Come clean, Conroy: Turnbull slams Brissie NBN “gerrymandering”
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused the Government of targeting its own electoral seats in the National Broadband Network’s (NBN) rollout in Brisbane, where Labor suffered major losses in the recent Queensland election. NBN Co’s latest rollout plan for the next three years was announced several weeks ago.
Q&A panellists agree: Politicians have completely screwed up the NBN
A trio of independent technology experts on the ABC's Q and A program last night heavily criticised Australia's political sector for politicising, lying about, and ultimately destroying the all-fibre National Broadband Network they agreed the country needed to progress its innovative future.
Conroy threatens naughty NSW with NBN powers
Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and the National Broadband Network Company have threatened to use Federal telecommunications powers to force the Coalition New South Wales State Government to provide access to electricity infrastructure NBN Co needs to roll out its fibre infrastructure in the state.
DTO’s Digital Marketplace enters beta stage
The Digital Transformation Office's (DTO) Digital Marketplace has now reached the Beta stage of its development, according to a DTO blog post.
WA Auditor slams agencies’ woeful IT security
Western Australia's acting Auditor-General Glen Clarke has issued a serious warning to the state's departments and agencies to beef up their IT security practices,...
NSW Education Dept CIO quits
Long-standing NSW Department of Education and Training chief information officer Stephen Wilson will leave the role this week, the department confirmed this afternoon.
NSW blocks R18+ video game rating
The NSW Government today reportedly abstained from voting on a proposal to introduce a long-awaited R18+ classification for video games sold in Australia, effectively halting the long-awaited new standard, despite the unanimous agreement of every other state and territory that it should go ahead.
Sony’s Xperia PLAY to hit Australia Q2
Mobile manufacturer Sony Ericsson has confirmed its combination smartphone and video gaming console, the Xperia PLAY, will hit Australia in the second quarter of this year, although pricing and telco partnerships remain under wraps for now.
Victoria partners with Zendesk to boost Melbourne employment
Customer service platform provider Zendesk, Inc, has announced a new partnership with the Victorian Government that will create up to 175 new jobs in the state's developing tech industry.
Treasury should cost Coalition NBN policy: Labor
Communications Minister and Deputy PM Anthony Albanese and Finance Minister Penny Wong have called for the Coalition to submit its alternative NBN policy to the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Deregulation for costing, in the wake of news that the Parliamentary Budget Office found the policy too complex to cost.
Russian hacker manipulated Australian stockmarket
Police and the national markets regulator yesterday revealed that a Russian hacker had last year broken into IT systems in major Australian financial institutions and manipulated penny stocks for a profit.
Australian video game industry now worth close to $3bn
The Australian video games industry grew significantly in 2015, resulting in overall sales of $2.83bn, according to figures from the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA).
ABS to permanently store personal data from Australian census
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has announced that it will retain personal data collected in the 2016 census – a move that goes against the recommendation of a privacy impact assessment report that it commissioned 10 years ago.
Govt’s MyHealth Record scheme a “privacy disaster”, warns Privacy Foundation
The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) has warned that the Federal Government’s
MyHealth Record system is a "privacy disaster waiting to happen".
Greens demand Govt protect Assange
The Government and the Opposition took squirming to new heights recently while handling — or rather not handling — the threat of prosecution faced by Australian citizen and WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange in the USA, a media release put out by the Australian Greens yesterday.
Victoria reveals board members for startup booster LaunchVic
The Victorian Government has announced the board members of its new $60 million startup launch pad, LaunchVic, which is aimed to help accelerate startups, drive new ideas and create jobs in the state.
Telstra, NBN Co planning “thousand node trial”
The National Broadband Network Company is working with Telstra on a trial of the Fibre to the Node rollout style which could see a thousand nodes connected to fibre, in a move which would deliver real-life results of the rollout style's performance across a series of diverse use cases.
NBN launch: Gillard, Conroy pack Armidale bags
National Broadband Network hype is expected to soar to record levels this week, with the Federal Government and NBN Co preparing to host the formal launch of NBN mainland services in the Northern NSW city of Armidale this Wednesday.
Optus wants FetchTV on tablets, smartphones
Telecommunications industry rumours have long hinted that the nation’s number two telco Optus would follow in the footsteps of rivals iiNet and Internode and sign up with fledgling internet video player FetchTV. The rumours, it turns out, were true – but the partnership between the pair goes further than previous deals in the space.
First South Brisbane fibre customers go live
The nation's largest telco Telstra last week carried out the first copper to fibre customer migrations in its South Brisbane exchange area -- including those of customers belonging to other ISPs -- as it continues its project to replace its copper network in the region.
Queensland TAFE suffers security breach, student data accessed
The Queensland Government says is working with security experts to assess a security breach of the TAFE Queensland and Department of Education and Training websites in which students' details have been exposed.
Legal threat: Cudo warns deals aggregator site
Australian 'deal of the day' site Cudo has sent local group buying aggregation site Buyii a letter claiming it is infringing its copyright by listing its deals and logo alongside those of rivals.
Turnbull blames IBM, ABS for Census website failure
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has put some the blame for the failure of the Census website on the shoulders of IBM, saying the measures the firm put in place for the functioning of the site were "inadequate". However, the ABS also came in for some flak.
Coalition makes $60m election promise to fix mobile blackspots
The Coalition Government has announced that it will invest an additional $60 million in the Mobile Black Spot Programme if it is returned to power in July's federal election.
Xero buys Australia’s Paycycle for $1.5m
Accounting software provider Xero yesterday afternoon revealed it had signed an agreement which will see the company acquire Australian-based payroll startup Paycycle.
Internode has wanted Aussie WoW server for years
National broadband player Internode has discussed the need for an Australian World of Warcraft server with iconic game publisher Blizzard "for many years", the company's managing director Simon Hackett said today.
Government reveals new IT services panel policy
The Australian Government’s Special Minister of State Gary Gray has announced a policy that will halve the number of IT panels servicing Government agencies.
Defence issues $340m systems integration tender
The Department of Defence's Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) today announced it would be shortly be selecting companies for an Applications Management Services Partner Arrangement (AMSPA) in a deal expected to push through approximately $340 million worth of value.
AIIA announces new CEO
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has announced that Rob Fitzpatrick – previously a director at Data61 and a long-term corporate executive and consultant – is to take over as its new CEO.
Leak shows Coalition’s NBN costings are wrong
A leaked draft copy of NBN Co's latest corporate plan has provided further confirmation debunking the Coalition's claim that Labor's all-fibre version of the NBN could cost as much as $94 billion, as evidence continues to stack up that deploying fibre to the premises is not as expensive in Australia as previously thought.
FTTN or FTTH? It doesn’t matter, says Vodafone
The chief executive of ailing national mobile player Vodafone stated over the weekend that it wasn’t “important” whether Australia’s National Broadband Network policy pursued a fibre to the home or fibre to the node approach, with only “minor nuances” between the two platforms proposed separately by the Government and the Opposition.
Introducing Delimiter 2.0
This morning Delimiter gets a sister site, Delimiter 2.0. It'll feature longer, in-depth articles, but no advertising, and be monetised through a monthly subscription. Let us know what you think!
Vodafone won’t sell Motorola’s Xoom
Mobile telco Vodafone today confirmed it would not be launching Motorola’s highly anticipated Xoom tablet in Australia, preferring instead to focus on existing exclusive offerings such as its rival Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v.
Yes, Labor still wants to upgrade HFC to FTTP
Labor still has an interest in upgrading the NBN company's HFC cable networks to full Fibre to the Premises technology, Delimiter can confirm, with this issue to be considered as part of the Infrastructure Review outlined as part of Labor's new NBN policy today.
Government finally opens G-NAF address dataset
The government has inked a deal with PSMA Ltd to release the firm's geo-coded National Address File (G-NAF) and its Administrative Boundaries datasets.
SkyMesh offers symmetric 100/100Mbps NBN
news SkyMesh has launched a set of broadband plans with symmetric speeds of 100/100Mbps over the National Broadband Network’s Fibre to the Premises infrastructure,...
Internode maintains filter stance after iiNet buyout
Internode managing director Simon Hackett said over the weekend that his company's position on government Internet filtering schemes would not change after its acquisition by iiNet.
AHL dumps Exchange for Lotus … and back again
It was only five years ago that diversified Australian company Amalgamated Holdings (AHL) caused controversy in Australia's IT sector by becoming one of the few major groups to dump Microsoft's Outlook/Exchange platform in favour of IBM's troubled Lotus Notes/Domino suite. But now the company has gone back to Microsoft.
Dodo will win the NBN land-grab, claims Budde
Maverick analyst Paul Budde this week claimed cut-rate broadband provider Dodo was the only ISP positioned to take advantage of the deployment of the predominantly fibre-based National Broadband Network as it is rolled out across the nation over the next decade.
