Broadband News
Wed, 16th Sep 2009
NBN should not have RF channel for cable TV, says Ericsson
iTWire understands that part of the capacity on the NBN will be set aside to bandwidth to carry cable TV services, as presently delivered over the Optus and Telstra HFC networks. This is not a good idea, according to Ericsson.
Source: iTWire
Quigley sets out timetable for NBN Co's first six months
NBN Co executive chairman Mike Quigley has spelt out an ambitious programme for the company's first six months that, if accomplished, would see many details of the NBN emerging. He has also canvassed the possibility of NBN Co building and launching its own satellite.
Source: iTWire
NBN could create a multi-million battery environmental headache
NBN Co CEO, Mike Quigley has foreshadowed that the customer equipment for the network will have battery backup to ensure telephone services operate in the event of power failure. These would need replacing every few years, and could end up in landfill.
Source: iTWire
Greens to question ISP-level filtering
Greens Communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam will today push for Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, to abandon his ISP-level filtering plans.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra gets offer it can't refuse
Investors dumped Telstra shares yesterday as the federal government placed its regulatory sword of separation against the telco's throat and made real its threats to dismember the telecommunications industry giant.
Source: Australian IT
Sydney telco services cut after Telstra's cables are jackhammered
Thousands of Telstra customers in Sydney's CBD have lost fixed, wireless and mobile network services after a contractor ripped through cabling at 9:30pm last night (September 15).
Source: ARN
Quigley offers ISPs a rough sketch of NBN architecture
NBN Co has developed a rough architecture for the build-out of the National Broadband Network in an attempt to keep ISPs and carriers in the loop as to how their services will intersect with it.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra must move quickly on NBN
Telstra should move quickly to negotiate as favourable a strategic NBN position possible, analysts have warned after the government's bombshell announcement yesterday that it would separate the telco's retail and wholesale operations if the company didn't voluntarily separate first.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN process already taking shape
The Rudd government may be forcing the break-up of Telstra to help realise its national broadband network dream, but the first NBN rollout is already under way, bypassing Telstra.
Source: Australian IT
Small ISPs to benefit under new telco reforms
It may have been upstaged by news of Telstra's structural separation, but the Federal Government's flurry of telecommunication regulatory reforms will also improve conditions for small ISPs with network assets.
Source: ARN
Cables cut: CBD phone and internet services lost
Thousands of homes and businesses in Sydney's CBD have lost phone and internet connections after a contractor accidentally severed crucial cables.
Source: SMH
Samuel: A new era for telecommunications regulation
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel has told iTnews the Federal Government's regulatory reform bill enters Australia into a "whole new paradigm" for telecommunications regulation, in which the competition watchdog will find it much easier to resolve access disputes.
Source: iTnews Australia
The NBN is dead - long live the new Telstra powered NBN?
Australia's federal government has come out with an offer that Australia's dominant and supposedly independent telco, Telstra, seemingly cannot refuse: structurally separate the company or the government will do it for you.
Source: iTWire
Expert: No recourse for Telstra in the High Court
With Senator Conroy providing Telstra few options to escape the prospect of separation in one form or another, Telstra's legal department would no doubt be spending the coming days assessing whether the carrier has a case to take to the High Court.
Source: iTnews Australia
Conroy rings in new Telstra era
The Rudd government has given Telstra an ultimatum to split its wholesale and retail businesses or it will be forced to sell key assets and locked out of new broadband and mobile phone opportunities, in the biggest shake-up of the communications sector in a generation.
Source: Australian IT
Tue, 15th Sep 2009
Regulatory reform: Telstra rivals praise Conroy's separation ploy
Telstra's rivals have cracked open the champagne after the Federal Government delivered sweeping changes to the regulation of Australian telecommunications, with market incumbent Telstra being asked to structurally separate or have a form of separation imposed upon it by law.
Source: iTnews Australia
Analysts weigh in on Telstra break-up
Separating Telstra is at the heart of proposed telecommunications industry reforms announced by the Federal Government today. But while the industry was quick to welcome the news, analysts say there is still a long way to go before the restructure can be finalised.
Source: ARN
Optus warns Telstra not to cheat
Optus said that it and the industry would be keeping a sharp eye on any separation plans Telstra put forward to the government.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Shareholder group slams Telstra split
The Australian Shareholders' Association (ASA) today said the Federal Government's planned reforms for Telstra and the telecommunications industry are a "giant kick in the teeth" for shareholders.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra 'disappointed' with separation plans
Telstra chief executive officer, David Thodey, has responded to the Federal Government's proposed regulatory reform package in a media release to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra forced to separate
The Federal Government has delivered sweeping changes to the regulation of Australian telecommunications, with market incumbent Telstra being asked to structurally separate or have a form of separation imposed upon it by law.
Source: iTnews Australia
Reforms announced that could break up Telstra
The Rudd government has announced a package of reforms to telecommunications regulations that will pave the way for a break-up of Telstra.
Source: SMH
Telstra's day of reckoning in NBN legislation
in April as a $43 billion certainty, the national broadband network was at the time little more than a plan for a network, and things are still fluid. The Rudd Government hopes, for example, that the eventual cost comes in well below that worst-case estimate: a number below $30 billion has been lightly pencilled in.
Source: SMH
Telstra rivals resurrect Terria
A posse of Telstra rivals have resurrected the slumbering Terria consortium and put out the call for new members eager to join the fight in ensuring the government's $43 billion national broadband network becomes a reality.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 14th Sep 2009
TERRiA reunites, calls for a competitive NBN
The chief executives of several Australian telecommunication companies have reunited to call for a "pro-competitive" approach to upgrading Australia's national broadband infrastructure.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra counters rivals letter to ACCC chairman
The ACCC has a formal process for accepting commentary on its draft decisions, but the major telcos are bypassing this with direct appeals to the ACCC's chairman, Graeme Samuel.
Source: iTWire
Growth in DSL connections stagnates
More Australians are jumping on board the wireless broadband train, according to statistics released today, while demand for DSL-based connectivity is stagnant.
Source: iTnews Australia
Alcatel exec wins NBN CFO role
NBN Co chief Mike Quigley has announced the appointment of two new executives, including Alcatel Lucent's former chief financial officer.
Source: ZDNet Australia
TASA arises from the ashes of Terria to savage NBN's naysayers
The CEOs of a number of Australia's leading telecommunications companies and ISPs - previously members of the Terria carrier grouping formed to bid for the NBN Mark 1 - have reunited to counter what they say is the large amount of misinformation being reported about the National Broadband Network.
Source: iTWire
Turnbull attacks 'spin and paper' NBN
Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has rubbished the National Broadband Network (NBN) as "nothing more than a press release".
Source: ZDNet Australia