Labor backs Govt’s new Joint NBN Committee

0
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.

Labor slams data retention funding “uncertainties”

0
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.

Senate votes against asking Govt to abandon Census fines

0
The Senate has voted against a motion asking the Federal Government to abandon fines for Australians who failed to complete their Census forms following a failure of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website on 9 August and concerns over the security of retained personal data.

Morrow predicts “NBN Generation” by 2020

0
By 2020, NBN Co expects Australia will be "the first country of our size" to make broadband access universal, according to Bill Morrow, the firm's CEO.

Defence to splurge $500m on cyber-wargames centre

0
The Federal Government has approved a new joint electronic warfare project worth $500 million aimed to better prepare the Australian armed forces for operations in "complex threat environments".

Telcos urge “regulatory restraint” on data retention compliance

2
Communications Alliance, Australia's primary telecoms industry body with membership drawn from across the industry, has urged the Federal Government to "exercise regulatory restraint" if some telecoms service providers are unable to comply fully with mandatory data retention rules by the April 2017 deadline.

MTM NBN roadmap “tortuous”, says Budde

143
NBN Co is taking "tortuous route" towards building its network with "band aid solutions" being applied via its multi-technology mix approach, according to telecoms commentator Paul Budde.

Coalition failed to resource NDIA properly, PwC report finds

4
A new report by 'Big Four' auditor PwC has levelled criticism at the Coalition Government over failures in the way it resourced the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and cast doubt on its ability to transition to full service.

Attorney-General releases data retention grants list

3
The Federal Government has revealed the details of grants aimed to assist companies with the cost burden of compliance with data-retention legislation.

ACCC seeking feedback for communications sector market study

0
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released an 'issues paper' seeking feedback from industry and consumers as part of a market study of the communications sector.

Government “botched” NDIS IT systems, says Labor

21
Labor has said the Coalition Government has "botched" the rollout of the IT systems for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) healthcare programme.

Senate to hold inquiry into Census website failure

6
The Senate will hold an inquiry into the much-criticised failure of the Census website on 9 August.

ACCC still concerned about NBN/Telstra relationship

5
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has aired concerns over potential competition issues raised by the commercial relationship between Telstra and NBN Co.

Audit finds “weaknesses” in Turnbull’s Mobile Blackspot Programme

3
The Australian National Audit Office has released a report criticising aspects of the Federal Government’s handling of the Mobile Black Spot Programme.

Govt reintroduces media reform legislation

2
The Federal Government has reintroduced its media reform bill to parliament, a move aimed to support the Australian media organisations in the face of increasing competition from less regulated services.

Govt introduces Innovation and Science legislation

3
The Coalition Government has introduced its Innovation and Science Australia Bill to parliament, a move it said will place innovation and science at the centre of its plan for Australia’s future economic prosperity.

XG.FAST won’t obviate need for copper replacement, says Internet Australia

232
Following NBN Co's announcement that it is to commence trials of XG.FAST – a new technology said to deliver fibre-equivalent broadband speeds over copper – Internet Australia has said, even if the claims hold true, the network may still need updating to fibre in the future.

NBN Co conducts XG.FAST trials with Nokia

6
NBN Co is to launch lab trials of a new broadband technology called XG.FAST, which it says has already delivered trial speeds in other countries of over 5Gbps on a pair of copper lines.

EU rules that Apple must pay €13 billion in back taxes

0
Following a lengthy investigation, the European Commission (EC) has ruled that Apple must pay back up to €13 billion plus interest after Ireland gave the tech firm "illegal tax benefits".

DTO’s Digital Marketplace enters beta stage

3
The Digital Transformation Office's (DTO) Digital Marketplace has now reached the Beta stage of its development, according to a DTO blog post.

Google wants exemption from banks’ mobile payments ‘cartel’

0
In a letter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Google has requested exemption from an effort by four major Australian banks to be able to collectively negotiate terms with, as well as boycott, third-party wallet app providers.

Turnbull “stuffed up” NBN costs, says Labor

27
The Labor Opposition has responded to the release of NBN Co's Corporate Plan 2016, saying that that document confirms that "every assumption [Prime MInister] Turnbull made when he was Minister responsible for the NBN was wrong".

Launceston city now has total NBN coverage

6
Launceston has become the first city in Tasmania to be declared ready for service on the NBN network, with all suburbs now "ready for service", NBN Co has announced.

NBN lowers peak funding prediction to $54bn

21
In its Corporate Plan 2017, released yesterday, NBN Co confirmed that it is still expecting to complete the broadband network on time, and predicted the peak cost of building the network would be $2bn lower than it expected last August.

Fifield hits out at Labor over AFP raid comments

13
Mitch Fifield, Federal Minister for Communications, has hit out at the Labor Opposition following comments made by Senator Stephen Conroy following an Australian Federal Police (AFP) search at Parliament House on 23 August.

“Shameful” AFP NBN raid may be illegal, says Conroy

55
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) raid on the Department of Parliamentary Services yesterday was possibly illegal, according to Senator Stephen Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Shadow Special Minister Of State.

AFP raids Parliament House over NBN leaks

3
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has confirmed a raid on Parliament House yesterday in relation to its investigation into the alleged unauthorised disclosure of Commonwealth information relating to NBN Co.

Australia Post plans blockchain-based e-voting system

15
Australia Post has aired plans to take voting into the digital era in a submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee that would see it build a blockchain-based e-voting system for the state.

Funding “storm clouds” ahead for NBN, says Budde

86
Telecoms industry commentator Paul Budde has said that while the NBN rollout is currently "in a good place", "storm clouds" may lie ahead as a lack of investment causes issues further down the road.

ACCC knocks back banks’ anti-Apple ‘cartel’ request … for now

0
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has said it has decided not to grant four of Australia's biggest banks interim authorisation to "collectively bargain" with Apple over the terms of any partnership involving the tech giant's Apple Pay product.

