Broadband News

Sat, 25th Apr 2009

IBM bags $70m NSW wireless deal

IBM has won the contract to build and supply the NSW Department of Education and Training's wireless network for 463 state schools.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus unveils single bill broadband data pool

Optus has expanded its total business caps to enable users to pull fixed or mobile broadband from a single data allowance - meaning they are billed only once regardless of how they access the web.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 24th Apr 2009

iPrimus dances with Telstra on ADSL2+

ISP iPrimus has all but given up on building new DSLAMs in the wake of the NBN announcement, opting instead to quadruple its coverage area for ADSL2+ via a resale deal with Telstra.

Source: iTnews Australia

Take a stand on broadband

After years of business commentary and many instances of governments making bad decisions, it would be only natural that you could be worrying about the federal Government playing entrepreneur.

Source: The Australian

Network building to start soon

The first mainland parts of the national broadband network could be in place by September.

Source: The Age

Thu, 23rd Apr 2009

What can we do with 100Mbps?

Australia is hurtling slowly towards one of the fastest broadband networks in the world, but what are we going to do with it?

Source: ZDNet Australia

AAPT left out of NBN discussions

AAPT has not yet had any discussions with the Federal Government about a possible role in the $43 billion National Broadband Network, its CEO Paul Broad said this week.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Rural Australia gets NBN call

The federal Government is calling on broadband-depleted rural communities to nominate themselves for a first slice of the $43 billion national broadband network.

Source: Australian IT

NBN rollout getting started: Conroy

When the going gets politically tough, the NBN gets going, apparently. Senator Conroy says the government is moving quickly to get started on the fibre network in regional areas.

Source: APC Magazine

Wed, 22nd Apr 2009

Call for NBN audit

The Coalition has called for a full and independent audit of the Rudd Government's national broadband network tender, which cost taxpayers $20 million.

Source: Australian IT

Analysts weigh up costs of Telstra split

Macquarie Research estimates functional separation would cost Telstra five per cent in product margins and a 33 per cent hit to its share price, but the forced sale of its HFC network is a greater risk to the carrier.

Source: iTnews Australia

Foxtel unveils web strategy

Foxtel was considering offering internet-only subscriptions to augment its set-top box-based business as it prepares for the internet TV era, chief executive Kim Williams said yesterday.

Source: Australian IT

Optus joins filtering trial

Optus has joined the federal government's Internet filter trial, after being initially excluded.

Source: Whirlpool

CCC hopes Concept Economics' NBN costs 'are their last'

The Competitive Carriers Coalition has slammed a report by Concept Economics released today that claims the NBN could cost up to $70 billion to build while offering little benefit to consumers.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 21st Apr 2009

New technology could lift NBN past 100Mpbs

The federal Government says its $43 billion national broadband network may be capable of speeds much faster than 100Mbps at launch.

Source: Australian IT

Bigger footprint for mobile broadband

Businesses in the cities and towns of regional NSW, along with those whose work takes them outside of the Sydney sprawl, are set to enjoy some real choice in mobile broadband.

Source: The Age

DSLAM roll-outs continue despite NBN

Australia's telcos have not stopped rolling out broadband infrastructure such as ADSL Multiplexer (DSLAM) hardware in exchanges, despite the Federal Government's $43 billion National Broadband Network plans.

Source: ZDNet Australia

AAPT tech upgrade sharpens wholesale operations

AAPT has completed a $30 million upgrade of its core internet protocol and edge network in a bid to bolster its wholesale business.

Source: Australian IT

Telstra under fire over response to Tassie outage

Internode has slammed Telstra's technical response to a major outage on its Tasmanian wholesale cable overnight, which left the ISP's customers without service for 12 hours.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 20th Apr 2009

Opinion: Why Telstra should split in two

Simon Hackett, managing director at Internode gives his view on how the industry will be affected by a broken up Telstra.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sun, 19th Apr 2009

Small towns to miss National Broadband Network access

More than 200 Victorian towns may miss out on super-fast internet connections under the Rudd Government's National Broadband Network.

Source: Herald Sun

Sat, 18th Apr 2009

Telstra takes cue from Government's fragile fibre snowflake

Signs that Telstra is sticking its head through the window the Rudd Government opened when it abandoned its first broadband plan and proposed a $43 billion fibre-to-the-home project are the most important dividend from the process so far.

Source: The Age

Fri, 17th Apr 2009

Queensland to give train commuters wireless internet access

A plan to give commuters wireless internet access on trains has shaken up state transport authorities.

Source: News Limited

Federal Government looks to cash in on mobile spectrum

The Federal Government has released a request for tender seeking a valuation of its mobile spectrum assets in the lead up to spectrum auctions.

Source: iTnews Australia

Minchin probes Henry's NBN advice

Shadow Communications Minister Nick Minchin has demanded the government prove that Treasury Secretary Dr Ken Henry advised it to go ahead with the $43 billion National Broadband Network project.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 16th Apr 2009

Telstra may bring PM's plan undone

We have the network for a national broadband system, so let's use it.

Source: The Age

Telstra questions keep mounting

Millions of Australians have an interest in Telstra either as shareholders or customers or through the Future Fund and superannuation funds. Many must now be wondering about the future of Australia's telecommunications giant. So are we. What is the future of Telstra? Nobody knows.

Source: SMH

Rudd takes mega bites from taxpayers' money tree

Just like water, taxpayers' money is an extremely scarce resource in the current climate. Yet Kevin Rudd just goes on spending as if there is a giant money tree growing in a corner of the prime ministerial courtyard.

Source: The Australian

PM orders high-fibre diet

Few communications technologies are as remarkable as fibre optics. Commercial fibre-optic cable first became available in 1981; since then hundreds of millions of cable kilometres have been laid across the world. Over the years, the quality of the cable has improved dramatically: by providing a progressively clearer transmission medium, fibre-optic cables have allowed vast increases in the volumes of information carried over the light waves they channel. Were the oceans as transparent as the cables that are now available, you would be able to stand in the middle of the Pacific and see the ocean floor.

Source: The Australian

Reseller drops AAPT for Telstra

Telecoms reseller and franchisor Telcoinabox has bucked the recessionary spend trend and signed a two-year deal to wholesale Telstra's ADSL2+ internet services to its business customers.

Source: Australian IT