Telstra’s cloud computing suffers 24 hour outage
Telstra has confirmed that it suffered a major outage in its high-end corporate cloud computing platform last week that left a number of its most high-profile customers without some of their services for a period as long as 24 hours.
NBN company re-writes blog post to clarify copper condition
The NBN company appears to have slightly reworked a blog post it published yesterday defending the state of the copper network it is buying from Telstra, in effect removing its claim that it had not had to replace any copper to ensure the Coalition’s Fibre to the Node technology functioned correctly.
VMware’s Harapin takes APJ role
The long-time managing director of VMware Australia and New Zealand has been promoted to an Asia-Pacific and Japan role, with his replacement to be Duncan Bennet, the former leader of Sun Microsystems in Australia.
Simon Hackett funds electric race car
Simon Hackett has teamed up with another senior former senior Internode executive and two early executives from electric car pioneer to found a new startup focused on building a new type of electric car specifically designed for high-speed performance racing.
iiNet starts selling mobile phones
National broadband provider iiNet has launched itself into the cut-throat post-paid mobile phone market, announcing plans today to offer Samsung's Galaxy S II and original Galaxy S smartphones to small business customers on its mobile plan, as well as a little-known handset made by Alcatel-Lucent.
Turnbull defends Geelong MP from FTTN critics
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning travelled to Geelong to spruik the benefits of its looming Fibre to the Node deployment, braving the ire of local residents and Labor politicians, who are increasingly demanding local Liberal MP Sarah Henderson support the technically superior Fibre to the Premises version of the NBN instead.
Introducing the Delimiter Link Blog
Over the past few months I've been grappling with what I should do about the tricky topic of linking to other people's stories from Delimiter. And I think I've found a solution.
Greens’ Ludlam loses WA Senate seat
Technology-focused Greens politician Scott Ludlam has formally lost his Senate seat in Western Australia, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed today, in a move which will be interpreted as a substantial blow to the digital rights movement in Australia.
Telstra to bring Foxtel to T-Box
Telstra chief executive David Thodey tonight revealed that the telco was talking with its joint venture partner Foxtel to bring the payTV service to Telstra's T-Box internet television platform launched last month.
iiNet opposes data retention, web blocking plans
One of Australia's largest telcos, iiNet, has sent the Australian Senate committee examining reform of national telecommunications interception legislation an extremely strongly worded statement warning of the dangers of extending or even maintaining current data retention and website blocking practices.
Tension as NBN trial agreement ends
Tension is mounting between the National Broadband Network Company and its retail ISP customers about the final form of the wholesale agreement which will govern their relationship, with an impasse likely to leave the two sides unable to connect new retail NBN customers once an initial trial agreement ends on Thursday this week.
iiNet buys Netspace for $40m
iiNet today confirmed it would acquire fellow tier two internet service provider Netspace, in a transaction valued at $40 million.
Former Sydney University ICT manager found to be corrupt
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has ascertained that a former ICT manager at the University of Sydney carried out corrupt acts during his time at the institution.
Law firm considers Vodafone class action
Australian law firm Piper Alderman is calling for angry customers to register their interest in participating in a class action law suit against Vodafone, following the mobile telco’s recent spate of outages and technical glitches that has left some with a temporarily degraded level of service.
Treasury to develop next-generation desktop
The Commonwealth Treasury has flagged plans to take a significant new step in the ongoing renewal of its internal IT infrastructure through a project that will focus on the delivery of virtual desktop PCs, virtualised applications, secure corporate data to mobile devices and the creation of a corporate "app store".
Suncorp extends Unisys processing deals
Tier two bank Suncorp has extended two business processing contracts with Unisys for an undisclosed sum.
The contracts mean the IT services group will continue...
Internode revamps plans, plans FetchTV launch
Second tier internet service provider Internode has revealed plans to revamp its broadband offerings this month, as well as offer the newly launched FetchTV...
OECD report: Conroy fires back
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning claimed a report released over the weekend by the global Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) backed his arguments regarding Labor's National Broadband Network project. Now it's Stephen Conroy's turn to do the same.
UNSW, GoGet working on self-driving car
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have taken the first step towards creating a self-driving car by fitting sensors and other technology to a vehicle owned by car sharing service GoGet.
Qld Police get remote CCTV access on iPads
The Queensland Government has unveiled plans to deploy new technology that will allow Brisbane police officers to view live CCTV footage from cameras in public areas on their iPads or smartphones while working their beat, in a move being billed as helping to keep those of the city's residents 'who are doing the right thing' safe.
Telstra tests 4G network up to 90Mbps
The nation's largest telco Telstra has revealed it has tested its 4G mobile network at speeds of up to 90Mbps and will shortly introduce a smartphone and Wi-Fi dongle that can theoretically access the network at peak speeds even higher -- up to 150Mbps -- although the network is not yet capable of those speeds.
BT announces huge FTTP rollout to 2 million premises
BT today announced an investment in the UK's broadband infrastructure that will see a major rollout of fibre to the premises (FTTP) alongside other initiatives the firm said will help the country remain "the leading digital nation in the G20".
Three years later, Vodafone finally refers journalist spying to police
National mobile operator Vodafone yesterday revealed it would finally refer to law enforcement authorities an incident which it became aware of three years ago where one of its staff members had accessed the call records of a journalist who was dealing with a whistleblower within its operations.
Spotify finally launches in Australia
news In the realisation of one of the worst-kept secrets in Australia's new media and technology sectors, Swedish music streaming Spotify has launched locally,...
Google didn’t collect bank data: Privacy Commissioner
Federal Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis appears to have directly contradicted a claim by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy that Google may have collected internet banking information as part of Wi-Fi data scooped up by its Street View cars as they travelled the globe.
Patently Australian: CSIRO settles suits over Wi-Fi
Australia’s national science agency will receive $220m after settling litigation against three US companies to license the wireless local area network (WLAN) technology it invented in the early 1990s.
Telstra launches IPv6 to big customers
The nation's largest telco Telstra today took its biggest step so far towards fully adopting version 6 of the Internet Protocol, noting it had started providing its enterprise, government and wholesale customers with IPv6 addresses.
Fibre optic broadband to last 50 years, says Budde
While technology is generally advancing at a furious pace, fibre optic broadband has nothing that is likely to replace it for as much as 50 years, telecoms expert Paul Budde has said.
NBN Co’s business case slips due date
NBN Co has not yet delivered its business case to the Federal Government, despite having previously said it would be handed over by May 31, the group's chief executive Mike Quigley confirmed this week.
HTC HD7 hits Telstra next Tuesday
HTC this morning revealed its new HD7 handset -- the Taiwanese manufacturer's third smartphone to run Redmond's Windows Phone 7 operating system -- would be available exclusively through Telstra starting from next Tuesday 29 March, for a recommended retail price of $768, which can be repaid over 24 months when purchased with a Consumer Telstra Next G Cap or Business Mobile Plus plan.
NBN backers question Turnbull’s support
A number of commentators and politicians have questioned a claim by Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the Coalition would not "cancel or roll back" the Government's National Broadband Network project, with one commentator labelling the claim as "disingenuous".
Perth VC pumps $1.5m into agriculture IT startup
Perth-based venture capital firm Yuuwa Capital has injected $1.5 million worth of investment into data capture and management player Agworld, which focuses specifically on the agricultural industry.
BlackBerry PlayBook: No Aussie details
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion was today unable to confirm when its new PlayBook tablet device would reach Australia, or what expected local pricing was.
Survey reveals most organisations use multiple clouds
A new survey by Veritas has revealed that the majority of businesses are moving data to the cloud and utilising both private and public cloud services, creating a fragmented approach that could create IT "blind spots" and increase information-based risks.
Fibre to the node: Turnbull to meet with Quigley
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accepted an invitation issued by NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley to a half-day briefing on the merits of fibre to the home versus fibre to the node technology.
Ruckus to deploy Wi-Fi network at Western Sydney University
Ruckus Wireless has been selected to roll out 'smart Wi-Fi' across all Western Sydney University (WSU) campuses.
The Australian government must take cyber security more seriously
Most of us can relate to the government’s plan to build 12 new submarines for A$50 billion, at least in principle. But you might be alarmed to hear the government is investing only a fraction of that amount on protecting us from cyberattacks.
IT’S BEGUN: Split up the NBN and sell it off, says Infrastructure Australia
Australia's independent authority on infrastructure has recommended the Federal Government split the NBN company into pieces based on technology or geographical lines and sell it off to the private sector, but without publishing any justification at all for such a move.
St George launches first Android banking app
iPad and iPhone apps are currently all the rage amongst Australia's largest banks -- but Westpac subsidiary St George late last week bucked the trend by launching what it said was the first mobile banking application in Australia to focus on the emerging Android platform.
