Broadband News

Mon, 03rd Aug 2009

Battle of the bandwidths: Huawei v Telstra on HSDPA 'speed record'

Huawei claims to have recorded the fastest downlink speeds on a HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access) commercial network of 18.2Mbps, yet Telstra claims a world record 21Mbps. So what's the story?

Source: iTWire

Conroy promises to release ISP-level filtering report

Senator Conroy has committed to the public release of a report based on the data gleaned from the Federal Government's trial of ISP-level internet filtering.

Source: iTnews Australia

Doug Campbell's in the hot seat

Forget about Mike Quigley. The man who is really under the gun for delivering the National Broadband Network is former Telstra executive Doug Campbell.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Current backhaul networks won't support the NBN, says Nortel

Nortel Networks has undertaken extensive modelling of traffic demands likely to be imposed on Australia's long haul domestic and international networks as a result of the NBN and says massive upgrades will be required.

Source: iTWire

Telstra sets pace in net trial

Telstra could speed up its interstate fibre-optic network by a factor of 10 by the end of next year after successfully testing new technology.

Source: Australian IT

Conroy quiet on naming national broadband network board

The directors of the company that will deliver the Rudd Government's national broadband network have yet to be named despite being expected by the end of July.

Source: The Courier-Mail

PM's national broadband plan really is no net gain

Has there ever been a major Commonwealth program more hastily conceived than the national broadband network?

Source: SMH

Woolworths launches cut price mobile phone plan with Optus

Having already cornered the car filling stations business in Australia, national retailer Woolworths has signaled its intention to do the same with mobile phones in a deal with number two carrier Optus. The deal which goes into effect today will see 3000 Woolworths and affiliated retail stores Australia-wide offer 30c a minute phone calls and 15c SMS on no-frills prepaid plans.

Source: iTWire

Sat, 01st Aug 2009

The ISP Q&A Series: Internode

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. First in this new ARN series is Internode national sales manager, Daryl Knight.

Source: ARN

Fri, 31st Jul 2009

Telstra stays out of open access estates

An iTnews investigation has found Telstra opts not to roll out internet services in new housing estates where competing infrastructure has been installed.

Source: iTnews Australia

Blog: Dancing with the NBN Co stars

Time will tell how the rest of the NBN Co board shapes up, but it's hard to dismiss the credentials of its two most high-profile appointments so far.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Spam knocks Optus email out

Optus has blamed a spam attack on an email outage that occurred between late Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Source: ZDNet Australia

OECD: Broadband networks lead market recovery

A report released this week claims the global ICT sector is showing signs of recovery, with investments in national broadband network plans forming a central component of government efforts to stimulate growth.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telecoms regulation change is nearer

The federal government is one step closer to introducing legislative changes to the nation's failed telecommunications regulatory regime.

Source: The Australian

Thu, 30th Jul 2009

Alcatel-Lucent to build SPIN cable: will create new Australia NZ route

Alcatel-Lucent has won a contract to build the 8,200 km SPIN submarine cable network that will link New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand and with existing systems will provide an alternative trans-Tasman link.

Source: iTWire

Blog: Where next for telco number three?

What's next for AAPT? Australia's number three telco refused to join Twisted Wire this week, so we decided to cover them anyway, guerrilla-style.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Broadband network no 'revolution: News boss

News Ltd's digital boss, Richard Freudenstein, broke ranks with his peers yesterday claiming the Federal Government's proposed national broadband network (NBN) would not trigger a media revolution. While dramatic change was certain in other sectors such as health and education, Mr Freudenstein said the NBN would only reinforce a continuation of media consumption changes already under way.

Source: The Age

KPMG, McKinsey tipped for NBN role

KPMG Corporate Finance and management consultancy group McKinsey have firmed as favourites to lead the advisory group that will undertake an implementation study into the federal government's $43 billion national broadband network.

Source: Australian IT

Wed, 29th Jul 2009

Optus says IP networks spared budget cuts

A survey commissioned by Optus has revealed continued investment in IP networks, even as budget cuts stalls spending on IT&C across three in four organisations.

Source: iTnews Australia

Regional backhaul: Good start, but too little

The Federal Government's $250 million regional backhaul program would improve broadband competition in the bush, but the investment needed to be four to eight times larger to be effective, Southern Cross Equities telco anayst Daniel Blair said.

Source: iTWire

AAPT, Telstra broker $500m wholesale deal

According to AAPT chief Paul Broad, it was a "breath of fresh air" negotiating a new $500 million a year telco-wide supply deal announced today with post-Trujillo Telstra.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN threat to Telstra overestimated

Southern Cross Equities analyst Daniel Blair believes the perceived threat posed by the National Broadband Network to Telstra has been greatly overestimated, and further that the NBN will most likely be built with significant Telstra involvement.

Source: iTWire

Ecomtel folds, blames Telstra ADSL billing dispute

Ecomtel has launched a scathing attack against its wholesale provider Telstra accusing it of prolonging a billing dispute that "forced" Ecomtel into administration.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN to shift telcos' focus

Macquarie Telecom warns telcos that unless they adopt new business models they risk missing out on the national broadband network.

Source: Australian IT

Statistics experts label ISP filtering trials unscientific

The Federal Government's ISP filter trials lack proper methodology and are not representative, according to experts in statistics and testing from two of Australia's leading universities.

Source: ARN

Mike Quigley: The background check

Father, brother, cancer survivor, highly intelligent engineer and leader of the "Australian mafia" group of executives who battled their way to the top of global telco supplier Alcatel-Lucent. We present Mike Quigley, executive chairman of the National Broadband Network Company.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 28th Jul 2009

Tudehope pushes Telstra separation

Macquarie Telecom CEO David Tudehope has welcomed the appointment of Mike Quigley as the executive chair of the NBN Company. But upcoming industry regulatory changes remain his company's main focus.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Quigley's job is straightforward

NBN Company executive chairman Mike Quigley and six other board members to be named this week have a series of straightforward "buy or build" decisions to make about Australia's fibre future.

Source: ZDNet Australia

New home buyers fight Telstra lock-in

Politicians, ISPs and analysts are calling on the Federal Government to legislate against exclusive deals that lock homeowners in new housing estates into Telstra's broadband and phone services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Nextgen to wire sports stadiums with fibre network

Leighton-owned Nextgen Networks has signed a deal with Premier Media Group, owner of FOX SPORTS, which will connect several key sports facilities around the nation to Nextgen's fibre network.

Source: iTnews Australia