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Amcom options initiative to raise $21m

Perth-based telco Amcom (ASX: AMM) has announced plans to cancel 81 million outstanding options and to underwrite the exercise of 150 million 17 cent options: a move that will net it $21m in cash and , it says, alleviate concerns of its share base being diluted and leaving it with too much cash had all the options been exercised.

Source: iTWire