Broadband News

Thu, 10th Sep 2009

NBN beefs up executive team

The National Broadband Network Company has set its corporate wheels in motion with three new high-profile hires, taking its full-time staff to 12.

Source: Australian IT

Hackers bring down PM's website

The prime minister's website has been hacked in protest over a federal government proposal to introduce a mandatory filter to censor internet content.

Source: SMH

ABC looks to expand iView with ISP deals

The ABC is looking to partner with more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer unmetered access to its free iView on-demand television portal and paid downloads from its ABC Shop Downloads online store.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 09th Sep 2009

AAPT offers twelve hours of free downloads

AAPT has announced an 'unlimited broadband' residential ADSL2+ plan which extends the window in which users can download content for free to between 8pm and 8am.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co hires outspoken analyst Smeallie

The National Broadband Network Company has reportedly hired former outspoken telecommunications analyst Tim Smeallie as its head of commercial strategy.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN plan too 'risky' for investors

A telecommunications analyst from investment advisory service, BBY, has labelled the government's $43 billion NBN plan "as risky as it gets" and said it will fail to attract investors in the current information vacuum.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Trujillo critic to tackle Telstra over broadband

The Federal Government's national broadband network company has hired a vocal critic of former Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo to negotiate with the leading phone company.

Source: SMH

Broadband plan still slow on the download

It is four months since Kevin Rudd nudged Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to the edge of the stage and announced plans to build a $43 billion national broadband network.

Source: SMH

NBN cost debate picks up steam

The promise of a hyper-fast, state-sponsored national broadband network was mitigated by the high consumer cost to access it, a telecoms industry conference was told last night.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 08th Sep 2009

DBCDE official: NBN a $43bn question mark

A senior Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy staffer today said the government did not have answers to the growing list of questions surrounding the National Broadband Network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra's Thodey just a "nicer face": Optus

Telstra chief executive David Thodey may be nice to deal with but the telco giant's behaviour will not change while industry regulation remains unchanged, Optus said today.

Source: ZDNet Australia

iiNet vs AFACT: Internet Industry Association wants in on the action

The Internet Industry Association (IIA) is seeking Court permission to join the legal brawl between iiNet and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

Source: ARN

Austar pushes for wireless deal

Wireless internet companies would need a bigger piece of the broadband pie than the federal government has allocated to them under its current national broadband network plan, pay TV provider Austar says.

Source: Australian IT

AAPT capacity upgrade plan

AAPT has unveiled plans for a $20 million upgrade of its interstate transmission links and hopes to sell capacity into the planned national broadband network.

Source: Australian IT

Mon, 07th Sep 2009

Telcos call for NBN ownership cap

Several Australian telecommunications companies have called on the Federal Government to cap how much of the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) one shareholder can own.

Source: iTnews Australia

The internet filter is a giant funnel

With apologies to John Clarke and Bryan Dawe, ZDNet.com.au's Ratbags team has put together its own interpretation of the Federal Government's internet filtering initiative.

Source: ZDNet Australia

AAPT to launch a commercial cache service

AAPT plans to launch its own commercial cache service as part of its push into providing Software as a Service (SaaS), according to AAPT CIO David Yuile.

Source: iTnews Australia

Last vestige of Trujillo era about to log off

Telstra will shut down as soon as today its propaganda website, sweeping away one of the last vestiges of the Sol Trujillo era.

Source: SMH

ABC wants free NBN content

The ABC has called on the federal government to pass laws ensuring consumers won't have to pay to access any publicly funded content carried on the planned national broadband network, a measure that would give it a huge advantage over its commercial rivals.

Source: Australian IT

Sun, 06th Sep 2009

Telcos told to do better at bundling

According to telecoms market researcher, Heavy Reading, telcos will need to become much more sophisticated in the way they exploit the potential of all-IP networks to create service bundles for consumers: simply discounting the price for a bundle of services just won't cut it.

Source: iTWire

Government publishes submissions on NBN legislative framework

The Australian Government has published more than 30 submissions received in response to its call for industry input on the legislative framework for the National Broadband Network.

Source: iTWire

Sat, 05th Sep 2009

ACCC proposal makes Telstra's copper network more attractive to hold on to

Two weeks ago Graeme Samuel's Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced that it was planning to change the regime that decides how much telcos pay to get on to Telstra's copper wire network.

Source: SMH

ISP Q&A: Adam Internet

The ISP Q&A Series is a look at the opportunities Australian ISPs have for resellers. It also profiles their views on some of the more contentious issues affecting the industry. In the sixth part of this ARN series, Adam Internet managing director, Scott Hicks, talks about his predictions for the broadband market, his views on Internet filtering and the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: ARN

Fri, 04th Sep 2009

Telcos call for NBN Co to price discriminate

Telstra, Optus and other stakeholders agree that the Federal Government should allow the NBN Company to differentiate between its customers on price.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Internode: Greenfield FTTH sites now in three states

Internode says it has rolled out its FTTH broadband services to greenfield real estate developments in three states in just six months, with two more developments in New South Wales and South Australia due in the near future, and subscriber sign-ups now growing steadily.

Source: iTWire

NBN will fail without thriving reseller channel

The Federal Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) will be a failure without a thriving reseller channel, according to telecommunications carrier, Nextgen Networks.

Source: ARN

ISP faces $1m fine for stealing from customers

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has taken action against Perth-based ISP Web Ace for allegedly taking money from its customer's bank and credit card accounts without proper authorisation.

Source: iTnews Australia

ISPs seek legal advice on copyright issues

At least three Australian ISPs have sought legal advice on what would occur if they were placed in a similar court case to that faced by iiNet.

Source: iTnews Australia

Internode throttles fibre uplink to preserve network

Internode has revealed its fibre-to-the-home plans use asymmetric speeds to prevent customers from "swamping" the ISP's network using their higher uplink.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 03rd Sep 2009

ACCAN targets self-regulation, broadcasting and the NBN

The new consumers telecommunications body, ACCAN is proposing to expand its scope to cover broadcasting and to demand legislation requiring that the government formally respond when presented with evidence of systemic failures in the telecoms and broadcasting markets. Also on the table is a proposal that it lobby for "The abandonment or reform of self-regulation to a best practice system that better delivers consumer outcomes, and is more technology neutral."

Source: iTWire