Broadband News

Thu, 15th Oct 2009

Day Eight: AFACT solicitor grilled on ISP disconnections

The film industry's solicitor came under sustained pressure from ISP iiNet's senior counsel to admit the number of individual sessions - and therefore infringements - recorded in spreadsheets he prepared were inflated by a technical issue.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra: NBN good, separation bad

Telstra has used its appearance at the Senate Standing Committee on telecommunications legislation amendments to reiterate its support for the NBN, and its opposition to the Federal Government's structural separation bill.

Source: Computerworld

iiNet barristers corner AFACT solicitor

iiNet's legal counsel took Gilbert & Tobin solicitor Michael Williams to task yesterday afternoon over the credibility of technical evidence he had presented to the court.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Australian ISPs stay hush hush on copyright breach notices

Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are remaining tight lipped over the number of copyright breach notices they have received from copyright holders as the iiNet versus the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) case continues in the Federal Court of Australia.

Source: Computerworld

Alcatel-Lucent's blatant NBN pitch

There's a certain ridiculousness to Alcatel-Lucent's National Broadband Network video production that goes to the heart of an obvious worry that it will ultimately be left out when the cheques are signed.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN: Underground vs overhead cable debate rolls on

As the National Broadband Network (NBN) construction chugs along in Tasmania, debate on the mainland continues as to whether laying the fibre optic cables underground is more advantageous than putting them in existing overhead infrastructure.

Source: Computerworld

Public interest before Telstra's: Conroy

The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, spelt out an unpalatable truth for Telstra investors yesterday: the interests of 22 million Australians far outweighed those of the company's 1.4 million shareholders.

Source: SMH

Wed, 14th Oct 2009

Day Seven: Studio bosses wash their hands of piracy investigative technique

At least two American film studios involved in the copyright case against ISP iiNet have indicated to the Federal Court that they would not authorise use of investigative techniques in the fight against piracy if it involved some form of illegal conduct.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC dodges NBN monopoly question

The chief of Australia's competition regulator last night said it was too soon to know what sort of issues would arise if the National Broadband Network Company became another government-owned monopoly telco player in the style of Telstra.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Senators air concern over cost of Telstra split

Representatives from the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) today admitted the Government had done no analysis as to what it will cost Telstra to undertake structural or functional separation.

Source: iTnews Australia

AFACT v iiNet: Malone won't appear for two weeks

iiNet CEO Michael Malone will most likely not take the stand in the Internet Service Provider's (ISP) civil case against the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) for another two weeks.

Source: Computerworld

Industry: Telstra senate submission a stalling tactic

Analysts and industry groups see Telstra's senate plea against structural separation as a power play and claim the real action will happen in private negotiations.

Source: ARN

Day Seven: Film studios grilled on BitTorrent agreements

Paramount Pictures would likely lodge a complaint with BitTorrent over the "unauthorised use" of the studio's logo on the peer-to-peer firm's website, it was revealed in the Federal Court today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Conroy: there will be no delay

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has rejected pleas from Telstra and shareholders to delay the passage of legislation aimed at splitting the telecommunications company.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACS filter report just what Conroy needs

Yesterday's report from the Australian Computer Society's Filtering and E-Security Task Force will be a handy weapon in Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy's battle over internet censorship.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra split may endanger NBN

Telstra has urged a Senate inquiry to delay debate on proposed changes to telecommunications laws until it had concluded its behind-closed-doors discussions with the government.

Source: Australian IT

Government returns fire at telco critics

The Labor Party has hit back at large shareholders who have cried foul over plans to dismember Telstra.

Source: Brisbane Times

Telstra player not so clued up on Optus

The former Howard government finance minister who pushed for the full privatisation of Telstra appears a little rusty on his knowledge of the wider Australian stockmarket.

Source: WA Today

Tue, 13th Oct 2009

Kazaa witness takes iiTrial stand

Nigel Carson, a computer forensics investigator and a key witness in the 2004 Kazaa case, was called to the witness box today by iiNet's legal team to answer questions on whether an IP address was enough to identify a movie pirate.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN an opportunity for wholesalers: Telstra

Predictions of the demise of Telstra Wholesale in the face of an open access, wholesale-only National Broadband Network are vastly premature, the company's new wholesale chief Paul Geason said.

Source: iTWire

iiNet IPTV on track for Q1 2010 launch

iiNet has installed Juniper Networks' MX series routers in all capital cities to, amongst other things, better enable it to deliver video to its broadband customers, in particular its planned IPTV service which is on track for commercial launch in Q1 of 2010.

Source: iTWire

Day Six: iiNet strikes licensing deal with Roadshow

ISP iiNet had entered an "arrangement" with Roadshow Entertainment to license some of its content legally for its freezone, the Federal Court heard today.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet vs. AFACT, week 1: Video

Check out our video coverage of the iiNet versus AFACT trial in Sydney last week, as well as what the man on the street thinks of the whole mess.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra makes its appeal to the Senate

Telstra has appeared before the Senate in an attempt to resist legislation that would force it to split its business in half.

Source: ARN

BigAir expands fixed WiMAX network to Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast

Fixed WiMAX network operator, BigAir (ASX: BGL) is expanding its network into Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast using equipment from its current WiMAX gear supplier, Airspan Networks.

Source: iTWire

Legal win for iiNet

Embattled Perth internet service provider iiNet has won an important victory in its legal battle against a group of entertainment companies suing it for copyright infringement in the NSW Federal Court.

Source: Australian IT

iiNet to boost video delivery

iiNet has put the finishing touches on a $1.5 million network capacity upgrade that will allow the internet service provider to improve video content delivery to customers.

Source: Australian IT

Day Six: Internet Industry Association subpoenaed by AFACT

The film industry plans to subpoena the Internet Industry Association (IIA) for documents relating to plans and meetings it held with ISPs on how to handle notices of alleged copyright infringement and peer-to-peer abuse on their networks.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co's Quigley hangs hat in North Sydney

The NBN Company says it won’t have a headquarters operation "in the traditional sense," but that hasn’t stopped executive chairman Mike Quigley renting a place to hang his hat in North Sydney.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 12th Oct 2009

Day Five: Federal Court closed for DtecNet evidence

The iiNet case ended day five in a closed court session as the chief technology officer of third-party investigator DtecNet was cross-examined on the inner-workings of his firm's anti-piracy software.

Source: iTnews Australia