Telstra reaches “significant” mobile black spot milestone

0
Telstra has activated its 60th mobile base station under the Mobile Black Spot Programme, 60 weeks since the first round of locations were announced – a milestone that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce called a "significant achievement".

NBN hits three million premises milestone

23
Just days after NBN Co's announcement revealing that it has reached over one million active users, the Government has announced another milestone, saying three million premises are now able to connect to the National Broadband Network.

Experts cast doubt on Census DDoS claims

13
Computer science and security experts at the University of Wollongong (UOW) have cast doubts on the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) claims that a DDoS attack was in part responsible for the meltdown of the Census website on 9 August.

Turnbull’s NBN “hardly on target”, says Labor

130
The Australian Labor Party has criticised a Government statement saying NBN Co has "exceeded" its targets for the financial year 2016, suggesting that the national broadband network is actually "hardly on target".

NBN “exceeding targets”, says Government

7
The Federal Government has said that the National Broadband Network rollout is "exceeding its connection and financial targets", following the release of NBN Co’s latest full-year results.

NBN exceeds one million active users

16
NBN Co has announced that has exceeded its "core" targets for financial year 2016 and said the rollout of the National Broadband Network is "very much on track".

Netflix speeds show Turnbull’s NBN is “flatlining”, says Labor

34
The latest Netflix ISP Speed Index shows that Australia's Internet speeds are "flatlining" and demonstrates the need for a "proper" National Broadband Network, Labor has said.

ABS staff “angry” at Turnbull following Census outage, union says

47
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has said staff at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) are "angry" at comments by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull following the failure of the Census web service.

Qld Govt airs plans to boost electric vehicle uptake

2
The Queensland Government is developing a strategy aimed to "encourage and facilitate" electric vehicle (EV) uptake, according to the state's Energy Minister, Mark Bailey.

Qld Govt to legalise ride-booking services like Uber

1
The Queensland Government has announced it will overhaul the state's personalised transport industry regulations to create a more "level playing field" for ride-booking services like Uber.

Pirate Party calls for resignation of ABS chief over Census debacle

3
The Pirate Party has hit out at the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) handling of the Census, saying it "incompetently" allowed the online data collection to "fail" and that the bureau's head, David Kalisch, should resign as a result.

Turnbull blames IBM, ABS for Census website failure

18
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.

Netflix figures back Coalition’s faster NBN rollout, says Fifield

150
Senator Mitch Fifield, Federal Minister for Communications, has claimed that Netflix's latest ISP Speed Index supports the faster rollout of the NBN under the Coalition Government.

Greens will legislate to dismiss fines and preserve census ‘snapshot’

2
Following both protests over privacy and the failure of the Census website on 9 August, the Australian Greens have said they plan to introduce legislation aimed to ensure that people "acting to protect their privacy" and unable to complete the census will not be fined.

Digital Rights Watch calls for independent inquiry into Census fail

8
Online advocacy organisation Digital Rights Watch (DRW) has called for an independent inquiry into the 2016 Census following the failure of the Census website on 9 August and concerns over the way the official national population survey has been managed.

Shorten says Govt has “bungled” the Census

9
While acknowledging that the Census "does a lot more good than harm", Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said that the government has "bungled" 2016's official survey of the Australian population.

Xenophon boycotts name details in census protest

17
Nick Xenophon, Independent Senator for South Australia, has said he will fight for the right to privacy by refusing to provide his name in the 2016 census, despite the risk of prosecution the protest will bring.

Greens call on ABS to rule out census fines

5
The Australian Greens have called for the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to "rule out" fines for people that do not wish to provide their name and address when completing their census forms.

Tech can help Australians achieve life goals, says NBN report

3
NBN Co has released a new report that takes a look at Australia’s top life goals and how technology can help us achieve them.

ThoughtWorks slams ABS for census data retention “risk”

22
Global software consultancy ThoughtWorks has strongly criticised the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for "risk" it took in the running of the Australian Census 2016, which saw the body retain the details of millions of people.

Government role in NBN needs “re-evaluation”, says US think tank

140
The Technology Policy Institute, a US-based think tank, has published a paper on the NBN concluding that, while the network was set up to increase competition in the broadband sector, as well as boost quality and lower prices, it has evolved into a "intrusive policy subject to political pressures".

4.6 million jobs “at risk” without future-ready workforce

8
According to StartupAUS, an advocacy group for startups, up to 4.6 million Australian jobs may be at risk within a decade if Australia fails to create a future-ready workforce.

Qld Govt invests in open data, startups, STEM

2
The Queensland Government made a number of announcements yesterday revealing how the state is investing in a number of areas, including open data, innovative startups and STEM training for teachers.

Qld Govt invests $1 million in drone tech

2
The Queensland Government has invested $1m in drone technology – a move that the State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said will lead to 100 new aerospace industry jobs.

Internet Australia says broadband should be human right

15
Internet Australia, the peak body representing Internet users, has said the telecommunications Universal Service Obligation (USO) should be expanded to include the right for citizens to have Internet access via "fast and affordable" broadband.

NBN’s second satellite to launch in October

19
NBN Co has started the count down to the launch of its second telecoms satellite, which it has announced will take place on 5 October.

Michelle Rowland appointed Shadow Minister for Communications

19
Labor MP Michelle Rowland has been appointed to the Shadow Cabinet, taking on the role of Shadow Minister for Communications.

NBN to boost HFC broadband with DOCSIS 3.1 in 2017

397
NBN Co has revealed that it plans to launch super-fast HFC broadband services next year using DOCSIS 3.1 – a new technology that can produce up to 10 Gbps symmetrical data speeds over the hybrid fibre-copper cable networks.

Telstra calls for USO to be maintained

4
Telstra has said that the universal service obligation (USO), which guarantees that every Australian has reasonable access to a phone, should not be abandoned.

Fibre optic broadband to last 50 years, says Budde

94
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.

ACCC approves Telstra’s variation to NBN Migration Plan

0
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved Telstra’s variation to the Migration Plan, which is aimed to further protect customers and maintain services as the firm shifts to the national broadband network.

