Broadband News
Sat, 01st May 2010
Australia to sign international cybercrime treaty
The Federal Government has announced plans to sign an international treaty designed to facilitate the identification, extradition and conviction of cybercriminals around the world.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 30th Apr 2010
Warning: Why your Internet might fail on May 5
Network managers are being urged to run a series of checks on their routers and firewalls to ensure their users will still be able to connect to internet sites in the wake of a major change to the internet's domain name system next week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Bandwidth demand to reach 1Gbps by 2020: NBN Co CEO
Fixed bandwidth speed demands will reach one gigabit per second (Gbps) by 2020, according to NBN Co chief executive officer Mike Quigley.
Source: Computerworld
Analysis: Council NBN testers raise the cost of rushing
At least two councils selected as test sites for the national broadband network have expressed serious concerns over what they percieve as NBN Co's "rushed" timeline, with at least one expecting it will result in high administrative costs.
Source: iTnews Australia
LEAKED: Net filter laws haven't even been drafted yet
Leaked screenshots from a secret forum run by Stephen Conroy have emerged, showing the government hasn't even drafted net filtering legislation yet.
Source: APC Magazine
Believe it or not, but Telstra's Bigpond is our labs winner for best wireless internet
Telstra's reputation as expensive crumbles in our wireless broadband test. Read why we believe Telstra has finally changed their old ways and made their wireless internet finally affordable.
Source: PC Authority
Secret forum is 'Conroy-style': Ludlam
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has described a protected online forum used by the federal broadband department to discuss the internet filter project with the industry as typical of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's approach and again called for the whole project to be scrapped.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Conroy denies plans to make filter avoidance illegal
Despite the government saying it would look poorly on ISPs who promoted ways to avoid the net filter, Stephen Conroy says he won't make it illegal.
Source: APC Magazine
Thu, 29th Apr 2010
Conroy confirms filter forum exists
The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has acknowledged the existence of a protected online forum used to discuss controversial issues about the internet filter, but has appeared to reject forum suggestions from departmental officials that the government could make it an offence to promote methods of circumventing the filter.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Government savages Liberal plans to scrap the NBN
The Federal Government has rounded on Liberal opposition leader Tony Abbott (pictured) after he announced plans to abandon the building of the National Broadband Network should the Coalition return to power in the Federal election.
Source: iTnews Australia
Union: NBN rollout is putting lives at risk
The Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) has called for urgent changes to the way the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Tasmania is built, claiming worker’s lives are being put in jeopardy.
Source: ARN
Opt-in ISP-level Internet filter wasn't feasible: Academics
An opt-in/opt-out ISP-level filter, first suggested in the February 2008 Feasibility Study into ISP Level Content Filtering, was never a feasible alternative to the current ACMA blacklist, according to academics and industry experts.
Source: Computerworld
Internet filter debate delayed beyond June
The Government plans to introduce controversial internet filtering legislation later this year, heightening suspicions it won't happen before the next election.
Source: iTnews Australia
Will the NBN limit competition?
There's little doubt that the National Broadband Network (NBN) will reduce the number of internet service providers (ISPs) in Australia.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Worker's electric shock delays NBN rollout
The National Broadband Network(NBN)rollout in Tasmania was hit with a shocking set back last month when a worker was electrocuted by a power pole with a leaking insulator.
Source: ARN
Australians take to mobile internet
Nearly half of all Australian mobile phone users now own an internet-capable phone, but only a third accesses the web regularly on them, according to new research by The Nielsen Company.
Source: SMH
Broadband network doomed without Telstra: experts
Experts in the telecommunications industry say they struggle to see how the government's $43 billion broadband network can be commercially viable without Telstra's involvement, giving further ammunition to Telstra in its negotiations with the government.
Source: SMH
Net firms slam Abbott on NBN
Internet companies have condemned Tony Abbott's plan to axe the national broadband network, saying the move would allow Telstra to "re-monopolise" the sector.
Source: The Australian
Optus move leaves Telstra market's dearest provider
Telstra's BigPond is being left behind in a broadband pricing war, as Optus becomes the latest provider to increase download limits without increasing prices.
Source: The Age
Private capital 'will flow into NBN'
NBN Co's Mike Quigley says there will be a "compelling case" for private investment in the national broadband network - just not any time soon.
Source: The Australian
Wed, 28th Apr 2010
Analysis: Internode plans leave users up in arms
ISP Internode has defended a revamp of its Easy Broadband plans that some users believed was less attractive than the Telstra offer it was trying to better.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co keeps ISPs waiting for POI locations
NBN Co is yet to determine when it will reveal the proposed locations of its 200-plus points of interconnect, despite the existence of a map that appeared to show off the sites.
Source: iTnews Australia
iiNet case appeal set for August
The film industry will get four days in the NSW Federal Court's August sittings to appeal a court decision that internet service provider iiNet did not authorise its users to infringe on the film industry's copyright.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone isn't the fastest, but it's the value wireless broadband to buy
Vodafone wireless broadband is excellent value prospect as long as 'fast' isn't on your horizon. See why it fares so well against Telstra, Optus, Three and Virgin.
Source: PC Authority
Internode broadband reaches 70 per cent of Australians
Internode has announced its ADSL2+ services can now reach 70 per cent of Australian users.
Source: ARN
Tue, 27th Apr 2010
Victorian Public Transport Ombudsman to be Telecoms Ombudsman
Simon Cohen, currently Victoria's Public Transport Ombudsman, is to become the new Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
Source: iTWire
Optus offers 'unlimited' broadband plans
The nation's second-largest telco, Optus, has revamped its broadband plans, including new "unlimited" download quotas and sizable allowances even on lower-end plans — for example, 120GB for AU$59.99 a month on a two-year contract.
Source: ZDNet Australia
US groups make last pitches on net neutrality
Net neutrality rules proposed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission could upset a complex mobile telecom marketplace and lead to fewer handset choices and fewer smartphone applications, a mobile trade group said Monday.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 26th Apr 2010
Telstra's marketing chief Kate McKenzie tackles her biggest challenge
She's been handed the keys to one of the largest advertising budgets in the country and now Telstra's newly anointed chief marketing officer, Kate McKenzie, has to figure how it can be used to solve the problem of the telco's shrinking fixed-line telephony business.
Source: The Australian
Sat, 24th Apr 2010
iiNet plays down ACTA draft
iiNet chief regulatory officer, Steve Dalby, has poured cold water on so-called "conspiracy theories" about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Source: Computerworld