Broadband News

Thu, 03rd Sep 2009

Broadband to stimulate seniors' grey matter

The federal government has launched its $15 million senior citizens internet education program.

Source: Australian IT

Blog: Seven vividly proves WiMax not dead yet

It wasn't too long ago that critics of WiMax wireless technology were declaring it dead at the starting gate.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra suffers nationwide web outage

Telstra's internet services suffered a nationwide outage this morning for around one hour, according to its spokesperson.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Perth to get fastest wireless broadband in Australia

Perth is set to receive the fastest wireless broadband network in Australia by early 2010.

Source: ARN

Stokes gives broadband a boost with 4G

Kerry Stokes has cemented his position as Australia's multimedia mogul after his Seven Network yesterday announced a shake-up to Australia's $30 billion a year telecoms sector.

Source: Australian IT

Wed, 02nd Sep 2009

Line switch hits city cyber speeds

BRISBANE: Internet speeds in the inner city have been slashed after Telstra moved a pivotal CBD telecommunication exchange without notifying customers.

Source: City News

Seven cans national Unwired Wimax rollout

The $200 million national Wimax rollout by the Seven Network's struggling Unwired unit has been called off and replaced by a limited roll out plan for Perth.

Source: Australian IT

Perth to be first with 'Unwired' mobile WiMAX service

The long-awaited launch of mobile WiMAX services by Seven Network subsidiary, Unwired Australia, will take place in Perth in March next year but with Unwired relegated to the role of network builder and operator and a new Seven subsidiary, Vividwireless responsible for all marketing and customer facing responsibilities.

Source: iTWire

Vocus racks up $2m core network upgrade

Vocus Communications has completed a $2 million refresh of its core network that has increased link capacities from one to 10 Gigabits.

Source: iTnews Australia

Internet filtering a farce: Minchin

The Opposition has renewed calls for the internet censorship plan to be buried but the government says the scheme is moving ahead.

Source: Australian IT

Mandatory filtering plan an 'ultimate embarrassment'

The Rudd Government plan to introduce mandatory ISP-level filtering was dead in the water and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy should end the farce now, the Opposition's leader in the Senate Nick Minchin said.

Source: iTWire

Telstra appoints two non-executive directors

Telstra has appointmented two new non-executive directors, energy industry leader Russell Higgins, and Microsoft executive Steve Vamos.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 01st Sep 2009

EFTel bullish on FY10 after heavy investment in FY09

ISP EFTel is making bullish forecasts for FY10 saying its large loss in FY09 was the result of major writedowns and adjustments and heavy investment in DSLAM rollout that has positioned it well for future growth.

Source: iTWire

Internet address run-out: is it time to panic?

The latest predictions on IPv4 address run-out have brought forward the estimated exhaustion date, especially in the Asia Pacific region; Internet elder statesman Vint Cerf has warned of 'panic' solutions resulting in poor engineering; and the Australian Government Information Management Office has accelerated its IPv6 adoption timetable by three years.

Source: iTWire

Optus email change angers customers

Optus has been forced to halt the planned shut down of its optushome.com.au email domain after users complained of insufficient warning.

Source: Australian IT

Pipe calls for third NSW undersea cable zone

Pipe International has called on the communications regulator to relieve congestion in the undersea corridors for submarine cables by opening a third "protection zone" in New South Wales waters.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 31st Aug 2009

Blog: Can Vodafone close the rural 3G gap?

Optus, Vodafone and Three have long struggled to match Telstra's reach outside the capital cities. Vodafone's major network upgrade is the best chance yet to dilute Next G's rural monopoly, but questions remain.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Australia Japan Cable & Pacific Crossing offer GigE links from Australia to USA

Australia Japan Cable (AJC) and Pacific Crossing have launched a gigabit ethernet service across their respective networks for carrier, enterprise, and ISP customers wanting connectivity between Australia and North America.

Source: iTWire

How to Get a Good Broadband Deal, Part 8: Bundled pricing

Bundled deals that include your phone and broadband certainly look like great value on paper, but it pays to do your sums. Here's what you need to know.

Source: PC Authority

That other broadband revolution

While everyone was distracted by the NBN, a revolution was under way in the supply of fixed line broadband.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra's massive nerve centre exposed

Telstra has marked the 10th anniversary of its jumbo-sized Global Operations Centre in Melbourne by throwing the doors open to media.

Source: APC Magazine

Vodafone 3G now reaches 94 percent of Australians

Vodafone has completed the planned upgrade to its network, expanding 3G coverage to 94 percent of the population from 80 percent and adding 2G EDGE services and upgrading 2G coverage in the extended 3G coverage area.

Source: iTWire

US Government wants emergency internet powers

A leaked draft of the forthcoming cybersecurity bill has revealed a clause allowing government takeover of private and corporate networks "in the event of an immediate threat to strategic national interests."

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Survey: Is the public discourse lacking?

Seven of Australia's leading ICT analysts are split on whether the public discourse around the Federal Government's planned National Broadband Network (NBN) is lacking.

Source: ARN

Sat, 29th Aug 2009

The ISP Q&A Series: Optus

The ISP Q&A Series is a look at the opportunities Australian ISPs have for resellers.

Source: ARN

NBN Survey: Analysts mixed on need for network upgrade

Asked if they had any doubts Australia needed a significant upgrade to its existing networks from technology and competition view points, seven of the country's leading ICT analysts have given mixed responses.

Source: ARN

Fri, 28th Aug 2009

NBN "useless" without subsea investment

Investing in a National Broadband Network was "useless" if some of the up to $43 billion wasn't allocated to upgrading international subsea networks, according to Australia's leading start-ups.

Source: iTnews Australia

Pipe's Guam cable: What does it mean?

Opinions are split amongst analysts, telcos and ISPs as to whether Pipe's new PPC-1 Sydney to Guam submarine cable will lead to lower broadband prices for Australians, but all agree the threat of its arrival, set for October, has had a positive impact already.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Survey: FttP is the best option in the long term

There is no better alternative to a fibre-to-the-premises (FttP) network in the long term for the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to seven of the country's top ICT analysts.

Source: ARN

Protests planned over "three-strikes rule" for downloaders

Human rights groups and Internet Service Providers have said they are preparing a challenge to UK government proposals that would introduce a "three-strikes rule" for illegal downloaders.

Source: iTnews Australia