ACCC invites feedback on NBN Co’s proposal to expand remit

5
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published a consultation paper inviting feedback on NBN Co’s proposed variation to the way it provides services over the national broadband network.

Not a “flop”: Hunt defends Turnbull’s innovation push

11
Newly appointed Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science Greg Hunt has defended the government's emphasis on innovation after its Federal Election campaigning on the issue was described as a "flop".

StartupAUS welcomes Turnbull’s new innovation ministers

0
StartupAUS, the technology entrepreneurship advocacy group, has welcomed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's new innovation ministers, appointed as part of a post-election Cabinet reshuffle.

NBN in Tasmania “58% complete”

21
NBN Co has announced that passing of a "major construction milestone", with over half of Tasmanian premises now being able to connect to broadband services over the NBN network.

Move to FTTP viable but threatened by NBN monopoly, says Budde

220
It could be economically viable for Australia to eventually shift from fibre to the node (FTTN) to fibre to the home (FTTH), but the lack of commercial competition could be an impediment, telecoms expert Paul Budde has said.

NBN takes on delivery partners to deploy HFC network

26
NBN Co has inked deals with six delivery partners to deliver its growing broadband network to premises sitting within Telstra's hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) cable footprint.

Rapper launches song slamming Turnbull’s FTTN network

25
A rapper called LLK recently released her first solo track, with lyrics that pull no punches in their criticism of the National Broadband Network's multi-mix technology policy.

Electronic voting may be risky, but what about vote counting?

16
The right technologies, deployed in the right way, can assist with speeding up vote counts without putting the integrity of our voting system at risk. The place for that technology is not as a replacement for the paper ballot.

Despite experts’ fears, Australia should be moving to electronic online voting

14
Australia’s current election proves that there has never been a greater need for online electronic voting. The country has come to a political standstill as the laborious process of manual counting of ballot papers is conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).

How to keep more girls in IT at schools if we’re to close the...

9
The world is increasingly embracing digital technology, and so too are our schools. But many girls are still missing out on developing IT and programming skills.

Abandon all hope: Turnbull’s win screws the NBN permanently

127
Rumour has it that a number of NBN staffers have given the company's HFC cable upgrade the nickname 'Operation Clusterfuck'. Over the next decade, I can confidently predict that we will need to extend this label to the whole NBN project.

The election is over, and Fibre to the Node is here to stay

237
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared victory in the hard-fought Federal Election, in a move that ensures that the controversial Fibre to the Node technology which Turnbull personally favours is here to stay as a core part of the National Broadband Network.

NBN Co launches social initiative with Men’s Sheds and Keith Schleiger

18
NBN Co has announced a collaboration with the Australian Men’s Shed Association that is aimed to highlight how access to fast broadband can help men "build supportive friendships and better connect with friends and family".

Australia falls in global digital competitiveness rankings

48
Australia has slipped from 16th to 18th place in the global digital competitiveness rankings, according to the latest annual report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).

UK introduces new Digital Economy Bill

0
The UK Government laid its new Digital Economy Bill before Parliament this week – new legislation aimed to boost the country's digital economy and implement a number of manifesto commitments made by the ruling Conservative Party.

AFP NBN raids illegal, says Conroy: Ziggy must resign

128
Labor Senator Stephen Conroy has obtained legal advice that the NBN company's referral of whistleblowers to the Australian Federal Police was illegal, and has demanded that NBN chair Ziggy Switkowski resign from his post as a result and that the AFP cease its investigations into the matter.

ACCC opens inquiry into ADSL regulation

7
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a public inquiry into whether it should continue to regulate the wholesale ADSL service provided by Telstra.

Innovation Minister Wyatt Roy may lose his seat

46
It appears that most tech-focused MPs and Senators have retained their seats in Saturday's Federal Election, in good news for Australia's technology community; with the exception of Innovation Minister Wyatt Roy, who appears set to lose his seat of Longman.

Pauline Hanson to fix NBN “white elephant” with FTTN/Wi-Fi combo

74
Senator-Elect Pauline Hanson wants to use a combination of Fibre to the Node and a wireless technology similar to Wi-Fi, it has emerged, as the One Nation Leader takes a step into the national spotlight courtesy of her victory in the Senate over the weekend.

Truth: Turnbull’s NBN mess cost him dearly in the Election

76
The evidence shows that Malcolm Turnbull's tragic destruction of the National Broadband Network project was a key factor in the Member for Wentworth coming to the brink of losing what should have been an unlosable election for the Coalition.

For the tragedy of the NBN, Turnbull must go

188
The NBN stands out strongly amidst a slew of other issues in this Federal Election. Because in ten years, in twenty years -- in fifty years -- most of those other issues will have ceased to matter. But the problems with the NBN will remain. The only way to deal with these problems is to cut them off at the source: And vote against Malcolm Turnbull.

Truth: CVC pricing is the key NBN sleeper issue in this election

55
Forget fibre. Forget copper. Forget even Australian Federal Police raids. The controversial Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) pricing model is the key underlying National Broadband Network issue which keeps coming up again and again this Election. And no party is proposing to fix it.

NBN denies HFC launch in uber-marginal seat breaches Caretaker Conventions

62
The NBN company has denied that its launch yesterday of its new HFC cable network breaches the election campaign Caretaker Conventions, despite the company promoting the Coalition-backed technology in the uber-marginal seat of Petrie.

Truth: The Greens’ video game policy is a landmark strategy with a good chance...

4
The Greens' video game industry policy released this week represents the kind of landmark policy launch that the local industry has needed for the past decade. What's more, it has an excellent chance of actually becoming reality.

NBN launches HFC network, two days before election

98
The NBN company today officially launched its new HFC cable infrastructure, in a move that may further breach the Caretaker Conventions that govern the pre-election behaviour of public sector organisations.