Data retention: Roxon makes YouTube plea
Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has taken to YouTube to make an impassioned plea to Australians not to believe some of the criticism which is being spread about the Federal Government's highly controversial data retention and surveillance package, which has been widely slammed by a large number of interest groups as being over the top.
IBM says it “successfully delivered” Qld Health payroll
Global technology giant IBM has written to the new LNP Queensland Government claiming it “successfully delivered” against milestones agreed with the previous Labor administration with respect to the disastrous payroll systems overhaul at Queensland Health, which has already cost the state $417 million and will need another $837 million to fix over the next five years.
Labor MP tables anti-TPP petition with over 300,000 signatures
An anti-Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) petition with over 300,000 signatures has been has tabled before Parliament by Labor MP Melissa Parke.
Parties should stop “squabbling” over NBN, says Internet Australia
Internet Australia, the peak body representing Internet users, has repeated its call for the National Broadband Network to be removed from the political debate.
Telstra proposes to filter Interpol blacklist
The nation's largest telco Telstra today revealed it was close to receiving executive sign-off for its internal proposal guiding the technical details of how it will cooperate with the Federal Government to voluntarily filter a list of sites containing child pornography from being accessed by its internet customers.
Labor slams data retention funding “uncertainties”
The Labor Opposition has hit out at the way the Government handled grant assistance for companies falling under the remit of new data retention regulation.
Borders launches $199 Kobo eReader
As expected, retail chain Borders today started selling the Kobo eReader device in Australia for $199 both through its stores and online, promising that the Kobo platform would allow readers to access their eBooks on other platforms such as the iPhone and iPad.
Nintendo Australia finances fall off a cliff
The Australian division of Japanese video gaming giant Nintendo has taken another staggering hit to its finances for the second year in a row, losing a further 36 percent of its overall revenue over the past year as its flagship Wii U console has flopped with consumers due to what is perceived to be a lack of quality games.
Telstra details South Brisbane fibre upgrade
Telstra has published some fascinating details in this video about the fibre to the home replacement for its copper network in the area served by its South Brisbane exchange.
CUA overhauls core banking platform
Credit Union of Australia today announced it would deploy a new core banking system based on Tata Consultancy Services' BaNCS platform, which the Indian services provider acquired a handful of years ago with its buyout of Australian software firm Financial Network Services.
Fibre to the node would do 60Mbps: Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday claimed about half the cost of the Government’s flagship National Broadband Network project could be chopped and...
Data retention confusion could send “many” small ISPs broke, says Internet Australia
Australia’s peak body representing Internet users has warned that “some, perhaps many” of Australia’s smaller Internet service providers could be forced out of business in the near term as a result of the lack of clarity over the Federal Government’s plans to reimburse ISPs for part of the cost of implementing its controversial data retention policy.
ISP launches 2TB, 100Mbps NBN plan for $105
One of the smaller players in Australia's broadband marketplace has launched a range of innovative National Broadband Network pricing plans, including a top-end 100Mbps plan with 2TB of monthly quota and for $104.95, and a low-end plan which would cost customers as little as $29.95 per month.
Ludlam predicts: Filter bills to await election
Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam (pictured) today predicted legislation around the Federal Government’s internet filtering project would have to wait until after the...
Four more cities get Telstra 30Mbps cable
Telstra has almost doubled the theoretical speeds on its HFC cable network in a clutch of cities around Australia, pushing the network from 17Mbps to 30Mbps -- despite the fact that it will stop using the network to provide broadband services as the National Broadband Network is constructed.
Dell won’t talk Australian mobiles, tablets
Internationally, giant PC manufacturer Dell is expanding into Android-based smartphones and tablets left and right. But, at a press conference in Sydney yesterday, the company locally remained unable to confirm when the incoming wave of Dell devices would hit Australian shores.
Telstra NBN remediation work on again
The nation's largest telco Telstra has announced that it will restart remediation work on its pits and pipe infrastructure, as controls on asbestos handling have been put in place to deal with the hazardous material. The remediation work is necessary for the National Broadband Network rollout to go ahead, using Telstra's infrastructure.
Please update your Delimiter RSS feeds
this is just a very quick post to alert readers that Delimiter is no longer actively using the Feedburner RSS subscription service. Please update our feed in your RSS reader accordingly.
Cracks open in DSD’s iOS shield
Several signs have emerged over the past week that the long-held reluctance of the Federal Government's peak security certification agency to approve of Apple devices being used in the public sector may finally be coming to an end.
“Billions”: Hockey greenlights Centrelink core replacement
Treasurer Joe Hockey has strongly hinted that the upcoming Federal Budget will include "billions" of dollars worth of funding for a core systems replacement at the Centrelink division of the Department of Human Services (DHS), in a move that represents one of the Federal Government's most long-awaited and largest IT project approvals.
Privacy Commissioner still won’t talk OzLog
Federal Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim wouldn't disclose the details of any discussions his office had had with the Attorney-General's Department over its controversial data retention proposal, under questioning on the matter in a Senate enquiry into online privacy today.
iiNet sells TransACT’s FTTP to NBN Co
National broadband provider iiNet this afternoon revealed it had reached an agreement which would see the National Broadband Network Company buy the fibre to the premises network which iiNet bought 18 months ago with its acquisition of Canberra-based TransACT.
Turnbull concerned by Google, Amazon tax offshoring
International technology companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon may not be paying their fair share of Australian tax, Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said this week, with local tax laws not having caught up yet with the challenges of the digital environment.
August 29 launch for Telstra’s first 4G modem
Telstra this morning announced it would place the first 4G mobile broadband modemscommercially available in Australia on sale to business customers beginning August 29.
NBN may be delayed by Alcatel-Lucent strike
Employees at Alcatel-Lucent Australia have threatened to commence industrial action to defend wages and entitlements, in a move that could see the rollout of the National Broadband Network delayed.
Now Jason Clare writes to ABC over Nick Ross ‘gag’
Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare has stated that he is "very concerned" about claims that the ABC gagged its former technology editor from reporting on the NBN, and has joined his Victorian counterpart Philip Dalidakis in demanding answers from ABC managing director Mark.
“I’m no Bill Gates,” says Tony Abbott
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott last night declared he was “no Bill Gates” in a lengthy interview on the ABC's 7:30 Report in which he appeared to display a lack of understanding of the Coalition's new broadband policy unveiled yesterday morning and repeatedly explained he was “no tech-head”.
HP adopts Microsoft Dynamics for CRM
Multinational IT giant HP has signed a six-year agreement to deploy Microsoft Dynamics for its thousands of employees.
ASX plans blockchain solution for Australian equity market
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has selected US firm Digital Asset Holdings to develop a blockchain post-trade solution for the Australian equity market.
ACS elects Anthony Wong as new President
The ACS, the professional body for Australia's ICT industry, has announced that Anthony Wong has been elected as its President for a two year term commencing 1 January.
Scoopon won’t talk Packer pow-wow
A spokesperson for sister websites Scoopon and Catch of the Day has declined to comment on a report that media and gambling tycoon James Packer is negotiating to take a stake in the two companies.
ACCAN CEO wins Charles Todd Medal for championing consumers
Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) CEO Teresa Corbin has won this year's Charles Todd Medal for her efforts representing consumer interests throughout her almost 20 year career in the telecoms industry.
Australia gets two Windows Azure datacentres
Microsoft this morning revealed plans to offer its Windows Azure platform as a service from Australian datacentres located in Sydney and Melbourne, in the latest move by a global technology giant to offer cloud computing services from Australian facilities to meet local demand and address concerns around data sovereignty.
Video: The iPad Sydney Sleepout
This awesome video by Variety Garage chronicles the overnight queue to buy iPads at the Sydney CBD Apple Store last week. It was produced by Jeremy Moses, the brother of Sydney Morning Herald technology editor Asher Moses, and the quality is excellent. Highly recommended!
Labor backs Govt’s new Joint NBN Committee
The Federal Government has formed a joint standing committee that will oversee the rollout of the National Broadband Network until it is completed, likely in 2020.
CCC demands better ACCC oversight of NBN
Industry group the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition (CCC) last week reiterated the need for all-inclusive Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) supervision of the National Broadband Network Company, which it said was currently absent from the company's newly released NBN Co Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA).
Nextgen’s wholesale ‘no magic bullet’, says Hackett
A service launched yesterday which will aggregate National Broadband Network capacity across Australia was "no magic bullet" which would completely resolve perceived issues with the NBN's pricing model, according to Internode managing director Simon Hackett.
