Broadband News
Thu, 16th Jul 2009
Tasmania planning April 2010 NBN roll-out?
The telecommunications industry is abuzz with speculation that the Tasmanian Government is planning to commence building its part of the National Broadband Network in April 2010 to coincide with the state election, with supplier tender documents to be issued this week.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Nextep builds unlimited Optus 3G data service
Nextep has extended its transparent LAN private network product with unlimited 3G access from Optus at a price it claims will be "not too dissimilar" from buying business-grade ADSL services.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBNco gets a little brother, TNBNco, in Tasmania
A new entity called the Tasmanian National Broadband Network Company (TNBNco) will be formed to oversee the first stage of the Federal Government's NBN rollout in Tasmania.
Source: ARN
Tassie NBN to be delivered on power poles
Tender documents released today by Aurora Energy appear to confirm that the Tasmanian FttP (fibre to the premises) portion of the National Broadband Network will be delivered via overhead cabling.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra slugs new landline customers with $100 penalty for moving to naked DSL
A new $100 'temporary connection charge' for disconnecting a landline after three months is claimed to dissuade customers from joining competing ISPs on a naked DSL plan.
Source: APC Magazine
Wed, 15th Jul 2009
Laptop Connect offers short-term mobile broadband hookup
Innovative 'short term hire' program offers a Next G modem from $5 to $14 per day, including around 140MB of daily data.
Source: APC Magazine
WiMax - dead in the water?
Technology delays, adoption of HDSPA technology and a weak economy continue to hurt WiMax's chances in the mainstream, a new report claims.
Source: ARN
NBN won't cost more than $43bn: Conroy
Stephen Conroy has dismissed talk that the government's planned national broadband network will cost more than its $43 billion budget.
Source: Australian IT
Conroy vows to tackle illegal file sharing
Federal communications minister Stephen Conroy has vowed to fight illegal file sharing head on in a report on the Digital Economy.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN CEO, board, advisor, by end of July
The CEO, board and lead adviser of the National Broadband Network (NBN) will be announced at the end of the month, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said last night.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Comms Alliance sets out NBN definition plans - but will the Government listen?
Communications Alliance has formally kicked off its work programme to define in detail how the National Broadband Network might operate, but it has no guarantee how much of its output the Government will take on board as it progresses with its own NBN implementation plans.
Source: iTWire
Victoria submits NBN bid
Victoria has fired the latest shot in the bidding war for the headquarters of the $43 billion federal broadband network.
Source: Australian IT
Telstra nabs Conroy's $4.7bn NBN man
Telstra has hired Tim Watts, a former senior policy advisor to Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy, who was a key player behind Labor's initial $4.7 billion National Broadband Network proposal.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Aussies download 81m gigabytes in a month
Businesses downloaded more than twice as much data over their broadband connections in December 2008 than for the same month in the previous year, according to analyst Paul Budde.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 14th Jul 2009
Telstra's sea cable lifeline
Telstra and its fellow shareholders in Australia Japan Cable (AJC) have rescued the international internet submarine cable operator from a tricky financial situation.
Source: Australian IT
Telstra to upgrade inter-city links
Telstra plans to upgrade the capacity of its Sydney to Melbourne inter-city link to deal with growing internet traffic.
Source: iTnews Australia
Conroy to unveil digital economy plans
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is releasing his vaunted Future Directions for the Digital Economy paper tonight at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Qantas censors anti-censorship ad
Qantas has put the kybosh on online activist group GetUp's latest anti-censorship campaign, refusing to run the "Censordyne" ad on its flights.
Source: SMH
What direction for Australia's digital economy?
Communications minister Stephen Conroy has released a report on the Future Directions of Australia's Digital Economy, following a consultation paper issued in December. While it is full of good information, it is far from clear exactly what it is meant to achieve.
Source: iTWire
Blog: The Tasmanian devil's in the detail
This week, Stephen Conroy showed with great certainty that the NBN remains a touch-and-go affair with no clear timeline, a relatively questionable lack of governance, and lots of unresolved mysteries.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC readies phone-tapping powers
Australia's competition watchdog will soon be given powers to tap Australians' phones.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 13th Jul 2009
National broadband will usher in a reshaped industry
The federal government has brought forward plans to overhaul Australia's media laws to accommodate its $43 billion plan to give 90 per cent of the population access to high-speed broadband.
Source: The Australian
Broadband madness: how to waste $43bn
There is no business sense in the national broadband network.
Source: The Age
Big calls on broadband have to be seen to tick all the boxes
Politics must not drive decisions on staff, roll-outs and headquarters.
Source: The Age
Thodey hails $146m Catholic NBN
Telstra chief David Thodey today announced a $146 million broadband network project to connect over 1550 Catholic Australian schools.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Conroy launches re-jigged cyber safety site
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has re-launched its Cybersmart web site, with the emphasis shifting to providing school teachers with tools to protect children using internet technologies in the classroom.
Source: iTnews Australia
Space station pilots 'interplanetary internet'
A new networking technology called Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) could give astronauts direct Internet access within a year.
Source: iTnews Australia
Conroy named Internet Villain of the Year
Stephen Conroy's mandatory internet filtering plans have earned him the title of Internet Villain of the Year at the 11th annual Internet Industry Awards.
Source: SMH
Pipe Networks to pitch Tas Basslink backup
Pipe Networks, builders of the PPC-1 cable between Sydney and Guam, will pitch access to its Sydney to New Zealand PPC-2 cable to a Tasmanian infrastructure company.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sat, 11th Jul 2009
A few alternatives to ISP-level content filtering
The Federal Government's proposed Internet content filter plans have incited furore among the Australian public.
Source: ARN