NBN chief architect Tony Cross to quit on eve of election

6
The NBN's Chief Architect, Tony Cross, has said he will resign his post just a day before the 2016 Federal Election.

MyNetFone blasts Labor, Coalition for ignoring NBN congestion

23
MyNetFone, the provider of hosted voice and data communications services, has hit out at both the Coalition Government and Labor, saying neither has addressed the "inadequacies" of the NBN’s commercial model in their election pledges.

Truth: This week’s flooded FTTN nodes are just the start

16
This week’s pictures of flooded Fibre to the Node cabinets in a rural NSW town are just the first drop in the ocean to come. Heavy rainfall is going to be playing havoc with Malcolm Turnbull’s brittle copper infrastructure for the next decade and beyond.

Censored: NBN denies FOI access to skinny fibre trial results

56
The NBN company has flatly rejected an attempt to retrieve the results of its skinny fibre trials in Victoria through Freedom of Information laws, with the company listing a large number of reasons why it does not believe it should have to release the information.

Labor’s new policy won’t delay NBN again, says Quigley

134
Enacting Labor's new NBN policy wouldn't cause further delays in the project, Mike Quigley said in a press conference with former MP Tony Windsor, because it will primarily focus on established technologies such as Fibre to the Premises, unlike the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix switch in 2013.

Truth: South Australia’s “Gig City” plan is hyped-up nonsense

60
"Gig City"? I don't think so. The South Australian Government's plan to bring 1Gbps broadband to key areas around Adelaide won't even make a tiny dent in the state's broadband needs, and is worth little more than the paper its press release was printed on.

Trainwreck interview: Finance Minister can’t answer basic NBN questions

107
Mathias Cormann has proven unable to answer basic questions about the NBN project or the Coalition's NBN policy, in a trainwreck interview yesterday morning which highlighted the Finance Minister's fundamental lack of NBN knowledge about the project, despite being one of the two ministers in charge of it.

NBN Co confirms flooding kills FTTN nodes

128
The NBN company has confirmed that minor flooding as has been seen in Bowral this week is enough to stop its Fibre to the Node cabinets from functioning, although the nodes do feature circuit breakers to stop them leaking electricity directly into floodwaters around them.

New analysis shows FTTN NBN areas significantly delayed

88
Analysis conducted on the NBN company's latest set of rollout plans has shown that around 105 areas currently slated to receive the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix approach to the project are significantly delayed, in a move that will affect almost 300,000 premises.

Turnbull ignores NBN in campaign launch while Shorten goes hard

77
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appears to have deliberately avoided mentioning the National Broadband Network in the official Liberal election campaign launch, in stark contrast to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who has mentioned Labor's pledge for a "first-rate" NBN frequently over the past several days.

Photos: Rain floods NBN nodes in Bowral

89
Heavy rain appears to have flooded Fibre to the Node infrastructure in the rural New South Wales town of Bowral, potentially causing a dangerous situation for local residents and causing outages with the local National Broadband Network.

After Quigley, the silence is deafening

178
On Wednesday night, one man stood up for the truth. My hope is that eventually that number will swell to many.

Internet Australia repeats call for NBN inquiry

64
Internet Australia, a not-for-profit advocacy group representing Internet users, has made another call for an inquiry into the National Broadband Network.

Greens propose Digital Rights Commissioner

2
The Australian Greens have proposed that Australia should have an "independent human rights commissioner for digital rights" – a new post that would see the holder advocate for citizen's online safety, accessibility, privacy and security.

The need for speed: there’s still time to fix Australia’s NBN

99
A National Broadband Network (NBN) based on Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) was, and still is, the right answer for Australia’s broadband needs.

Read in full: Mike Quigley launches devastating critique of MTM policy

214
Founding NBN chief executive Mike Quigley this evening launched a devastating attack on the Coalition's controversial Multi-Technology Mix model, using detailed analysis to show that the policy has set the NBN back years and resulted in cost blowouts to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.

Truth: A Labor Government will not roll back data retention

5
Those holding out hope that a Bill Shorten Labor administration would wind back the Orwellian Data Retention laws that Labor and the Coalition waved through Parliament last year should give up now: All indications are that Data Retention is here to stay.

Turnbull pressured to ‘fix’ NBN for far north Queensland

46
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has come under pressure during a radio interview in far north Queensland, with the ABC's host relaying complaints from local residents that the Coalition had not done enough to bring the National Broadband Network to the region.

Poll: Voters overwhelmingly support a faster, more expensive NBN

107
A new poll undertaken by the ABC has shown that the vast majority of Australians overwhelmingly support the Government building a technically faster version of the National Broadband Network, even if it cost more to do so.

Fact check: Turnbull misleads Q&A audience on NBN

271
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appears to have misled the ABC's Q&A program about key facts regarding the National Broadband Network project, repeating a set of common misconceptions about the initiative in response to a question on air last night.

ACS releases ICT election “manifesto”

11
The Australian Computer Society (ACS), an advocacy group for Australia’s ICT professionals, has released what it is calling its "Federal Election Manifesto", setting out five key policy areas it says must be addressed if Australia is to "secure its economic future in the information age".

Truth: The Coalition will not launch a new Election NBN policy

56
If you don't like the Coalition's existing National Broadband Network policy, then tough cookies: Every indication points towards the fact that it won't be changed or updated at all for the Federal Election in two weeks.

“Fibre zealots”: The Australian backs Ziggy’s Caretaker breach

32
A senior columnist at The Australian newspaper has backed what he described as Ziggy Switkoski's "well-aimed" breach of the Caretaker Conventions, supporting the idea that the NBN chair's action was necessary to deal with "rumourtrage" about the project.

Three senior telco commentators agree: Ziggy must be sacked

14
Three of Australia's most senior telecommunications commentators have agreed that NBN chair Ziggy Switkowski must resign or be sacked in the wake of confirmation that he deliberately breached the Caretaker Conventions during this year's Federal Election campaign.

“Breathtaking arrogance”: Labor slams Turnbull’s support for Ziggy breach

45
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.

Enough is enough: We demand a Royal Commission into the NBN

160
This is an open letter to Australia's politicians demanding a Royal Commission be held into the politically motivated destruction of the NBN project. If you agree: Sign this petition, note your support in the comments below this article, and forward this letter to your political representatives.