“Cloak of invisibility”: Husic on tiny Apple tax bill
Crusading Labor MP Ed Husic has delivered a blistering attack in Federal Parliament on the tiny Australian tax bills paid by global technology giants Apple and Google, accusing the local management of the Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple of maintaining a "cloak of invisibility" to avoid engaging with the Government on such issues.
St George pioneers Windows Phone 7 app
St George Bank yesterday revealed it had developed what it claimed to be Australia's first banking application for Windows Phone 7 smartphones.
Greens back public input in NBN review
The Australian Greens have backed calls for the Government to allow public input into the upcoming strategic review of the future of the National Broadband Network, as pressure intensifies upon Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull to support the previous Labor administration’s all-fibre NBN policy.
Optus signs $115m contract to manage telecoms for immigration department
Optus Business has announced a three-year deal to supply end-to-end telecommunications and managed IT services for Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).
Adelaide Festival Centre deploys Red Hat Linux on Azure cloud
Adelaide Festival Centre has chosen to shift its Red Hat Enterprise Linux system from physical servers to Microsoft’s Azure could computing platform.
AXA Group CEO appointed Telstra CFO
Australia’s largest telco Telstra has announced that Andrew Penn would take over the position of Chief Financial Officer and Group Managing Director, Finance, starting March 1st, 2012. This follows a June announcement that Telstra’s long-time CFO John Stanhope would retire at the end of 2011.
Congrats to Jeremy Kime, iPad 2 owner!
After quite a few weeks of tangling with Apple's retail staff, we have managed to purchase one of these little babies, and today I'm happy to announce the winner: Queensland software developer Jeremy Kime!
Vodafone launches 4G dongle, Wi-Fi unit
National mobile operator Vodafone has launched two new mobile broadband devices -- a USB dongle and a Wi-Fi unit -- that will allow customers to access its new 4G mobile network at theoretical speeds up to 150Mbps, due to their support of the so-called 'Category 4' standard for mobile broadband.
Qld Health payroll ‘stabilised’, claims Govt
Queensland's Health Minister Geoff Wilson yesterday declared a tentative victory in the department's battle to tame its troubled payroll system, labelling the platform "stabilised" and noting that further improvements to it were being made.
Budget 2011: Turnbull warns of NBN “charade”
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled the Federal Government's continued approach of keeping the cost of building its flagship National Broadband Network project off the annual budget books a "charade", in the wake of early take-up figures of the network's services which the Coalition views as being less than expected.
Foxtel is about to go after The Pirate Bay
Foxtel has indicated it will shortly take to the courts to use brand new legislation to have websites allegedly infringing copyright blocked, with analysis of the company’s public statements on the issue indicating that popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay is likely to be one of the pay television giant’s first targets.
Telstra, Cisco team up for Software-Defined Networking products
Telstra has joined forces with Cisco to launch a suite of software-defined networking products that are aimed to enable Australian businesses to quickly deploy and configure services over its networks.
Labor demands tax action on transfer pricing
The Federal Labor Party has demanded the Government bring Australia's international taxation regulations into line to deal with multinationals such as Apple and Google, which are siphoning billions of dollars of revenue out of Australia while paying only small amounts of local tax.
Decrypt the iPhone, Brandis, eSafety Commissioner tell Apple
Attorney-General George Brandis has called for Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in December's San Bernadino massacre.
Optus Business nicks new MD from Telstra
Telecommunications giant Optus announced yesterday that John Paitaridis would be the new Managing Director of Optus Business, a its division providing telecommunications and information and communications technology (ICT) solutions to businesses.
iPad influx: Curtin Uni flooded with “hundreds”
Like Macquarie University in Sydney, Western Australia’s Curtin University has also been swamped with iPads, with chief information officer Peter Nikoletatos yesterday stating between 300 and 400 of the tablets had made their way into university staff hands since Apple launched the iPad in Australia in May.
Labor, Greens slam Turnbull hypocrisy: PM pumps innovation but ‘trashes’ NBN
Labor and Greens politicians have this week labelled Malcolm Turnbull a hypocrite for pushing Australia's innovation credentials in the United States while simultaneously having "trashed" the National Broadband Network, as debate grows about the infrastructure's significant to the Prime Minister's innovation vision.
Optus gives retail ISP customers access to 121 NBN POIs
Optus Wholesale has announced that it will provide wholesale NBN access to smaller ISPs, and has already signed an exclusive deal with SpinTel to allow wholesale NBN access for its residential broadband customers.
Apple hikes Aussie Final Cut Pro X prices
Iconic technology giant Apple appears to have upped the price of its Final Cut Pro X software for launch in Australia, with locals to pay about $66 more for the exact same software -- delivered through the exact same online store.
Salesforce best place to work in Australia, survey finds
Cloud computing firm Salesforce has been voted the best place to work in Australia for companies with over 100 employees.
NBN raises possibility of multi-gigabit symmetric HFC speeds
NBN could soon roll out symmetric multi-gigabit broadband via the HFC network following developments announced by CableLabs, the US consortium that sets standards for cable technology.
Adobe increases Australian Creative Cloud prices
Software giant Adobe has informed its users of its intention to substantially increase the price of accessing its Creative Cloud family of image and video editing products, in a move which appears set to cause frustration amongst the company's already tetchy local user base.
You’re wrong: Qld workgroup tells Mills
The industry associations backing the Queensland Government's working group with its ICT industry, including his own, have rejected claims by a high-profile former member that the group had effectively become a mouthpiece for political statements by the state's technology minister Simon Finn.
iiNet knew about retention proposal in 2009
iiNet this afternoon said it was briefed in late 2009 about a Federal Government proposal which could potentially see telcos required to keep records of web browsing history, telephone calls and emails of their users.
Turnbull in conflict of interest investment
Malcolm Turnbull has disclosed a new financial investment in France Telecom that places the Shadow Communications Minister in a significant conflict of interest situation with respect to the French telco, due to its extensive business operations in Australia through its Orange Business Services brand, including some 240 local staff.
Will Microsoft ever get its ‘cloud’ ads right?
From Long Zheng's I Started Something blog comes news of more 'To the cloud' television advertisements from Microsoft. The good news? They're better than...
TechOne’s software goes into 486 Catholic schools
Queensland-headquartered software company TechnologyOne has inked a landmark $15 million deal with the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) which will see it deliver enterprise software to 486 schools across the state.
Alienware to hold Modern Warfare tournament
Dell high-performance gaming subsidiary Alienware has announced that it plans to hold an online Australian Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare gaming competition, dubbed...
Vodafone launches unlimited iPad plan
Mobile carrier VHA has launched its iPad data plans ahead of the launch of the Apple tablet in Australia on Friday, with the most notable feature being an unlimited prepaid data plan through its Vodafone brand for at a cost of $49.95, with the data expiring every 30 days.
NEC expands NSW Police network business
Diversified ICT services business NEC this afternoon revealed it had retained and expanded its communications-related work with NSW Police, with the Japanese company to continue providing voice telephony services to the organisation and expand its remit to include maintenance and support of its data network as well.
Oracle to buy NetSuite
Oracle has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based cloud solutions provider NetSuite at a cost of approximately US$9.3 billion (AU$12.34 billion) in cash.
Amcom transaction spurs trading halt
Tier two Australian telco Amcom Telecommunications has put its shares into a trading halt until next week, citing the need to announce a proposed transaction.
Watch out, Victoria: NSW wants to lead Australian ICT
Victoria looks to have a dogfight on its hands to retain its title as Australia's technology capital, with the new Coalition State Government in NSW today vowing it would lead the nation when it came to the sector.
Don’t let the FBI steal your server, says Ninefold
Fledgling Australian cloud computing startup Ninefold has so far played relatively nice when it comes to the jurisdictional debate about where data should be stored, politely making its way amongst the likes of Amazon, Microsoft, Google and so on. But yesterday the company took the gloves off.
AN IPAD FOR EVERY DOCTOR:Victorian Labor promises
Victorian Premier John Brumby yesterday promised every doctor in the state's public hospital system would be issued with an Apple iPad if his incumbent Labor Government was returned to power in the state's upcoming election.
After a decade, Nola gives up DiData reins
After ten years at the top, IT services group Dimension Data today revealed the long-serving chief executive of its Australian division, Steve Nola, would take a step sideways to lead its growing global cloud computing business.
New iPods to hit Australia next week
Apple's new line-up of iPod music devices unveiled overnight in the US will hit Australia next week, the company announced this morning, although the nation will have to wait a little longer for the revamped Apple TV.
Coalition releases long-awaited rival NBN policy
The Coalition this morning released its long-awaited policy alternative to Labor's flagship National Broadband Network project, promising Australians download speeds of between 25Mbps and 100Mbps by the end of 2016 and 50Mbps to 100Mbps by the end of 2019, at a projected reduced total cost of $29.5 billion.
