Broadband News
Fri, 11th Dec 2009
Google, others to build Asia undersea cable
A consortium including Google and KDDI Corp has signed a deal on Thursday to build and operate an international undersea cable system, estimated to cost US$400 million.
Source: iTnews Australia
Leighton bags Tasmania NBN deal
Leighton Holdings unit John Holland has won a contract to roll out fibre-optic backbone links in Tasmania for its broadband network project.
Source: Australian IT
NBN to generate "utility-style" returns: Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has talked up expected commercial gains from the NBN, claiming they will generate a "utility style" return on investment.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co down the wrong path: Cisco
Nbn Co's minimalist approach to building the broadband network will put the nation on a $43 billion path "back to the future".
Source: Australian IT
Quigley backs fibre-based NBN, not wireless
Fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) is a better and cheaper alternative for the National Broadband Network (NBN) than a wireless network rollout, according to NBNco CEO, Mike Quigley.
Source: ARN
Thu, 10th Dec 2009
Conroy reveals freefall in fibre-to-the-home costs
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has revealed a bidding war that occurred between builders in a Melbourne greenfields estate over the cost of connecting new homes to an Opticomm fibre network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Quigley flags new satellites for NBN
NBN Co executive chairman, Mike Quigley, has once again raised the possibility of new satellites being launched to deliver the NBN to the last few percent of Australians beyond the reach of either the FTTP or terrestrial wireless networks.
Source: iTWire
Telstra NBN deal in two years
The federal government and Telstra will be well on the way to a broadband deal by Christmas, but final agreement will take another two years.
Source: Australian IT
Rudd hard-sells NBN green credentials
The Federal Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) plays a key role in addressing global warming, according to Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
Source: ARN
NBN Co lifts lid on network design options
NBN Co will attempt to locate its up to 200 points of interconnect in areas where there is contestable backhaul, the company's chief Mike Quigley told a gathering in Sydney.
Source: iTnews Australia
Rudd calls halt to broadband 'rot'
Kevin Rudd has told the Federal Government's broadband future forum in Sydney that it was time to "stop the rot" and take action on broadband after revealing 18 plans were created to fix the problems in the past 12 years.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus chief lashes Telstra strategy
Optus chief claims the soothing words coming from Telstra are just talk and that its underlying strategy of delay remains unchanged.
Source: Australian IT
Internode eyes mobile voice services
Internode will offer a mobile voice service starting next year, according to the ISP's product manager Jim Kellett.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN forum kicks off today
The Federal Government will today kick off its Realising Our Broadband Future event at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
Source: Computerworld
Wed, 09th Dec 2009
Optus to expand 3G coverage on CityRail network
Optus plans to expand 3G mobile coverage within Sydney's CityRail network throughout 2010.
Source: iTnews Australia
Australian Internet: good, but not good enough?
Virtual office provider Servcorp International reckons Australia has the fourth best Internet service in the world. But we're still not satisfied.
Source: iTWire
TransACT lands residential FTTP deal
TransACT has today signed an agreement with the ACT Land Development Agency that will supply fibre-to-the-premise services to over 1800 homes.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Conroy reveals greenfields FTTP draft law under review
Draft legislation to mandate fibre in new housing estates is understood to be circulating the 29 members of the Government's fibre in greenfields reference group.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co gathering capability statements for partner selection
The company charged with rolling out the Federal Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) has put out a request for capability statements to those vendors seeking to partner up for the infrastructure project.
Source: Computerworld
Equinix secures Pipe interconnect deal
Pipe has selected the Equinix Sydney1 data centre as an interconnect provider for its PPC-1 cable between Sydney and Guam.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 08th Dec 2009
Telstra raises ISP ire over BigPond price drops
Telstra has been accused of repeating anti-competitive behaviour from 2004 after again failing to reduce wholesale DSL prices in line with lower BigPond prices announced last week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internode calls an end to 'fraudband' plans
National ISP Internode has dropped its old 256Kbps and 512Kbps plans, and will deliver a minimum of 1500Kbps to new customers. The company has also announced a "truly unlimited" plan.
Source: iTWire
Internode lifts lid on wholesale internet costs
Internode has revealed it pays around $3100 per megabit in wholesale 3G costs to provide a wireless broadband service to its customers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Conroy gets new shadow: Tony Smith
Liberal member for Casey, Victoria, Tony Smith has been appointed as the Coalition's new shadow communications minister, but his views are at odds with new shadow finance minister, Nationals senator, Barnaby Joyce.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA gears up to allow in-flight mobile phone usage
The ACMA is proposing new spectrum licensing rules that would enable airlines to offer mobile phone services in-flight, but these are likely to be limited to SMS and GPRS data - Australian airlines aren't keen to offer voice services.
Source: iTWire
LTE - the bandwidth it will really deliver
Enthusiastic cellular operators hoping to upgrade to long term evolution (LTE) and their equally enthusiastic vendors have been cheerfully talking up the bandwidth capabilities of the technology to dizzying heights. Verizon Wireless has brought some reality to the situation, announcing what users can expect to get on its LTE network.
Source: iTWire
Revealed: Telstra-NBN asset deal dangers
The NBN Co and Government may be negotiating access to an unusable duct system and customer base it could win over by other means than a deal with Telstra, a regulatory gabfest in Sydney heard today.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co's FTTP tender: suppliers will have one month to respond
NBN Co has revealed details of its planned acquisition timetable for the key FTTH components of the National Broadband Network, saying it will give organisation invited to tender just one month to respond.
Source: iTWire
ISPs urged to increase security responsibility
The founder of the Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC) has called on Internet service providers (ISPs) to cooperate with each other and government to fight cyber crime.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 07th Dec 2009
Telstra looks to the web for feedback loop
Telecommunications incumbent Telstra has invited a subset of its customers to take part in a twice-monthly customer satisfaction survey.
Source: iTnews Australia