Turnbull backs Ziggy’s decision to breach Caretaker Conventions

40
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning said he respected Ziggy Switkowski's decision to ignore the Caretaker Conventions during the Election Campaign, and added that the NBN chairman was doing a "remarkable job" with the company.

Govt invests in big data, surveillance systems for AFP, ACC

0
The Coalition Government has announced it is to invest $2.6 million in a big data and surveillance projects for the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission.

Labor announces plan to boost innovation role of regional Australia

3
Labor has announced that, if re-elected, it will offer new guidance to innovation and entrepreneurship advocacy group StartupAUS to help boost the role of regional Australia in the nation’s innovation effort.

Ziggy was forced to respond to false accusations, says NBN Co

37
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.

Shorten accuses NBN Co of “cover-up” to protect Turnbull

21
Bill Shorten this afternoon accused the NBN company of engaging in a conspiracy to "cover up" Malcolm Turnbull's "incompetence" and its own "maladministration" of the NBN project, following news that NBN chair Ziggy Switkowski deliberately took a politically partisan position during the election campaign.

Ziggy deliberately breached Caretaker Conventions

54
NBN chairman Ziggy Switkowski wilfully and deliberately breached the Caretaker Conventions, ignoring official advice and publishing an inflammatory article defending the NBN during the Election Campaign, according to an investigation by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Union slams job ads seeking Irish workers for NBN

15
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has strongly criticised employment advertisements for "copper jointers & copper gurus" that aim to bring individuals from Ireland to work on the NBN rollout.

Devil’s Advocate: The gaping holes in Labor’s new NBN policy

166
Labor's new National Broadband Network policy appears to be a pitch perfect plan for Australia's future broadband needs. But what if it's not?

How do Labor and the Coalition differ on NBN policy?

65
The NBN has been a key issue in the past two elections, so will Labor’s new policy be a vote winner? The policy to move back to FTTP provides a clear differentiation from the Coalition’s FTTN-centric strategy.

Coalition dumps satellite for FTTN NBN for Tasmania’s west coast

50
In a change from its previous commitment, the Coalition Government has announced that it will abandon the satellite broadband rollout on the west coast of Tasmania and instead deploy fibre to the node (FTTN) via the NBN.

Greens make innovation key policy of election campaign

8
The Australian Greens party has announced it will make innovation a key policy of their campaign in the upcoming Federal Election, aiming to "reverse the government’s anti-innovative and climate-destroying policies".

Fifield attacks Labor NBN “deceit” in record short press conference

174
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield this afternoon attacked what he said was the "deceit" inherent in Labor's new National Broadband Network policy, in a brief press conference in Melbourne which appeared to last less than ten minutes.

Yes, Labor still wants to upgrade HFC to FTTP

89
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.

Truth: Labor’s new NBN plan is pitch perfect

77
Labor's new NBN vision is a comprehensive, well-thought out policy with no downsides, based solidly on comprehensive research and supported by a huge amount of detail.

New policy: Labor would dump FTTN for FTTP, keep HFC

146
The Opposition today released a new National Broadband Network policy for the Federal Election, with Labor committing to dumping the Coalition's Fibre to the Node plans and supporting Fibre to the Premises instead, but keeping the other HFC cable, satellite and wireless aspects of the current plan.

Digital Rights Watch calls for fair use, end of Internet censorship

1
Advocacy group Digital Rights Watch has called for the introduction of fair use legislation and the cessation of Internet censorship as the Productivity Commission prepares to undertake a 12-month public inquiry into Australia’s intellectual property system.

ATO finally ditches e-tax system for MyTax portal

13
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced that its legacy online tax return service e-tax is being retired, with the MyTax portal to take its place going forward.

Photos: NBN Co builds node on flooded riverbank

130
The NBN company has deployed a Fibre to the Node cabinet on the banks of the Tamar River in Tasmania, Delimiter can reveal, ignoring advice from local residents that the infrastructure would be sure to be breached by water during periods of excess rain.

Photos: Nodes Behaving Badly (when FTTN placement goes wrong)

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Today, Delimiter is proud to present a photo gallery entitled Nodes Behaving Badly, in which we highlight some of the worst Fibre to the Node infrastructure placement that Australia has to offer.

Fact check: Joyce perpetuates false NBN myths on Q&A

176
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce appears to have perpetuated a number of common misconceptions about the National Broadband Network in his appearance this week on the ABC's Q&A program, including its cost, demand for high-speed broadband and its time to be deployed.

Will Australia’s digital divide – fast for the city, slow in the country –...

16
As the Productivity Commission grapples with the question of what the USO should look like in 2016 it will really need to consider what it should look like in a decade or two. This question will challenge the Commission’s rationalist economic predilections.

Election: Pirate Party vows to “fight tirelessly” for a free Internet

1
Pirate Party Australia has announced that digital rights will be central to its 2016 Federal Election campaign and that it will to "fight tirelessly" for a free Internet.

FTTN still causing massive outages in Newcastle, says Labor

81
The Coalition's Fibre to the Node technology is still causing substantial problems for the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Labor said today, with issues such as speeds slower than ADSL and substantial outages, even for residents who are not yet connected to the NBN.

Comms Minister skips Internet Australia meeting in home town

45
Internet Australia, the peak body representing Internet users, has expressed its disappointment that Communications Minister Mitch Fifield "missed an opportunity" to meet with his local digital and ICT community last week.

NBN statement not Coalition’s final NBN policy

188
The Coalition has confirmed that a statement issued late last week does not constitute its final National Broadband Network policy for the Federal Election, hosing down speculation that it was the last it would have to say on the matter ahead of the Election in July.

ACT Govt launches review into civil surveillance

1
The ACT government has announced a review of the use and conduct of civil surveillance in the territory that could lead to Australia’s first law to allow victims to sue over privacy intrusions.