Photos: Fujitsu opens Perth datacentre with sake for all
IT services giant Fujitsu this week opened what it billed as the nation's most advanced datacentre in Perth, signing up Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest as a key customer. The facility comprises 8000 square metres of tier three datacentre space, with three main general data halls and three smaller halls for companies requiring dedicated private suites.
Turnbull’s NBN transparency bill hits parliament
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has tabled in parliament his brief piece of legislation designed to force the Government into disclosing key financial details of its flagship National Broadband Network project and conducting a cost/benefit analysis into its construction.
Apple to open Penrith store on 23 July
Apple has this morning confirmed its newest retail store in Australia will open to the general public on the 23rd of July.
VHA more than doubles mobile data caps
The latest shot in Australia's mobile price war has been fired -- and it's not a good one for Telstra and Optus.
Will HP’s TouchPad launch in Australia?
Overnight in the US, HP unveiled its answer to Apple's iPad; a new tablet based on the WebOS operating system it acquired with Palm. But it remains unclear whether the device will launch in Australia -- with its WebOS predecessors never having made it down under, and no details on local availability having been confirmed as yet.
Melbourne Uni students ‘strongly’ prefer Gmail
The University of Melbourne has picked Gmail for its new student email platform, after polls of students indicated a "strong" preference for the Google offering over the alternative Live@EDU platform, despite the popularity of the Microsoft offering amongst university IT administrators around the nation.
Back to the future: Qld kickstarts payroll consolidation
The new LNP Queensland State Government has revealed plans to consolidate eight "outmoded and heavily customised" payroll IT systems into one outsourced system, in a move which will re-ignite the debate over how the state should provide core IT services supporting administrative functions to its various departments and agencies.
Whirlpool founder slams internet filter
Whirlpool founder Simon Wright has slammed the Federal Government’s internet filtering plans, in a fiery editorial released simultaneously with the results of the broadband forum’s annual survey of its users.
NBN Co doubles coverage, user base over past year
The NBN company has doubled the amount of premises it serves and the number of end user customers actually connected to its network over the past year, the company announced this morning, as the deployment of its broadband network around Australia continues to proceed.
Turnbull a ‘failure’ as Comms Minister, says Jason Clare
The Opposition has accused Malcolm Turnbull of being a “failure” as a Communications Minister, highlighting yesterday’s launch of Fibre to the Node technology in New South Wales as a prime example of how the “self-appointed Digital Prime Minister” is taking Australia back to “pre-war technology”.
Evidence: Rural Australia is demanding the NBN
An analysis of rural coverage following the announcement of the three-year rollout plan for the National Broadband Network has shown overwhelming demand for the infrastructure from a large number of rural and regional Australian communities, with many expressing disappointment that they had been left off the list for the NBN's first few years.
DTO seeks top execs to lead gov.au, Digital Marketplace
The Digital Transformation Office (DTO) is seeking a top level executive to lead the new Digital Marketplace announced in the government's Innovation and Science Agenda just two weeks ago. A head is also being sought for the transformation of the gov.au web platform that is aimed to make it quicker and easier to access government services online.
NBN changes mind again: Some HFC suburbs to get FTTN after all
The NBN company last week reportedly said it would deploy its Fibre to the Node rollout model to some areas already covered by HFC cable networks, in a move which appears to represent the second time the company has changes its policy on the issue.
NBN chief architect Tony Cross to quit on eve of election
The NBN's Chief Architect, Tony Cross, has said he will resign his post just a day before the 2016 Federal Election.
Govt again refuses to release Attorney-General’s metadata
The Federal Government has again refused to release the telecommunications metadata of Attorney-General George Brandis, stating that to do so would require "substantial consultation with IT experts" and that it would prevent the Liberal Senator from doing his job.
“Welcome to the 1940s”: Labor lampoons NBN Co for deploying new copper
The Australian Labor Party has lampooned the NBN company for its willingness to deploy brand new copper cables in some areas to ensure the Government’s Fibre to the Node model will succeed, welcoming the company back to the “1940’s”, when copper cables were regarded as state of the art technology.
Fifield ignores evidence in angry NBN response
news Mitch Fifield has released a sharply worded response to detailed evidence showing Malcolm Turnbull's version of the NBN has fallen behind on its...
NBN Co freezes spending, hiring
The National Broadband Network Company has put the freeze on some of its spending and will not hire any new staff until parliament has resolved its current deadlock over a new Federal Government.
Telstra’s Craig Middleton … or David Attenborough?
Ever wondered what Telstra spokespeople get up to on their off days? Wonder no more, gentle viewers, but instead watch the video above, where Telstra’s Craig Middleton, a gentleman of our long acquaintance, does his best impression of naturist David Attenborough.
Switkowski confirms FTTN for Tasmania
NBN Co executive chairman has confirmed the Coalition's Broadband Network model will see a Fibre to the Node deployment through at least part of Tasmania, in a move that the Opposition has branded as yet another example of "Liberal lies".
FTTN would be “a litigator’s picnic”, says Optus
The nation's number two telco Optus has described the proposed process of getting Telstra to give up part of its copper network for a fibre to the node upgrade as "a litigator's picnic", due to the complex legal issues around compensation for the telco handing over its property.
Video: Melbourne startup RedBubble
In this video, Techfluff.tv talks to Melbourne-based startup RedBubble for The Next Web’s Melbourne Silicon Beach series on local technology startups. RedBubble is a successful Australian startup which has built an online marketplace for artists.
Luna Park madness: Visual Studio 2010 launch
Earlier this week Microsoft took over Sydney's Luna Park to launch its Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 platforms. The result looked like a whole lot of fun!
Are NBN Co execs paid too much?
Debate is swirling in the telecommunications industry this week about whether NBN Co executives are paid too much, with one newspaper and the Opposition criticising the company's remuneration structure, but the company itself highlighting its achievements so far and the need to pay commercial salaries to attract the right talent.
WiPro outsourcing takes chunk out of Woolworths
Retail giant Woolworths has confirmed the jobs of some 64 in-house technical staff will be affected as part of a wide-ranging IT infrastructure outsourcing contract inked last year with Indian IT services company WiPro.
ASD goes rogue with Aussie metadata
Australia's peak electronic intelligence agency offered to share detailed information collected about ordinary Australian citizens with its major intelligence partners, the Guardian reported this morning, in moves that at least one high-profile lawyer says may have breached Australian law.
Tech.Ed 2010 in pictures
Microsoft's Tech.Ed conference kicked off this week on the Gold Coast with a bang. This photo gallery gives you a hint of what the 2,700 attendees are experiencing -- it's a big week!
‘It’s not our fault’: Kogan on dumping high-usage customers
Maverick online retailer Ruslan Kogan has blamed an upstream wholesale Telstra partner for a policy which has seen some early adopters of his company's "unlimited" mobile plans dumped for using too much of their quota.
Telstra wants on-shore Office 365
The nation's largest telco Telstra has reportedly publicly stated that it wants to host Microsoft's Office 365 software as a service suite from its own datacentre facilities in Australia, in a move which would finally put paid to data sovereignty concerns around the service.
TPG orders iiNet to dump Fetch TV
National broadband provider iiNet and its subsidiary brands have instantly dumped the Fetch TV Internet television platform following the company’s acquisition by TPG, with Fetch TV confirming the order came from TPG itself following the acquisition.
USO scope should be broadened, says ACCAN
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has said the Universal Service Obligation (USO) needs an "expanded scope", as well as measures to increase affordability and inclusion for people with disabilities to ensure all consumers have access to essential communications services.
ninemsn launches Silverlight video portal FIXPLay
Microsoft and PBL Media joint venture ninemsn has launched a new Silverlight-based online video portal, FIXPlay, which it today said would aggregate hundreds of hours of current and back-catalogue content from the Nine and GO! television channels, as well as well from international distributors like the BBC and Warner Bros.
Telstra gets two new 4G Motorola handsets
Google subsidiary Motorola has revealed it will launch two new Android-based handsets in Australia in the last three months of 2012, the RAZR M and the RAZR HD, with both models to be available exclusively through the nation's largest telco Telstra -- and supporting 4G speeds.
Customs regularly seizes Nintendo fakes
The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service "regularly" detects counterfeit Nintendo products hitting Australian shores, the video game manufacturer said this afternoon.
Turnbull rejects MyRepublic’s “confounding” NBN critique
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rejected what he described as MyRepublic’s “confounding” comments on the Coalition’s Multi-Technology version of the NBN, among other arguments reminding the Singaporean company of cost differences when deploying fibre in Australia.
Qantas CIO jets off to France
Qantas this afternoon revealed its chief information officer Luc Hennekens would leave the company at the end of September, after three years leading the IT operation of Australia's largest airline.
