Broadband News

Fri, 21st Aug 2009

TransACT rolls out 1Gbps broadband

As the National Broaband Network develops with the intention of provising 100Mbps fibre-to-the-premises, ACT ISP TransACT has announced the successful delivery of 1Gbps broadband to residential dwellings and businesses.

Source: Computerworld

AAPT plans 'ball-breaker' product launch

PowerTel is gearing up to be a critical asset to AAPT as the Telecom New Zealand subsidiary shifts its reliance on fixed line to data and readies to launch what chief executive Paul Broad today said would be a "ball-breaker" consumer product.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCAN: Telco consent practices are flawed

There is no love for the telecommunications industry, with a report by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) showing major potholes in the sector's customer consent practices generating wide consumer dissatisfaction.

Source: ARN

AAPT dials up internet growth

AAPT has seen revenues from dial-up internet services more than double in the last financial year, growing from $19 to $39 million.

Source: iTnews Australia

Heavyweights join Tas NBN Co board

Former Aurora Energy chief, Daniel Norton, and two more directors have been appointed to the remaining spots on the Tasmanian National Broadband Network Company (TNBNCo).

Source: ZDNet Australia

TNBNco holds first meeting

The company formed to rollout and run the national broadband network in Tasmania has held its first board meeting.

Source: ARN

Fears national broadband network will create overhead eyesore

The national broadband network could become a $43 billion eyesore as overhead cables are strung outside millions of Australian homes.

Source: Herald Sun

Internet filtering meetings: Senior public servants keen on speed

Senior public servants have focused on speed in technical discussions with industry representatives on the Federal Government's controversial ISP-level Internet filtering scheme.

Source: ARN

Thu, 20th Aug 2009

Australia's broadband penetration stagnates: Report

Growth in the number of Australian internet users enjoying connections of more than 2 megabits per second has flatlined, according to a global networking report.

Source: iTWire

First NBN bill gets a second second reading

The Government has re-introduced its first piece of NBN legislation into the House of Representatives after first introducing it into the Senate, where debate on all NBN legislation has now been blocked by the Coalition and other members pending release by the government of information on the first failed NBN project.

Source: iTWire

Conroy offers $54m to fund regional and rural broadband projects

Communications minister, senator Stephen Conroy, has called for proposals to receive funding under the $60 million Digital Regions Initiative set up to fund projects that will deliver high-quality digital applications for education, health and emergency services over the National Broadband Network.

Source: iTWire

Photos: Inside the Equinix Sydney2 data centre

Equinix has taken the wraps off its $32 million Sydney2 facility in Sydney's south, boasting a more efficient design and double the standard rack density of Sydney1.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 19th Aug 2009

Aerial cables could halve the cost of NBN: Ericsson

Attaching NBN fibre to power poles instead of putting it in underground ducts would reduce the cost of the rollout by one third to a half, according to an Ericsson guru on NBN matters.

Source: iTWire

iiNet has new weapon to bolster case

Perth-based internet service provider iiNet has put two new lines of legal defence before the Federal Court in its bid to stop a group of entertainment companies suing it for copyright infringement.

Source: Australian IT

Submarine urged for cheaper web

The chief executive of one of Asia's biggest internet providers has said Australian broadband users would be dramatically better off if the Government built an undersea cable to the United States.

Source: The Age

Forecast: NBN, school PCs underpin strong growth

Government spending will cushion the Australian IT market from the worst effects of the global financial crisis, while the NBN roll-out will give the sector a medium and long term shot in the arm, a report from analysts Business Monitor International says.

Source: iTWire

Forensics experts examine iiNet and Telstra facilities

ISP iiNet has revealed the identity of its key forensics expert witness in the film industry copyright case in which it is embroiled.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 18th Aug 2009

EFTel, aaNet suffer denial of service attack

ISPs EFTel and aaNet continue to battle a distributed denial of service attack which has caused weeks of internet outages in New South Wales.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet CEO warns of telco-centric NBN

iiNet managing director, Michael Malone says there is a danger of the NBN being developed under a 'carrier-centric' model that would require every service provider to go through a carrier or primary service provider that 'owned' the connection to the home, rather than being able to establish a direct relationship with the customer.

Source: iTWire

Telstra revamp savings sour

Telstra has yet to achieve the half-billion dollars in savings it had expected this financial year as a result of its technology transformation project.

Source: Australian IT

Coalition senators oppose first NBN legislation

The Senate Committee enquiring into the legislation designed to facilitate the rollout of the National Broadband Network has tabled its report with coalition committee members calling for the legislation to apply only to the NBN implementation study, and for the government to return to the Parliament for fresh legislation should such be required.

Source: iTWire

Optus tech upgrade on hold

Optus' multi-million-dollar technology transformation has been put on ice as the telco reconsiders which areas of the business would benefit most from the program and whether it is worth the money.

Source: Australian IT

Mon, 17th Aug 2009

Broadband won't come cheap

The first national broadband network rollout, in Tasmania, will cost an estimated $20,000 for each premises that takes up the superfast internet connection -- and business leaders say its impact may be minimal.

Source: The Australian

Developer body wants fibre mandate delay

The Urban Development Institute of Australia has broken its silence on fibre rollout in greenfield estates by calling on the Federal Government to delay its plans by a year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Primus completes $2m upgrade to fight outages

Following three service outages so far this year, Primus Telecom over the weekend completed an upgrade to the power systems of its Melbourne data centre.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet boosts net profit 44 percent to $25.6m

Australia's third largest Internet service provider, iiNet (ASX: IIN) has reported revenue for the year to 30 June of $418.3 million, an increase of 67 percent, EBITDA up 42 percent to $67.2 million and net profit after tax up 44 percent to $25.6 million.

Source: iTWire

Internode launches online call-waiting service

With demand for broadband services plateauing, Internode has upped its efforts in customer service as it looks to maintain an edge over competitors with the launch today of a real-time, web-based call waiting service in its business departments.

Source: iTWire

How to Get a Good Broadband Deal, Part 6: Stop paying for uploads

This is one of the big traps for unwary broadband users, and avoiding services that meter uploads is a good idea, especially if you're a user of peer-to-peer (P2P) services like BitTorrent.

Source: PC Authority

Sat, 15th Aug 2009

Worse case regulation to cost Telstra $1.6 billion

Telstra chief financial officer John Stanhope has warned shareholders the impact of the Federal Government's NBN-focused regulatory review could cost the carrier up to $1 billion upfront and up to $100 million a year for six years.

Source: iTnews Australia

The ISP Q&A Series: Netspace

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

Source: ARN