NBN launches first FTTN connections in Victoria

147
The NBN's first fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services have launched in Victoria, bringing upgraded internet services to thousands more homes and businesses in the state.

Pyne’s comments on fast Internet “just wrong”, says SAGE-AU

176
IT professionals advocacy group SAGE-AU has criticised recent comments by Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Christopher Pyne that suggested Australians do not need fast Internet.

StartupAUS says Turnbull’s funding pledge welcome but “modest”

3
Not-for-profit advocacy group StartupAUS has said that, while the Coalition Government's pledge to provide a further $15 million for the startup sector is good news, the funding would be "far from sufficient".

Labor accuses Coalition of copying policy on startup accelerators

4
The Labor Opposition has hit out at the Coalition Government, accusing it of "mimicking" its own policies on startup assistance.

Coalition pledges to expand startup incubator support

2
The Coalition Government has pledged to invest an extra $15 million into boosting Australia’s startup scene if it is re-elected in July.

Labor to take NBN beyond the node, but ignores HFC

167
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten today said Labor wasn't satisfied with the Coalition's Fibre to the Node technology for the National Broadband Network, but stopped short of commenting on Labor's plans for the up to a third of the NBN that will be covered by HFC cable technology.

NBN Co’s MTM choices “prudent and efficient”, finds Analysys Mason

110
Analyst firm Analysys Mason has found in a detailed report commissioned by the NBN company that the NBN company's initial design for its Fibre to the Node, Basement and HFC cable networks is "prudent and efficient".

Telstra Health will hold Australians’ cancer details, so we need to ensure their privacy...

9
Clearly, the cancer screening registry contract is only the first of the potential outsourcing of health programs. It creates a precedent that needs to be right.

Paying a high price for embarrassing the government

5
This article is by Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne. It originally appeared on The Conversation....

Election FactCheck Q&A: has the NBN been delayed?

56
Christopher Pyne’s assertion that there have been “no delays” in the implementation of the NBN is inaccurate.

Mike Quigley to join NBN election debate

141
The founding chief executive of the NBN company, Mike Quigley will publicly discuss the history of the National Broadband Network as well as the various options for its future, in a major speech to be held just over a week before this year's Federal Election on 2 July.

Labor files formal complaint alleging NBN breach of Caretaker Conventions

47
The Opposition has reported filed a formal complaint with the Secretary of Malcolm Turnbull's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet over what it said was a "clear breach" by the NBN company of the Caretaker Conventions which require it to remain impartial during the election period.

NBN leakers are ‘thieves’, not whistleblowers, says Ziggy

35
NBN chair Ziggy Switkowski has made an extraordinary intervention into the Federal Election campaign, defending the NBN company's record under the Coalition and claiming insiders who have leaked senstive information of being politically motivated thieves and not whistleblowers.

Union slams Telstra health records deal

6
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has criticised the Coalition Government for its decision to put a private company in charge of the management of confidential and highly sensitive health records for thousands of Australians.

Labor raises “glaring omissions” in mobile blackspot funding

15
The Labor opposition has said that, while it supports the Government's pledge to add a further $60 million to the Mobile Black Spot Programme if reelected, allocation of funding across Australia is missing out areas that need it most.

Herald Sun columnist McCrann gets key facts wrong in NBN attack

146
Herald Sun columnist Terry McCrann has published an article praising Malcolm Turnbull's stewardship of the NBN project as his "greatest and unqualified achievement in Government", but has based his argument on a number of inaccurate statements regarding the project.

NBN reaches 1 million customer milestone

77
The Government has announced that the National Broadband Network (NBN) has now passed the 1 million customer mark.

NT Govt commits $186m to e-health record system

0
The Northern Territory has announced plans to spend $186 million on a jurisdiction-wide, integrated electronic health record system.

Coalition makes $60m election promise to fix mobile blackspots

6
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.

“Hypocrisy”: AFR launches bizarre attack on Labor over NBN raids

115
Conservative newspaper The Australian Financial Review has launched an extraordinary election attack on Labor over police raids of Labor premises, slamming the Opposition for what the AFR claimed was an irresponsible NBN policy based on the idea that "people would think fast internet was cool".

Fact check: Pyne misleads Q&A audience on key NBN facts

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Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Christopher Pyne appears to have inadvertently misled the ABC's Q&A program about key facts regarding the National Broadband Network project, repeating a set of common misconceptions about the initiative on air last night.

Labor staffer could be jailed merely for receiving NBN docs

33
The Australian Federal Police has alleged there are reasonable grounds to suspect the Opposition broke the Official Secrets provisions of the Crimes Act, with a penalty of up to two years' jail, for merely receiving internal documents belonging to the NBN company.

Pirate Party announces election candidates

4
The Pirate Party has announced its candidates for the 2016 Federal Election, following a pre-selection process.

Defence kicks off SAP-based ‘largest’ ERP project in Australia’s public sector

8
The Department of Defence has officially kicked off what it describes as the "largest ERP program implementation of its kind in Australian Government", in a SAP-based initiative that will see several thousand business applications consolidated down sharply.

IPA publishes anti-Labor NBN attack riddled with grievous errors

209
Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has published an article strongly attacking Labor's NBN project as "the worst conceived infrastructure project in Federal history", but has included a number of popular misconceptions and outright errors regarding the project in its article.

Turnbull tried to kick Conroy off NBN Committee, says Palmer

12
Clive Palmer claimed over the weekend that in 2014, Malcolm Turnbull tried to use the Palmer United Party's votes in the Senate to get former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy removed from the Senate Select Committee into the NBN, replacing it with a joint committee.

They served the public interest

166
I have one message to the NBN whistleblowers: You're not alone. We're with you. I, many Delimiter readers, many of your fellow NBN employees (past and present) and many Australians in general, are with you. Because you have honour. You have integrity. In a time of great darkness, you stood up for what was right and good. So remember this, and stay strong. Hold your head up high.