Australians unsure on Assange Govt support
Most Australians are unsure whether the Federal Government has provided enough support to Australian citizen and Internet activist Julian Assange during his ongoing legal battles in Europe, a new poll has shown, as the Greens continue to call for further assistance for the Wikileaks founder.
“NBN or nothing” is a false dichotomy, says Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has lambasted the justification behind Labor's National Broadband Network project as featuring a series of false dichotomies between a glorious fibre future and a world where Australians are starved for broadband.
Yelp launches in Australia; but will it fly?
US-based community led search site Yelp has ventured into Australia through a local version of its site. The website is a platform for sharing opinions and recommendations on businesses and services in the neighbourhood.
NSW moves closer to ‘cloud-first’ strategy
The New South Wales Government has given further signs that it is moving to adopt the kind of ‘cloud-first’ IT procurement strategy which jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand have pursued over the past several years, in a move which could fundamentally change the way the state buys and uses technology.
ASD adds ‘little clouds’ to list of Govt-approved cloud computing platforms
The Australian Signals Directorate appears to have added two smaller providers to its list of approved cloud computing services for use by Federal Government departments and agencies, with small local suppliers Sliced Tech and Vault Systems taking pride of place alongside major multinational vendors.
Sky News kills NBN topic with Shadow Minister
A host on pay TV channel Sky News last week defended the new Coalition Government's unpopular radical overhaul of Labor's NBN project and subsequently shut down discussion of it during a live interview with Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare, as controversy continues to swirl about the extent to which mainstream media is censoring coverage of the project.
Qld police officer charged with hacking over database access
A Queensland police officer has been charged with hacking, according to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
Opposition to vote against Telstra break-up bill
The Federal Opposition has confirmed it will vote against wide-ranging legislation being introduced by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to reform the telecommunications sector, including the break-up of Telstra's wholesale and retail divisions.
Surprise! Coalition re-kindles anti-piracy talks
The new Coalition Federal Government has reportedly signalled plans to restart long-running talks between the telecommunications and content industries to deal with the issue of Internet piracy, despite the fact that a previous round of talks between the two sides under the previous Labor administration proved pointless.
What will the Govt do after iiNet’s BitTorrent case?
The Federal Government has distanced itself from a report that it was waiting for the outcome of the high-profile court case between iiNet and a number of movie and TV studios before seeking to overhaul online copyright laws dealing with illegal file-sharing by Australians.
Telstra’s 4G much faster than Optus’ 4G
A real-world comparison test conducted by Lifehacker has found that Optus' fledgling 4G mobile network does not deliver anywhere near the speeds possible on Telstra's rival 4G infrastructure, despite claims by Optus that the telco was planning to build "the best-performing network in Australia".
Queensland’s flood-hit Grantham gets the NBN
Internode has switched on high-speed broadband at the first newly completed house in a subdivision of Grantham. The Queensland town is under reconstruction, with 150 residents moving to higher ground, after it was destroyed by floods in January this year. This makes the newly connected home the first to link to the National Broadband Network in South East Queensland.
Macquarie Telecom bursts into cloud market
Enterprise-focused telco Macquarie Telecom today launched its cloud computing play in the Australian market, joining a throng of competitors to have entered the space over the past year.
Fifield asks again: Which NBN policy do Australians have more confidence in?
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has again invited Australians to comment on whether they would prefer the Coalition or Labor versions of the National Broadband Network, defending the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix from criticism by Labor and conservative commentator Andrew Bolt.
Mogeneration gets funding injection
Local smartphone and tablet software development house Mogeneration today revealed it had completed what it described as a first round “multi-million dollar” capital raising, as the company ramps up its plans to conquer the burgeoning digital publishing arena on the Apple iPad and other devices.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank adopts IBM cloud
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has adopted IBM Cloud to boost development of new banking products and services for its 1.6 million customers.
Pirate Party registered for 2013 election
The Australian branch of digital freedom political group the Pirate Party today confirmed it had successfully registered as a political party to contest the upcoming 2013 Federal Election, overcoming registration issues which had prevented it from contesting the 2010 election as a party.
HP layoffs likely to hit Australia
Technology giant HP this morning said it expected its massive global job cuts -- which are expected to see some 27,000 employees exit the company -- to affect all of its regions across the world, with the implication that Australia will not be left off the list of locations to receive retrenchment targets.
Finally, Foxtel launches full IPTV service
Pay TV giant Foxtel has launched an Internet streaming version of its service that will allow those with certain smart TVs, gaming consoles or generic personal computers connected to their TVs to access a large chunk of the company's content through the public Internet, without the normal requirement to have a Foxtel cable or satellite connection.
Qantas tech chief becomes Jetstar CEO
The executive who has described himself as Qantas' "quasi-chief information officer" has been promoted out of his role to head up the Australia and New Zealand operations of the airline's JetStar subsidiary.
“A real barrier”: Sports Commission CIO speaks up on new Govt cloud policy
A chief information officer from a minor agency has publicly criticised the Federal Government's new risk management guidelines on storing offshore data, stating that they constitute "a real barrier" to the adoption of public cloud technologies in the public sector.
iOS price cuts catch Aussie developers off-guard
Australian developers making applications for Apple’s iOS product range were caught off-guard by the company’s sudden pricing changes, which have seen prices cut for apps under $5 to match American pricing.
Foxtel more than doubles broadband quotas to beat Telstra
Foxtel has more than doubled the quota available on the broadband packages it bundles with telephone and pay TV offerings, with customers now able to receive a terabyte of quota along with a Foxtel subscription TV package and unlimited local and national calls for $130 a month, in plan bundles that appear to beat those offered by Foxtel partner Telstra.
Queensland gets new ICT Minister
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has appointed a new minister to oversee the technology portfolio as part of a cabinet reshuffle, following the revelation last week that the state's long-standing ICT Minister Robert Schwarten planned to retire.
Offshore cloud an adoption barrier, finds KPMG
A research study partially funded by major offshore cloud computing vendors Salesforce.com, Microsoft, and Google has found that one of the major barriers stopping Australian organisations from migrating to cloud computing platforms is the lack of cloud infrastructure based in Australia, with legislation such as the US Patriot Act cited as key concerns with offshore hosting.
ACS settles with former CEO Denham
The Australian Computer Society has issued a one paragraph statement stating that it has settled the lawsuit filed by its former chief executive Kim...
NBN Co reveals first five wireless zones
NBN Co yesterday revealed the first five Australian locations which will receive a high-speed wireless connection as part of the Federal Government's flagship National Broadband Network (NBN) scheme.
Coalition missteps on NBN budget savings
The Federal Opposition has again incorrectly alleged that it could save money by cutting the Labor Federal Government's multi-billion dollar National Broadband Network project, despite financial projections which show the project is likely to make the Government billions.
FoI breach? Govt withholds #natsecinquiry docs
Evidence has emerged that the Federal Attorney-General’s Department may have breached Freedom of Information regulations in delaying the release of documents which will enhance the transparency of its discussions with the telecommunications industry over the controversial National Security Inquiry proposal.
Internode directly matches ADSL broadband plans to iiNet
National broadband player Internode has updated its broadband plans to almost precisely match those of its parent iiNet, as the two companies continue their drive to harmonise their operations almost precisely following their acquisition by TPG.
Wanted: Delimiter forum moderator
Just a quick note that I'm currently looking for someone to help out with moderating the Delimiter forum on an ongoing basis.
Lessons from HealthSMART: The era of big health IT projects in Victoria is over
The Victorian Government has published a landmark review into the use of technology in the state’s health ecosystem, finding that its landmark HealthSMART program launched in 2004 had had its benefits, but that the state should devolve most decisions about IT back to individual health units such as hospitals.
Queensland policeman charged over unauthorised database access
A police constable from Queensland has been removed from official duty and charged with misconduct over unauthorised access of a police database, after an investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
The Good Guys calls in IBM for B2B digital portal launch
The Good Guys, the Australian household appliance retailer, has said it collaborated with IBM on the construction of its new B2B online portal aimed to transform engagement with its business customers.
Conroy fights Internet control in Dubai
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has revealed he is leading a team to a key telecommunications conference being held in Dubai this week at which the International Telecommunications Union is attempting to seek greater control over the operation of the Internet.
Vodafone’s Infinite plans now allow tethering
Vodafone today revealed through its company blog that it had modified its Infinite mobile plans to offer tethering to both iPhone and Android 2.2 users.
New reader giveaway: Apple iPad mini
Delimiter's giving away a brand-spanking new Apple iPad mini to help promote our new weekly newsletter.
Who is this “Max Pesh”?
Perhaps, Mr Conroy, you mean Mark Pesce?
Win an iPod Nano and cloud computing credit![Sponsored competition]
To win, all you need to do is answer the question in 25 words or less: How would you define cloud computing to a child or non-technical relative?
