Broadband News
Thu, 04th Jun 2009
Libs won't push for Telstra break-up
Shadow Communications Minister Nick Minchin this week said the opposition would not support calls from Telstra's rivals for the telco to be broken up into chunks.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC wants to keep Telstra's lines open for 5 years
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its intention to extend a key declaration that allows Telstra's competitors to use its copper network for a further five years.
Source: ARN
Government collects regulatory reform papers
The Government received more than 90 submissions yesterday for its regulatory reform discussion paper.
Source: Australian IT
Wed, 03rd Jun 2009
Amcom cautious of NBN role for fibre assets
Amcom Telecom has held "very preliminary discussions" with Senator Conroy's department around the NBN but is seeking further clarification before committing to vend in some of its dark fibre assets.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internet filter: $44.5m and no goal in sight
The Rudd Government's internet censorship policy will cost about $90,000 per blocked web address to implement and the Government has admitted it has not developed any criteria to determine whether trials of the scheme are a success.
Source: SMH
Internode raises 3G download caps
Internode has boosted its 3G wireless broadband quotas in a move that will make the plans more competitive with other offers in the market.
Source: iTnews Australia
AAPT wants Optus reined in too
AAPT chief executive Paul Broad has called on the government to boost the competition regulator's power to rein in both Telstra and Optus from moves he claimed were stifling competition in the fixed line and broadband markets.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Government to show off NBN in public demo
The benefits to the Australian community of the proposed National Broadband Network (NBN) have been touted many times since the federal government announcement of its NBN plans, and an event tomorrow will endeavour to show just us how services might be accessed through the high speed broadband network once it's up and running.
Source: iTWire
Break up Telstra and force it out of Foxtel, says Optus
Optus has released its submission to the government's review of telecommunications regulation, calling for Telstra to be broken up into separate network-owning and retail service providing entities and for it to be forced to divest its 50 percent stake in Foxtel.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 02nd Jun 2009
Filter plan angers Young Labor
Unwired has become the ninth ISP to join the Government's internet filtering trials as Young Labor rebels against the plans.
Source: Australian IT
Aussie anti-piracy battle moves into schools
The Australian film and television industry will take its fight against piracy into schools courtesy of a newly-formed body, the Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation (IPAF).
Source: iTnews Australia
A broadband Australia tapping a market of 5 billion Internet users
Outgoing ICANN CEO, Paul Twomey, paints a picture of enormous opportunities for Australia as the NBN increases broadband speeds and as the global population of Internet users more than doubles in the space of two years to five billion, most of these in Asia.
Source: iTWire
Blog: Will Rudd's 'adios' threaten NBN funding?
As the knee-jerk defensive responses to Rudd's "adios" subside and Australia moves on, has Rudd made Australia that little less appealing to the overseas investors he desperately needs to fund his NBN?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Conroy to opt for tiered Internet filtering
Senator Conroy's office has confirmed the Government plans only to introduce mandatory internet filtering for web content that is Refused Classification (RC), with all other explicit content filtered on a voluntary basis by internet service providers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 01st Jun 2009
SBS pushing for unmetered access
Web users will soon be able to access SBS's online audio and video programming without exhausting their download allowances.
Source: Australian IT
Worries mount on ABC web ambition
The ABC has defended its plan to set up more than 50 regional community broadband hubs using $15.3 million in taxpayer funds.
Source: Australian IT
Understanding Trujillo
Sol Trujillo has, not for the first time and perhaps not for the last, ignited a furore, this time over his charge that Australians are racist. While his broader comments mischaracterise a country generally welcoming to people of different cultural backgrounds, there is also some validity to them when it comes to the way he was treated during his stint here.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Unwired joins ISP-level filtering pilot
Fixed wireless telecommunications Internet Service Provider (ISP) Unwired is set to become the ninth confirmed ISP to participate in the Australian Governments controversial ISP-level filtering pilot.
Source: iTnews Australia
Sun, 31st May 2009
Row looms on cable rollout
The Rudd Government is facing a fight with local councils over its National Broadband Network.
Source: Herald Sun
The value of FTTH to home buyers? At least $5000
The Federal Opposition is trying to score points against the Government by claiming that the cost of mandatory FTTH in new housing developments will be an unwelcome impost on home buyers. The facts, however, suggest otherwise.
Source: iTWire
Aussie Gov't seeks views on mandating FTTP in 'greenfield' developments
The Australian Government has started a consultation process on its proposal to make provision of fibre to the home mandatory in all new 'greenfield' residential developments from 1 July 2010, and has issued a consultation paper.
Source: iTWire
Sat, 30th May 2009
Sol, your wake-up call is important: we've no good reason to be smug
It's bad enough when an outsider dares to criticise Australia. But when the outsider is Sol Trujillo, the national hackles rise in outrage. Sol is easy to dislike. Let me count the reasons: his dismal business acumen which drove Telstra to its weakened state; the $30 million he pocketed for four years' work; his treatment of Australian telecommunication consumers; and his political positioning to the right of the Howard government which, remarkably, was too pro-regulation for his taste.
Source: SMH
Fri, 29th May 2009
ACCC approves Voda/Hutch merger
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) today decided not to oppose the Vodafone/Hutchison merger - a move welcomed by the two companies.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN to add value to new housing developments
The latest piece of the National Broadband Network (NBN) puzzle is being considered, with the Government looking at how the network will integrate with new property developments.
Source: ARN
Thu, 28th May 2009
Don't overhype WiMAX speeds, analyst warns operators
Wimax operators who overhype their networks' peak speeds risk angering early adopters who feel their expectations haven't been met, an analyst from Pyramid Research said Wednesday.
Source: ARN
Telstra loses Hutch 3G network struggle
Telstra's attempt to appoint a person of its choice as the chairman of the "3GIS" mobile network it operates with rival Hutchison Telecom Australia was yesterday rejected by the Victorian Supreme Court.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Stephen Conroy's joy flight going nowhere
For its biggest project of all, the Rudd Government has brazenly abandoned its commitment to making key infrastructure decisions based on "rigorous cost benefit analysis".
Source: The Australian
Video eats 3G bandwidth for lunch: In-Stat
Isps have disputed analyst claims that 3G broadband will never be a fixed replacement because of a “big, ugly elephant in the room” called video, believing heavy video users are in the minority.
Source: iTnews Australia
Huawei eyes NBN as local sales climb
Networking vendor Huawei racked up some $327 million in contract sales locally last year, fuelled in part by strong growth in wireless.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBNCo can't count on AAPT fibre assets
AAPT remains unconvinced of the benefits of vending some of its fibre assets into the National Broadband Network in return for an equity stake.
Source: iTnews Australia