Fifield knew about AFP NBN investigation from the start

14
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield today admitted he was told about the Australian Federal Police investigation launched in December into leaks from the NBN company, in a admission which directly contradicts a statement by the AFP Commissioner yesterday that the Government did not know of the investigation.

NBN raids paint us as “Asian democratic backwater”, says Assange

23
The Australian Federal Police's NBN raids last night on Labor MPs and their staffers must not be tolerated and make Australia look like it has become an "Asian democratic backwater", WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in a statement this afternoon.

NBN raids an “attack on press freedom”, says media union

53
Australia's peak media union has described last night's Australian Federal Police raids as an "attack on press freedom", stating that the action by the NBN company and law enforcement represented a "disturbing new twist in pursuit of whistleblowers and legitimate public interest journalism".

Angry Shorten says public has a “right to know” the NBN truth

54
An angry Bill Shorten has blasted Malcolm Turnbull for what he said was the Prime Minister's attempts to stop the public from knowing the "truth" about the National Broadband Network, which the Opposition Leader said had become a "national disgrace" under Turnbull's watch.

“No influence”: AFP denies NBN raids politically motivated

35
The Australian Federal Police today said there had been zero political influence on the seven month investigation into damaging leaks from the NBN company which yesterday culminated in raids on Labor Party offices, with the Government itself only being told about the investigation yesterday.

Greens announce solar battery funding plan for Sunshine Coast

1
The Australian Greens have announced a plan aimed to assist solar-powered households on Queensland's Sunshine Coast with the costs of installing battery storage, and encourage a shift towards "clean energy".

Delimiter named in AFP search warrant for NBN leaks

54
Delimiter has reportedly been named in a search warrant issued by the Australian Federal Police authorising raids on a number of premises to seek documents related to a spate of damaging leaks which have come from within the NBN company over the past year.

NBN leaks: AFP raids Conroy’s office, Labor staffers’ houses

65
Australian Federal Police officers have raided the Melbourne office of former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and the houses of two Labor staffers seeking to ascertain the identity of whistleblowers who have leaked a series of key documents from within the NBN company.

“Spectacularly incompetent”: Govt slams Labor NBN funding model

42
Senior Government Minister Paul Fletcher has taken a pickaxe to Labor's previous funding model for the National Broadband Network, describing it as "spectacularly incompetent", despite the fact that the Coalition itself admitted during the recent Budget that it had its own NBN funding black hole.

Govt to fund innovation policy research through StartupAUS

1
The Federal Government has announced that it will fund research on entrepreneurship and innovation by not-for-profit organisation StartupAUS.

Greens announce policy to boost electric car uptake

10
The Australian Greens have launched a plan to encourage the rollout of electric vehicles and move away from "old dirty power sources".

“Great news”: Fifield launches FTTN near Ballarat

67
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has announced the launch of Fibre to the Node services this week in regional Victoria, describing the move as "great news" for local residents.

“Incredible” interest in NBN election issue, says Plibersek

133
Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek this week said she had seen "incredible" interest in the National Broadband Network issue as she travelled around Australia on the election campaign trail, delivering Labor's message that Malcolm Turnbull had "dropped the ball" on the project.

Major tech firms, Australian startups back new innovation organisation TechSydney

2
A group of local startups and global tech giants, including Atlassian, Airbnb and LinkedIn, have offered support for a new not-for-profit organisation that aims to "turn Sydney into Australia’s Silicon Valley".

Vodafone urges voters to appeal for more mobile black spot funding

6
In a new campaign, Vodafone is calling on voters in regional seats to use social media to raise the "urgent need" for more funding for mobile black spots with their federal representatives and candidates ahead of the coming 2 July election.

‘No gigabit speed demand’: The Australian continues NBN election attack

119
Murdoch-owned newspaper The Australian has published another pre-emptive article attacking Labor's unreleased National Broadband Network policy, this time focusing around what the outlet intimated was a complete lack of demand for high-speed 1Gbps broadband services in Australia.

“Fantasy fibre”: Coalition explicitly rejects NBN FTTdp model

57
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has broken cover to openly slam a Fibre to the Distribution Point (FTTdp) model for the National Broadband Network, in the first explicit sign that the Coalition will not substantially modify its NBN model for the Federal Election.

Victorian Govt outlines new IT strategy

0
The Victorian Government has launched a new four-year strategy aimed to harness new digital technologies to "deliver modern services for the community".

Get your face onto NBN Co’s second satellite

14
To raise awareness of the launch of NBN Co’s second satellite, Sky Muster II, the company has announced it will give Australians the chance to "blast their face into space".

The Australian newspaper launches election attack on Labor’s NBN

191
Murdoch-owned newspaper The Australian has published a pre-emptive article strongly attacking Labor's new National Broadband Network policy, but without including any new information and despite the fact that the policy itself has yet to be released.

Research suggests site blocking effective against piracy

8
New research based on data from the UK has suggested that site blocking is effective against online piracy of digital content.

“$40bn waste”: Coalition kicks off NBN smear campaign

81
The Coalition appears to have kicked off a campaign designed to discredit Labor's management of the National Broadband Network project, with at least one Liberal MP relying on party-supplied material to claim that "$40 billion was wasted" during its early days.

NBN a “key election issue”, Labor policy coming soon, says Shorten

37
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has labelled the National Broadband Network a "key issue" for this year's Federal Election, stating that Labor would launch its new NBN policy "in coming weeks" to tackle what he said was mismanagement of the project by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Australia not ready for driverless cars, says National Transport Commission

6
The National Transport Commission has released a discussion paper that cites a number of barriers to increased vehicle automation and concludes that Australia is not yet ready for driverless cars.

More accessible content won’t stop piracy, says content industry

48
Creative Content Australia – a film and TV industry advocacy group – has aired concerns over a new draft report from the Productivity Commission that suggests making content more accessible will reduce online piracy.

Parties should stop “squabbling” over NBN, says Internet Australia

102
Internet Australia, the peak body representing Internet users, has repeated its call for the National Broadband Network to be removed from the political debate.

