Broadband News

Tue, 06th Oct 2009

AFACT claims 100K copyright breaches on iiNet

Investigators claim to have recorded almost 100,000 instances of iiNet users making available online unauthorised copies of films and TV programs from the film studio's catalogues, lawyers for the film industry said in court today.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN to drive jobs for remote Aussies: Conroy

The National Broadband Network would drive job opportunities in regional Australia and help remote indigenous communities participate in the mainstream economy, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has told a conference in Geneva.

Source: iTWire

Telstra investors launch anti-separation campaign

The second largest shareholder in Telstra has kicked off a campaign to try and persuade the Federal Government to change its mind about forcing the telco to structurally separate.

Source: iTnews Australia

Internode says new cable link allows data boost, lowers costs

Internode says it's taking advantage of a reduction in data transfer costs afforded by the new fibre-optic link between Australia and the Pacific Island of Guam to boost data quotas and lower plan costs to its customers.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co gets CTO, network ops chief

The National Broadband Network Company has two further appointments to its senior executive team, a chief technology officer and a head of network operations.

Source: ZDNet Australia

New consortium helps Sanctuary Cove get NBN-ready

A new industry consortium will overlay a FTTH (Fibre-to-the-Home) network solution in Queensland’s Sanctuary Cove in preparation for the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: ARN

AFACT v iiNet - The bell sounds for round one

10.15 am. Court Room 18C. Federal Court of Australia, New South Wales Registry. October 6, 2009. Mark it down. It may just be one of the most important dates in Australian ICT and copyright history.

Source: Computerworld

Aussie home broadband connections tip past the 50% mark

Despite one in every two Australian homes having a fixed broadband connection, we barely make it into the Top 20 list of countries with the highest penetration of home broadband.

Source: APC Magazine

Mon, 05th Oct 2009

Cable unlikely to cut net price

Experts are sharply divided as to whether consumers can expect cheaper broadband when Pipe Networks lights up its newly built Sydney-Guam cable later this week.

Source: Australian IT

Ban geostationary satellites from the NBN, says O3b

Greg Wyler, founder and CEO of future low earth orbit satellite operator, O3b Networks, will address the Senate Enquiry into the NBN to push his company's claims that the round trip delay inherent in geostationary satellite systems makes then unsuitable for providing broadband services to those Australians beyond the reach of the National Broadband Network's fibre.

Source: iTWire

Telstra payphones on hit list

Telstra has drawn up a hit list of payphones in Victoria it plans to scrap, breaking a vital link during emergencies in the bush.

Source: Australian IT

Bush ISPs face uncertain NBN future

Tiny wireless internet providers servicing the bush face an uncertain future as regional subsidy programs are cut and the NBN Company considers satellite options, the founder of pioneering rural outfit Yless4U Anthony Goonan says.

Source: iTWire

Australia-Japan Cable completes refinancing

Australia Japan Cable (AJC) - the 12,700km submarine link between Australia and Japan, says it has successfully completed its refinancing, assuring its viability into the future.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 02nd Oct 2009

Revealed: iiNet's film copyright defence

Next Tuesday, Perth ISP iiNet will throw the spotlight on the film industry, accusing it of being the primary copyright infringer in a Federal Court case to be heard in Sydney.

Source: iTnews Australia

The NBN - Flying blind?

The Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia, Scott Ludlam has questioned whether the Federal Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) plan is "flying blind".

Source: Computerworld

Blog: All about separation, or all about copper?

Labor's fibre-to-the-premises NBN was meant to be an act of freedom, a breaking-free from 100 years of copper infrastructure legacy and the start of something new. So why in the world are we still discussing Telstra's copper network?

Source: ZDNet Australia

Amcom on a shopping spree?

Amcom Telecommunications has put itself into a trading halt on the Australian Stock Exchange pending an announcement to be made on a proposed transaction.

Source: ZDNet Australia

AARNet peers with Akamai

Australia's academic research network (AARNet) has announced that it has unmetered access to all traffic hosted on the Akamai content delivery network for its clients in the university and research sectors.

Source: iTnews Australia

Quigley and Conroy at odds over NBN pricing

National Broadband Network Company CEO Mike Quigley has thrown cold water on a suggestion made by Senator Stephen Conroy that NBN Co should subsidise internet users in regional Australia.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co to buy telco assets

The National Broadband Network Company is talking to telcos about buying infrastructure to give the government's $43 billion project a leg up.

Source: Australian IT

Thu, 01st Oct 2009

Filtering works, Enex trial shows

Results of a federal government trial show that live ISP-level content filtering does not have a negative impact on network performance and can work in a real-time environment.

Source: Australian IT

Finance battered over Ergas' NBN cost-benefit analysis

A Department of Finance and Deregulation representative has questioned the quality of a "cost-benefit analysis" submitted to the NBN Senate Select Committee by economist Henry Ergas.

Source: iTnews Australia

ANZ bank invests in free Wi-Fi access

ANZ bank has partnered with CafeScreen to offer free Wi-Fi access at 100 Australian cafes, train stations and ferries until the end of January to advertise its new online banking site.

Source: iTnews Australia

Lobby group: Burying NBN cables may increase reliability and decrease health risks

The chairman of a national lobby group has told a Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network (NBN) laying cables underground may increase reliability and decrease health risks.

Source: Computerworld

Blog: Has Conroy got the numbers for reforms?

Getting Senator Stephen Conroy's regulatory reform for the telecommunications industry through the parliament would need support from the Senate. On Twisted Wire we ring around to see which parties are supportive and which are against.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Broadband will connect 20% of households worldwide this year, Gartner projects

Research firm Gartner is projecting that 20% of households worldwide will be connected to the Internet through a broadband connection by year-end.

Source: ARN

ACCC warns mobile operators against overstating wireless data rates

The ACCC has told mobile operators that they must not advertise data rates on wireless broadband services in excess of those generally achievable or likely to be achieved by consumers using the network.

Source: iTWire

British ISPs slam plans to cut off file sharers

The British Government's proposed plans to cut off illegal downloaders from the internet have been heavily criticised by internet service providers (ISPs).

Source: iTnews Australia

NBNco's Quigley to face Senate Committee today

The man at the helm of the company set up to rollout the Federal Government's ambitious National Broadband Network (NBN), Mike Quigley, is due to face the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

Wed, 30th Sep 2009

AFACT retreat reveals ignorance: iiNet

A group of entertainment companies conducting a landmark copyright claim against iiNet has withdrawn part of its case against the ISP.

Source: Australian IT