Broadband News
Wed, 23rd Dec 2009
Optus puts breaks on Pivotel
Optus has blocked all outgoing voice calls and SMS to the Pivotel network in a bid to stop the telephony carrier from bypassing Optus's international call-charging rates.
Source: Australian IT
NBN: The year that was
It began as a $4.5 billion dollar election promise in 2007. The then shadow broadband minister, Stephen Conroy, broadcast plans for an open-access fibre broadband network to liberate parts of Australia which were deemed 'non-commercial' by telco providers. While it lacked the scope of the Liberal's now defunct OPEL WiMAX project, which touched on regional blackspots, it was lauded by the telecommunications industry.
Source: ARN
Conroy releases draft laws for greenfield fibre rollouts
Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy has made available draft legislation aimed at mandating the use of fibre connectivity in any new housing estate.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co starts wholesale product development
NBN Co has kicked off the process to develop the wholesale products that will underpin the retail services that the NBN will deliver to end users. It has not taken up Comms Alliance's suggestion that it should offer a layer 1 wholesale product.
Source: iTWire
Conroy parody site shut down suddenly
A site setup to mock the pro-internet censorship Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, has been shut down within hours of its registration.
Source: APC Magazine
Tue, 22nd Dec 2009
SA has lowest broadband usage: ABS
South Australian households have the lowest broadband internet connection rate in mainland Australia, latest figures reveal.
Source: Australian IT
iiNet slashes off-peak internet time
Internet service provider iiNet has slashed up to four hours off its off-peak time for downloads.
Source: WA Today
New Zealand issues 4G spectrum
New Zealand has made a push towards 4G network services, with its government confirming the initial frequency allocation from the old analog TV spectrum.
Source: ZDNet Australia
The Filter Protests Guide
The Federal Government's ISP-level Internet content filter plan has led many down the path of considering serious protest and not just vehement online posting.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 21st Dec 2009
NBNco releases conceptual fibre wholesale plans
NBNco has released a consultation paper detailing a conceptual wholesale framework for the predominantly fibre National Broadband Network (NBN).
Source: ARN
TPG gets funding to buy Pipe Networks
TPG Telecom has secured the money it needs to go ahead with its merger with Pipe Networks.
Source: Computerworld
Conroy's filter just the beginning
It is time for Australians to take action to reject Stephen Conroy's internet filter, argues Pirate Party of Australia member Brendan Molloy. If we don't, we might as well give up any notion of freedom or privacy that we have.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co to host a national product roadshow
The National Broadband Company (NBN Co) has announced that it will hold a series of roadshows, beginning in Sydney and Melbourne in January 2010, to discuss broadband product options with potential wholesale and retail ISP partners.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co starts industry talks
The company charged with rolling out the federal government's national broadband network is to embark on a public consultation process with telcos and industry players.
Source: Australian IT
Conroy to ISPs: Keep investing in DSLAMs
Minister for Broadband, Stephen Conroy has advised Internet Service Providers to continue to deploy ADSL equipment into exchanges, despite an agreement cut between NBN Co and Telstra which aims to replace the copper lines with which such equipment would connect customers to the internet.
Source: iTnews Australia
Some top posts on the ISP-level Internet Content Filter story
The comments came quick, fast and furiously last week after the Federal Government decided it would go ahead with its much-criticised ISP-level Internet content filter. There wasn't a news site that didn't receive a rush of posts - most highly charged and negative on the plan. Here are a few we thought worth of a second mention:
Source: Computerworld
Sun, 20th Dec 2009
How to build a successful Internet filter
Sen. Conroy has obviously received rather poor advice. If he follows these instructions, he'll have an unbreakable Internet filter.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 18th Dec 2009
Telstra and NBN Co agree to NBN field test
Telstra will pull out its copper lines and replace them with fibre at 1500 homes in Point Cook near Melbourne, in an upgrade that will now act as a field trial for the brownfields deployment of the NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
Abbott ums and ahs on filter
Opposition leader Tony Abbott yesterday expressed his views about the internet filter in a joint interview, following fresh on the heels of a report that Liberal MP Alex Hawke will be voting against the filter in parliament.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Progress made in Telstra separation discussions
Negotiations between the Telstra, NBNco and the Government around structural separation and the telco's potential involvement in the National Broadband Network (NBN) have progressed, the parties claim.
Source: ARN
Naked DSL driving VoIP service offerings
The rise of Naked DSL among ISPs has led to an increase in the number of organisations offering voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Source: Computerworld
Telstra downgrades revenue forecast
Telstra warned today first-half sales revenue would be down on the year, and it cut its full-year guidance, pointing to a number of factors, including strong competition in its home market.
Source: Australian IT
Thu, 17th Dec 2009
Commentary: Why we don't need a filter
I swear, if I see one more commentator buying-in to Senator Conroy's spin about child pornography on the Internet I'm going to pop an artery.
Source: iTnews Australia
Broadband use at home on the rise
The number of households with broadband Internet is steadily increasing, according to the latest statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Source: ARN
Telstra first to test HSPA+ at 42Mbps
Telstra says it has become the first operator in the world to test the HSPA+ dual carrier 42Mbps mobile broadband technology outside of vendor laboratories.
Source: iTWire
First Labor politician breaks filter ranks
New South Wales upper house member Penny Sharpe has become the first Labor figure to publicly criticise Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's announced plans for internet filtering legislation.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Testing of Conroy's internet filter flawed: expert
A senior ISP engineer says the government's internet filter was never tested at high speed, nor did it meet the government's own performance benchmark.
Source: APC Magazine
Web filter will compromise NBN
Internet service providers believe Labor's filter to block web nasties could neuter its national broadband network.
Source: Australian IT
Wed, 16th Dec 2009
Abbott drawn into filter debate
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has today fended off questions regarding his stance on the government's legislation for mandatory internet service provider filtering.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Filter pilot did not test high-speed internet
Enex TestLab did not test ISP-level filtering products on internet connection speeds greater than 8 Mbps, raising questions of possible degradation at ADSL2+ and fibre speeds.
Source: iTnews Australia