Abbott confirms Turnbull as future Comms Minister
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott confirmed over the weekend that he expected Malcolm Turnbull to become Communications Minister and have responsibility for the National Broadband Network project in a Coalition Government, following his time as Shadow Minister since September 2010.
Vodafone to spend $9 million on new rural expansion
Vodafone has announced it is to spend $9 million expanding its regional mobile network over the next 18 months.
Qld’s email project stuck in low gear
The Queensland-based Courier Mail newspaper revealed this week that the state's Labor Government has spent $46 million on its whole of government email platform, despite it so far catering to just 2,000 accounts.
Fed Govt to maintain locked-down desktops
The Federal Government's peak technology strategy group has published a significant new policy that lays out common standards for deploying new desktop PC and laptop enviroments for the entire public sector in Canberra. However, workers frustrated with their lack of control over their work computer may not find much to like in the document.
Internet banking bites Suncorp
Tier two banking and insurance giant Suncorp today acknowledged it had suffered some internet banking problems over the past week flowing from an upgrade conducted over the weekend, with some customers concerned about a loss of functionality from the service.
ACS hires CEO with no IT experience
Australia's peak organisation for technology professionals has hired a new chief executive without any direct experience in the technology sector.
NSW Govt “confident” it can avoid IT disasters
The two most senior ministers responsible for delivering technology projects in the NSW State Government have declared they are “confident” the state has sufficient IT governance procedures in place avoid the sort of billion-dollar IT disasters which have plagued Queensland and Victoria over the past half-decade.
Turnbull has “no-one else to blame”, Labor says on NBN cost blow-outs
The Opposition has blamed the up to $15 billion National Broadband Network funding blow-out revealed this morning on “poor decisions” and “wrong assumptions” made by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his stewardship of the project, as the war of words between the major parties on the issue ramps up.
Oracle reveals swathe of Aussie rollouts
Enterprise technology giant Oracle has published details of half a dozen sizable deployments of its technology by Australian customers, as it continues its push to convince local technology buyers of the popularity of its Fusion platforms.
Sysadmins slam Conroy’s Wi-Fi “misinformation”
Australia's peak organisation for systems administrators has accused Communications Minister Stephen Conroy of producing "misinformation" in relation to his claim that internet banking details could have been collected by Google's Street View cars during their scanning of Wi-Fi access points.
Ruddock committee finds data retention may breach journalists’ rights
The Federal Parliament's human rights committee chaired by Liberal MP Philip Ruddock has found that the mechanisms in the recent data retention legislation for protecting journalists and their sources may be inadequate and may breach human rights covenants.
Australian web 2.0 start-ups raise big capital
Thereitis.com, the Adelaide start-up spun out of Flinders University has elicited a $2 million angel investment round to steer international commercialisation of its user interface technology.
Video: Ludlam attacks the filter
Yesterday in the Federal Senate Greens senator Scott Ludlam delivered a blunt rejoinder to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s statement this week that Australians would stand up against a future broadening scope of the internet filtering project, saying: "We are standing up". You can now watch the full speech below.
Primus may dump voluntary ISP filter
National broadband provider Primus has given its first indication that it may have changed its mind about implementing a voluntary ISP-based filter to block child pornography from reaching its customers, despite making a commitment on the issue 12 months ago to the Federal Government.
Vodafone buys TelstraClear for $660m
The nation's largest telco Telstra this morning confirmed it would walk away from its ill-fated venture into the New Zealand market, with rival Vodafone New Zealand to buy its Kiwi division TelstraClear for A$660 million.
Qld hires E&Y to evaluate CITEC sale
The Queensland Government has engaged consulting firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young) to conduct a strategic review of its CITEC IT shared services business, in a sign that it is considering following the recommendations of the Costello Commission of Audit report and selling the business to the private sector.
Visionstream secures $250M Telstra ‘wideband’ contract
Visionstream, a services provider to the telecoms industry, has inked a new deal with Telstra to extend its delivery of 'wideband' services across Australia.
auDA re-inserts cork in Bolton’s Bottle
Australia's domain name regulator has once again terminated the Australian accreditation of domain name registrar Bottle Domains – which is owned by flambuoyant entrepreneur Nicholas Bolton.
RIM appoints Ray Gillenwater as ANZ MD
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has appointed Ray Gillenwater Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand. Gillenwater replaces Adele Beachley, who resigned in February.
Telstra’s 4G network goes live
The nation's largest telco Telstra today revealed it had officially switched on its fourth-generation (4G) mobile network across Australia following a soft-launch several weeks ago, with the 4G coverage now live across capital city central business districts and more than 30 other centres around the nation.
Panasonic accidentally misled customers with Wii promotion
The Federal Court has found that consumer electronics manufacturer Panasonic misled customers in a 2008 promotion in which it had offered a free Nintendo Wii console for customers who purchased one of a certain range of televisions.
Rebel telco alliance backs Turnbull’s NBN bill
The splinter group of telcos concerned about Labor's National Broadband Network project has backed Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbulll's legislation to inject more transparency into the project, in an open letter to the Federal independent and Green MPs who will ultimately decide its fate.
Total war: Telstra in colossal 4G expansion
The nation's largest telco Telstra has returned fire from all cannons in its developing war with Optus for 4G mobile coverage and customers, announcing this morning that it now has some 500,000 4G customers and would be expanding its 4G network to two thirds of Australia's population by mid-2013.
News Ltd sells TrueLocal to Sensis
Publishing giant News Ltd has revealed plans to sell its online search and directories business TrueLocal to Telstra’s Sensis division, subject to approval from the competition regulator.
Privacy czar wants Google Wi-Fi deletion evidence
Australia's Privacy Commissioner has written to search giant Google requesting it provide several forms of evidence -- including confirmation by an independent third party -- that all of the payload data its Street View cars had collected over the past several years as they brushed past Wi-Fi networks on their journeys around Australia had actually been deleted.
Parliament must subpoena IT giants: Choice
Consumer group Choice has called for the Federal Parliament to use its powers of subpoena to force recalcitrant IT vendors such as Apple, Adobe and Microsoft to give evidence about their price setting practices in Australia, due to the vendors' reluctance to voluntarily appear before a committee into Australian IT price hikes.
Nikoletatos swaps Curtin for ANU
High-profile Curtin University chief information officer Peter Nikoletatos has left his role to take up a similar position at the Australian National University.
Qld Premier progresses Corptech review
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh today released the terms of reference for the wide-ranging review planned of state government IT shared services agency Corptech, as unionised nurses in the state intensify pressure on the Government over its disastrous health payroll systems upgrade.
Microsoft Hyper-V wins huge Coles rollout
Microsoft has revealed that a virtualisation solution built on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise with Hyper-V technology has been implemented by retail giant Coles, at each of its 741 supermarkets, to tackle an aging, in-store fleet of server hardware.
Speeding tickets: iiNet proposes copyright authority
National broadband provider iiNet today proposed the creation of an independent body to administer allegations of copyright infringement by internet users, including the power to issue fines and demerits to those who had purloined television shows, films and music online.
vividwireless revamps broadband plans
Wireless telco vividwireless has unveiled minor changes to its broadband plan range, boosting download quotas across the board and bundling voice services into its offering.
Government responds to ACS report on gender inequality in ICT
Responding to a report from the ACS, Assistant Minister for Science Karen Andrews has said the government recognises the importance of bringing more women into the ICT workforce to ensure the country remains competitive.
Atlassian sells US$150m stock to US funds
Software group Atlassian, which was founded in Australia but has since formally shifted its headquarters to the UK, has sold $150 million worth of stock to United States investment firms T. Rowe Price and Dragoneer Investment Group, in what the company has stated is a move designed to reward the company's employees through buying their shares.
Govt may record users’ web history, email data
The Federal Government has confirmed it is considering a policy requiring Australian internet providers to retain precise data on how their users are using the internet, with the potential to include information on emails sent and -- reportedly -- their web browsing history.
Internode rolls out IPv6 to customers
Australian internet service provider (ISP) Internode has announced that from this week, all its customers now have the option of being assigned a range of IPv6 addresses for their use.
Internode apologises for pricing plan “stuffup”
Internode managing director Simon Hackett has published a lengthy apology to the ISP's customers for a pricing plan migration "stuffup" that had seen the company inadvertently alienate some of its oldest and most loyal customers.
“Open, frank + candid”: Apple defends tiny tax bill
Iconic technology giant Apple has described its relationship with the Australian Taxation Office as "open, frank and candid" and its process of calculating its local tax obligation as "rigorous", despite the fact that the company last year paid local company tax of just $40 million, off Australian revenues of $6 billion.
