Broadband News
Fri, 28th May 2010
NBN Co puts greenfields on roadmap
NBN Co has revealed it will produce a "commercially viable business plan" for greenfields sites after months of uncertainty over what its role might be in such estates.
Source: iTnews Australia
Power to the people: The anti-filter movement
Hatred against the Federal Government's proposed Internet filter has been brewing since it was first announced in 2008. Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has made many public appearances reassuring the public the clean-feed is designed to protect children against 'harmful material' but it has done little to appease public suspicion the filter will be a censorship tool. With the government refusing to back down from their filter plans despite widespread opposition, some organisations and individuals have taken matters into their own hands. ARN has compiled a list featuring some of the notable anti-filtering actions undertaken in the last two years.
Source: ARN
NBN won't make money: AAPT CEO
AAPT CEO Paul Broad has let rip on the National Broadband Network (NBN) telling the investment community that he can see no justification for the $43 billion national infrastructure project.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 27th May 2010
EFA takes anti-filter line to families
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today launched a new campaign urging Internet-savvy Australians to discuss the Government's Internet Filter proposal with their mums.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra replaces symmetric DSL offerings with ethernet
Telstra has launched TBB Ethernet a new symmetric broadband data service for business customers, delivered over its copper network at up to 10Mbps that will replace its symmetric DSL services.
Source: iTWire
Telstra inclined to cop $4m ACCC fine
Telstra says it should be fined about $4 million for mistakenly excluding competitors' broadband servers from telephone exchanges over two years, instead of the $40 million sought by the competition watchdog.
Source: The Age
NBN uncertainty already priced in
A lot of the potential bad news that could affect Telstra shares appears to be already priced in, according to a major shareholder in the telecommunications giant.
Source: The Australian
Wed, 26th May 2010
Australia falls behind Mongolia, global average on Internet speed
Australian Internet speeds are below average and behind the likes of Mongolia and Liechtenstein, according to Ookla's new Net Index tool.
Source: Computerworld
NBN $2 billion equity source under question
The Government is yet to determine where it will source $2 billion of its $4.7 billion equity commitment to the National Broadband Network (NBN)
Source: iTnews Australia
WA gathers intelligence on the NBN
The Western Australia Government has moved to give itself the upper hand in its negotiations with the Federal Government and NBN Co on the roll out of the National Broadband Network in its state.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra, ISPs start signing up Point Cook customers
Telstra has revealed about 250 people from 1,500 homes covered by a fibre network at Point Cook registered interest in taking up broadband services from the carrier.
Source: iTnews Australia
Go Fetch: IPTV provider confirms pricing, channels and iiNet deal
Fetch TV have confirmed they will begin offering subscription based TV over the internet for under $30 a month, putting it in direct competition with a bunch of other pay TV content services.
Source: PC Authority
Commercial filters on the side of web censorship
Government firewalls and censorship are not the only threat to online freedom, with commercial filters increasingly blocking user access to websites.
Source: Australian IT
A Telstra deal could be the win Rudd needs now
Thanks to the public and political ruckus over the mining super tax, the federal government could do with a win now more than ever. A commercial settlement with Telstra over compensation for the use of its distribution infrastructure and the migration of its customers would be a good start.
Source: SMH
Telstra forced to dig holes
Telstra must keep digging trenches for fixed-phone networks in new housing estates, even though it argues it can fulfil its obligations with wireless services, the Communications Minister says.
Source: The Age
Scrapping NBN to cost Coalition $300m
Tony Abbott would face a recovery task of more than $300 million if he cancelled the national broadband network in the event of a Coalition victory at this year's federal election.
Source: The Australian
Tue, 25th May 2010
Govt 2.0 threatened by filter comments
Government 2.0 is in danger of being bogged down by public servants having to moderate "passionate" comments from the public railing against the government's planned mandatory internet filter, according to Govt 2.0 taskforce members.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra's copper could be recycled
Telstra's extensive network of copper could be reclaimed, recycled and returned to the bottom line.
Source: Computerworld
NBN chief urges Telstra to come online
The head of the company charged with rolling out the NBN has urged Telstra to sign up to the project, saying a deal is in everyone's best interests.
Source: Australian IT
CeBIT 2010: NBN will lead to crime surge, expert claims
Vice-president of IT security group Cyveillance, Eric Olson, has warned cybercrime will surge with the increased connectivity of the National Broadband Network.
Source: ARN
ISPs to pay $300 per connection in Tassie NBN stage one
Iprimus, iiNet and Internode will pay $300 per premises connected to NBN Co as part of the Tasmanian stage one rollout of the national broadband network (NBN).
Source: Computerworld
Want fast broadband? You're a pointy head
If you want a fast broadband connection as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN) then you are a "pointy head", according to Liberal Senator for Queensland, Ian McDonald.
Source: Computerworld
CeBIT 2010: CSIRO serves up NBN alternative to WiMax and LTE
The CSIRO has developed new wireless broadband technology that it claims will render WiMax and LTE technologies obsolete.
Source: ARN
Optus 3G accelerator spawns blurry pics
Optus yesterday confirmed to ZDNet Australia that technology deployed in late 2008 on its 3G network not only reduces the time to download a website, but also reduces image quality.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Federal Government will "never" release NBN Co business plan
The Federal Government will "never" release NBN Co’s business plan according to communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy.
Source: Computerworld
FetchTV announces IPTV details
Fetchtv has announced the details of its IPTV wholesale packages, which will be available to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from late June 2010. The wholesale provider will be offering its subscribers a number of services, including a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) with a 750GB hard drive.
Source: Computerworld
Filtering by computer fails on judgment
The plan to filter the internet for material refused classification under Australian law is legally flawed. Australia's classification law is not compatible with the Rudd government's proposal, and in fact has its own problems that make it unsuitable as a basis for any internet "clean feed".
Source: SMH
CeBIT 2010: Industry experts play down NBN cancellation impact
The impact of the Coalition's planned cancellation of the NBN on Australia's education and research sectors has been played down by industry experts.
Source: Computerworld
Service providers mull NBN pricing
Retailers are checking numbers for their offers on the national broadband network when its first stage goes live in Tasmania.
Source: Australian IT
Mon, 24th May 2010
Telstra updates business ADSL plans
Telstra has capped excess usage charges on its fixed broadband plans for business at $400 per month as part of a range of updates announced today.
Source: PC Authority