Broadband News

Mon, 28th Jun 2010

Conroy says filter still on under Gillard

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has reiterated the government's support for its mandatory internet filter policy after the change in Prime Minister and has slammed proposed amendments by Senator Kate Lundy that would allow Australians to opt in or out of the technology.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Filter plans still on after Labor shake-up

Plans for a national Internet filter remains unchanged despite major changes to the Federal Government.

Source: ARN

Conroy stays as comms minister

New Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confirmed that only minimal changes will be made to her cabinet team, with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to retain his position.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra BigPond axes Linux mirror

Telstra will shut down its BigPond file library at the end of the month, citing "low usage" and limited appeal to "mainstream" users.

Source: iTnews Australia

In Brief: Cityrail to offer free-WiFi

NSW commuters may have free Internet access under a plan by the state government to roll out Wi-Fi networks through the state's train network.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra to focus on customers? Now that's news!

There's a very old adage in journalism: 'Dog bites man' is not news; 'Man bites dog' is news. There's been a few examples of these non-headlines in recent days, along with one about Telstra that really should fall into this category but doesn't.

Source: iTWire

Telstra ready for acquisitions

Telstra is on the hunt for acquisitions following its $11 billion national broadband betwork deal.

Source: Australian IT

Fri, 25th Jun 2010

How Gillard can save the comms ministry

Before Julia Gillard wipes her bloody knife on her toga, she should consider a major change to the Communications ministry. But that's not to say Stephen Conroy should go; rather, she needs to adopt a different strategy that could save the NBN - and save face in backing away from Conroy's most disastrous policies.

Source: ZDNet Australia

AFACT ordered to pay iiNet court cost, again

The Federal Court has reiterated its decision for the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) to pay iiNet's court bill after an unsuccessful appeals process.

Source: ARN

Parliamentary enquiry into govt ISP snooping

The Senate will hold an enquiry into a widely derided Federal Govt proposal to record Australian citizens' web history, telephone calls and emails.

Source: APC Magazine

Congrats Conroy: Telcos say NBN job well done

Internet service providers (ISPs) say they believe Federal Communications Minister and Right factional power broker, Stephen Conroy, has cemented his position in the wake of Julia Gillard's post to the Prime Ministerial seat.

Source: Computerworld

Vic Government survey suggests strong demand for NBN

A Victorian Government commissioned study says almost 220,000 Victorian households, 13 percent of the market would take up NBN services as soon as they become available.

Source: iTWire

ICANN expected to allow XXX websites

Porn on the Internet is set to get much easier to find and censor thanks to a decision to allow websites with an .xxx suffix.

Source: ARN

Thu, 24th Jun 2010

Govt sets 2012 auction date for 700MHz

Just days after ZDNet Australia reported that it could cost the mobile industry billions if the government didn't make a decision on new spectrum allocation this year, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy announced his decision on the 700MHz band.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus keen to join LTE spectrum auction

Optus has put up its hand to participate in the future auction of a 126 MHz block of spectrum being eyed by telcos to support next-generation wireless networks.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co signs Alcatel-Lucent for GPON gear

Nbn Co has selected Alcatel-Lucent as the initial strategic supplier for the gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and Ethernet aggregation equipment needed for the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: Computerworld

Internode sees traffic boost on iPhone OS4 release

ISP Internode saw a 25 percent jump in content delivery network traffic on Tuesday, the same day Apple released iPhone OS4 to iTunes.

Source: iTnews Australia

Gillard promises ministerial changes

Prime Minister Julia Gillard intends to reshuffle her cabinet and ministers, following her ascendency to Labor's top role today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra retains pay TV, boosts LTE prospects in bill

Telstra will keep its cable infrastructure while bolstering opportunities for its 4G technology prospects, should the latest amendments to the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2009 be accepted and the bill passed.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co draws tender shortlist

NBN Co will ask 21 Australian companies to tender for the progressive rollout of the government's broadband fibre network.

Source: The Australian

iiNet to review ADSL1 plans

ISP iiNet has revealed it will review its ADSL1 plans next month following an upgrade to quota limits on a number of home and business broadband plans this week.

Source: iTnews Australia

Gillard win could change govt tech policy

Kate Lundy last night flagged her support for Prime Ministerial challenger Julia Gillard in the Australian Labor Party's leadership spill this morning - a vote the Labor senator believes may present "an opportunity for a change" in the government's technology policies with an expected Gillard victory.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Should Gillard replace Conroy with Lundy?

Several of Stephen Conroy's harshest critics have backed the idea that Julia Gillard should hand his Communications portfolio to fellow Labor Senator Kate Lundy this morning.

Source: APC Magazine

Wed, 23rd Jun 2010

Greens to host anti-filter forum

The Australian Greens is amplifying its opposition to Labor's ISP-level internet filtering proposal with plans to host a 'Stop the Internet Filter' forum in Sydney next month.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra-NBN Co deal opens up 6m kms of fibre

NBN Co could gain access to 6 million kilometres worth of Telstra's fibre networks as part of the $11 billion Financial Heads of Agreement deal between the National Broadban Network (NBN) wholesaler and the telco.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co shortlists fibre network builders

The company charged with building Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN), NBN Co, has shortlisted 21 companies to bid for the fibre construction component of the project.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Conroy amends Telstra separation bill

The Government has proposed amendments to its draft Telstra split bill it says gives the telco the "legislative certainty" to voluntarily commit to structural separation.

Source: iTnews Australia

ISPs should disconnect infected users

The notion of disconnecting computers from the internet that are infected with malware until they are fixed is sound policy and should be made mandatory if it is to be effective.

Source: ZDNet Australia

New Internet speed tool goes local

University and research institution Internet service provider (ISP), AARNet, and Google have jointly begun hosting servers to facilitate the Measurement Lab (M-Lab) Internet speed measurement tool.

Source: Computerworld

Ciena eyes NBN

The optical switching side of bankrupt telco equipment firm Nortel was formally resurrected in Australia today.

Source: Australian IT