Education departments go wild for the iPad
Schools and universities right around Australia have jumped headfirst into trials of Apple's hyped iPad tablet as they rush to discover exactly what the device's use will be in the educational field -- sometimes with the support of their overarching education departments, and sometimes without.
Future of PCEHR review still unclear: Will it be released?
The Department of Health has confirmed that it now has a copy of the review of the Federal Government's troubled Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records project, although it still cannot confirm whether the document, which will be key to the development of e-health systems in Australia, will be released publicly.
Labor introduces PJCIS reform bill
The Opposition has introduced a bill designed to significantly expand the powers of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security as well as freeing up its operations, in a move which could have a significant impact on the chief parliamentary oversight body of Australia’s national electronic surveillance regime.
Delimiter files FOI request seeking rationale for NBN sell-off
Technology media outlet Delimiter today filed a Freedom of Information request with Infrastructure Australia, seeking to determine the organisation's undisclosed rationale for its recommendation today that the Federal Government split up the NBN company into chunks and privatise the whole lot.
Quigley faces down Alcatel bribery questions
NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley has mounted a good-humoured defence against claims he and his chief financial officer could have contributed to a poor management culture at their previous employer Alcatel, which US regulators have linked to corruption in the company’s South American subsidiaries.
CITEC in a stir over anonymous tip
Queensland Government IT shared services agency CITEC has been investigating its wide-ranging technology consolidation project after an anonymous tip made a number of allegations -- which have not been detailed -- towards the project.
“Fictitious”: Turnbull rejects every Senate NBN allegation
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has published an extensive, 33 page Coalition rebuttal of specific allegations raised by the Opposition in late March claiming that evidence shows NBN Co’s Strategic Review published last year is based on “flawed and unreliable” premises and was in fact designed by Turnbull to constitute a “pre-ordained political outcome”.
Petition: Get Simon Hackett onto NBN Co’s board
Want to see Simon Hackett appointed to the board of the National Broadband Network Company? So do we. That's why we encourage you to sign a new petition setup to encourage Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull to consider the Internode founder and all-round broadband guru as a candidate.
Abbott faces down Tassie NBN supporters
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has stared down harsh criticism of the Coalition's rival broadband policy in a tense community meeting in Launceston, where the Labor Federal Government's popular National Broadband Network was one of the topics being discussed by Tasmanian residents.
Labor avoids all comment on that bothersome massive metadata expansion
Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has not responded to a request for basic information on whether Labor will support adding any of the 61 agencies who have applied to the bipartisan data retention scheme which passed Parliament in 2015.
Massive customer outage increasing: Vodafone loses 8.4% in six months
Vodafone Australia has it lost a further 551,000 customers in the first half of this year, in further evidence that the turnaround plan put in place for the telco by its new chief executive Bill Morrow is having little effect upon the company's fortunes; in fact, the numbers of customers leaving the troubled telco are actually accelerating.
Telstra’s statement an ‘extortion note’: Carriers’ coalition
The Competitive Carrier's Coalition today described Telstra's statement this morning that there was a gap between its financial expectations on a National Broadband Network...
Amazon Appstore challenging Google Play as Australian launch looms
Australian Android users will soon have an alternative source for sourcing paid and free mobile apps, but will they embrace it? Yes, if the first analysis of Amazon Appstore sales figures – which suggests the site is rapidly increasing its appeal to US consumers as a source of paid apps – is any indication.
We’ve got new digs … and we’re having a party!
So, today it's time to take the next step. In the grand startup tradition, Delimiter has leased its first office. It's in the sunny suburb of Randwick.
Bell Canada plans 10Gbps speeds for ‘easier to maintain’ FTTP
Canadian telco Bell Canada has revealed it is planning to extend its Fibre to the Premises network to some 2.2 million premises by the end of 2015, hyping the technology as being far easier to maintain than Fibre to the Node and also being capable of delivering 10Gbps speeds to customers by 2017.
iPhone 4 to hit Australia in July
The next version of the iPhone will hit Australia in July as part of the second wave of countries to receive the handset, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs revealed this morning after demonstrating the new device.
Police target Gumtree Internet pirate
Officers from Green Valley Local Area Command and investigators from Australian Screen Association have executed a search warrant on a residential address in Busby, NSW during which they discovered a large number of allegedly illegally stored film and television titles.
Apple iBooks manager could be Sydney-based
Iconic technology giant Apple has advertised for an executive to manage its fledgling iBooks product for the Asia-Pacific and Canada regions, adding the position could be based in Sydney or Toronto.
GST issue ‘not about the internet’, claims Harvey
Billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey today said the debate about foreign retailers not being forced to collect GST on some Australian purchases had been misconstrued to be a battle between companies like his Harvey Norman empire and the internet.
No ‘giant’ Govt datacentre, says Tanner
Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner today promised the Federal Government would not concentrate all of its resources in "one giant datacentre", as he outlined a 15-year plan for Canberra's $850 million annual datacentre needs going forward.
NBN pays Telstra $1.6bn to extend HFC cable network
The NBN company this morning announced it would pay Telstra about $1.6 billion over the next four years to upgrade and extend its HFC cable network as part of the National Broadband Network.
“Large ISP” got away with refusing filter
Former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has revealed that the Australian Federal Police appears to have given up on pursuing the un-named large Australian ISP which flatly refused to implement the Federal Government's limited mandatory ISP filtering scheme based on a list of offensive sites supplied by Interpol.
Fetch TV will easily survive iiNet loss
Fetch TV has revealed it is financially profitable and rapidly expanding its operations and customer numbers, in news that signals it will not be substantially adversely affected by the decision by iiNet’s new owner TPG to terminate its long-standing relationship with the Internet television company.
Videos: iPad 2 launch in Sydney
Unfortunately Delimiter couldn't catch the iPad 2 launch live as it happened at 5pm on Friday night, but quite a few people did, and you can check out how the event went by watching the videos above.
AFP roadshow garnered #NatSecInquiry support
The Australian Federal Police has acknowledged that it sent one of its most senior officers to visit other law enforcement jurisdictions around Australia and encourage them to make submissions supporting the controversial data retention and surveillance proposal currently being discussed in Federal Parliament.
Greens demand Australia cancel ACTA participation
The Greens have demanded that Australia's Government cancel its participation in the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement international treaty in the wake of an expected imminent rejection of the proposal by the European Union and significant and ongoing global protests against a number of its terms expected to harm Internet freedom.
Farce: NSW Govt suspends UberX drivers while review is underway
NSW Roads and Maritime Services this week revealed it had suspended some forty owners of vehicles involved in UberX-style ride-sharing services, ruling the use of vehicles for this purpose as illegal, despite the fact that the State Government is currently conducting a review into the future of the related taxi industry.
iiNet halts share trading as AAPT rumours swirl
Speculation about a deal that could see national broadband provider iiNet pick up a chunk of embattled Telecom New Zealand subsidiary AAPT is likely to rapidly intensify this morning with the news iiNet has halted trading of its shares.
Telstra seeks 120 voluntary redundancies
Telstra is seeking up to 120 volunteers for redundancy from its Networks Delivery operations, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
“Breathtaking arrogance”: Labor slams Turnbull’s support for Ziggy breach
The Opposition has described Malcolm Turnbull's support for the decision by NBN chair Ziggy Switkowski to ignore the Caretaker Conventions as displaying "breathtaking arrogance", and having opened the door for public officials to display politically partisan behaviour during elections in future.
Closed Govt: Coalition may walk away from transparency
The Coalition Federal Government has reportedly signalled it is reconsidering the previous Labor administration's commitment to join the multilateral Open Government Partnership aimed at increasing citizen engagement and government transparency, in a move which would place Australia alongside just one other nation to withdraw: Russia.
Google Fiber will go to 10Gbps
Search giant Google has revealed it is planning to upgrade its residential-grade Google Fiber broadband network in the United States to 10Gbps; news that comes as Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stated that it is "difficult, if not impossible" to find uses for a broadband service with speeds up to 1Gbps -- ten times less.
RailCorp CIO resigned in October
Then-RailCorp chief information officer Vicki Coleman resigned in October, the agency confirmed today, although the results of an investigation into her conduct remain unknown.
Turnbull “copper” NBN plan “bizarre”, says Albo
Communications Minister and Deputy PM Anthony Albanese has taken a pick axe to the Coalition's rival NBN policy, describing its reuse of portions of Telstra's copper network as "bizarre" and "neanderthal", despite the fact that its so-called 'fibre to the node' rollout scheme has been used successfully by British telco BT and other telcos across Europe and the US to upgrade broadband speeds to millions of premises.
Ziggy was forced to respond to false accusations, says NBN Co
The NBN Company has defended the actions of its chair Ziggy Switkowski in breaching the Caretaker Conventions, claiming that the executive's hand was forced by the need to defend the company's reputation.