Accenture to develop Ipswich smart city strategy

1
The Ipswitch City Council has selected IT integrator and consultancy Accenture to progress what it has dubbed its 'Smart City' Transformation Strategy and Implementation Plan, as the Queensland City seeks to take the next step in its own development.

NBN Co suspends Tasmanian satellite rollout amid political brawl

27
The NBN company has called a halt to its controversial plans to deploy satellite access to a number of towns on the west coast of Tasmania until the various sides of politics resolve what the company sees as a funding black hole for the region.

NBN cost blow-outs Turnbull’s fault, says Labor

124
The Opposition has turned allegations of cost blowouts in the National Broadband Network project back on the Government, stating that the project's continually falling financial return problem should be laid at Malcolm Turnbull's door for his controversial Multi-Technology Mix.

FTTP NBN would cost $8.5bn more, claim ‘leaked’ Govt docs

55
A switch back to an all-fibre National Broadband Network would reportedly cost the Federal Government an extra $8.5 billion and potentially cause a wider Federal Budget black hole, according to a new set of documents which appear to have been leaked to the media late last week.

It’s time to future-proof Australia’s copyright laws for the 21st century

4
The proposed reforms will enhance consumer rights, competition policy, access to knowledge and Australia’s ambitious National Innovation and Science Agenda and “ideas boom”.

The Inside Track: The Coalition is strongly hinting it won’t support a FTTdp NBN

22
Fifield and Turnbull are clearly aware that Labor is likely to announce a FTTdp-based NBN policy in the near future. What we are very likely seeing here is the advance start of an effort by the Coalition to lay the groundwork for a strategy of disparaging a FTTdp-based NBN policy issued by Labor.

NBN to hold HFC launch days before Election

91
The NBN company has revealed plans to hold a product launch just days before the upcoming Federal Election, in a move which has the potential to be interpreted as a breach of the Caretaker Conventions that govern the pre-election behaviour of public sector organisations.

NSW Govt launches 10 year eHealth strategy

1
The New South Wales Government has launched a 10-year eHealth strategy, saying it will bring "smart, safe, sustainable and digitally-enabled care" to patients.

MyNetFone says Budget missed chance to fix NBN pricing mess

14
MNF Group, the Australian provider of hosted voice and data communications services and parent company of MyNetFone, has said it is "disappointed" that Tuesday's Federal Budget did not write off some of the costs of building the NBN network.

Privacy Foundation questions Govt’s e-health record motives

2
The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) has said it is "concerned" about the Government's eHealth plans for patients' information.

Budget 2016: Shorten promises Australia a “first-rate Fibre NBN”

142
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten this evening promised Labor would deliver Australians a "first-rate Fibre National Broadband Network" if his party wins the upcoming Federal Election, but stopped short of confirming that that network would consist of a full Fibre to the Premises rollout.

Telstra, NBN offshoring copper support to India

44
The NBN company and its partner Telstra appear to be offshoring support for Telstra's ageing copper network to India, with consultants in that country to be responsible for ensuring that broadband users can receive acceptable services over the copper that facilitates the Fibre to the Node model.

Govt doesn’t yet know how to fix NBN funding blackhole

32
The Federal Government this morning was forced to admit it did not yet know how the NBN company would fund the remainder of its rollout and operations through to 2020, with public sector funding drying up and an unclear situation with relation to the NBN company's ability to borrow money privately.

Budget 2016: Australian Computer Society welcomes digital Budget

4
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has welcomed Tuesday's Federal Budget announcement, saying it delivers "good news for jobs and skills in the digital sector".

Senate passes tax breaks measures for startups

4
The Senate has passed two new initiatives that are aimed to boost investment in Australian startups.

Budget 2016: StartupAUS says it’s a “disappointment”

2
StartupAUS, an advocacy group, has cautiously welcomed some announcements made in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget, but said that overall it was a "disappointment for startups".

Budget 2016: NEC to deploy CrimTrac’s new biometrics platform

0
NEC Australia has been awarded the contract to deliver CrimTrac’s "next generation" biometrics crime-fighting tool, the Government has announced.

Truth: Turnbull’s MTM decision is coming home to roost … financially

24
This is the unfortunate logical consequence of abandoning a model which had provided well-defined certainty and benefits for all concerned.

Budget 2016: Govt establishes joint taskforce to fix myGov

5
The Government has established a joint taskforce to remediate its troubled myGov digital identity and verification platform, bringing in experts from a number of government departments and throwing $50.5 million at the project.

Budget 2016: Major Child Care, Veterans’ IT reform projects approved

2
The Federal Government has approved several hundred million dollars' worth of funding to reform key IT platforms in the Department of Human Services and Veterans' Affairs, in moves that will unlock substantial IT transformation packages of work.

Budget 2016: Govt finally provides funding for OAIC

5
The Government today revealed it had decided to abandon its approach of dismantling the Office of the Information Commissioner and would provide total funding of $37 million over four years to retain its Freedom of Information and privacy functions, although it will pull a sizable chunk of funding from the Australian Human Rights Commission to do so.

Budget 2016: The Govt is kind of obsessed with FinTech

6
The Government has continued its ongoing focus on boosting Australia's growing financial technology (FinTech) sector in this year's Federal Budget, announcing a range of initiatives to bolster the area.

Budget 2016: Major Police IT projects win funding

3
Commonwealth law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Federal Police and Crimtrac have won big in this year's Federal Budget in terms of their IT infrastructure programs, with the Government greenlighting a series of major initiatives.

Budget 2016: Tech giants in trouble as tax avoidance ramps up

9
Companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft who have been transferring billions of dollars of Australian revenue offshore are set to come under renewed attack from the Federal Government, with a raft of anti-avoidance measures announced in this year's Federal Budget.

Budget 2016: NBN Co is running out of money

159
The Federal Government has revealed that it has put together a special taskforce to determine how to fund its modified rollout of the National Broadband Network, with the project's costs ballooning and the public purse running dry of funds to support it.

Australia not on Internet piracy watchlist, says Internet Australia

7
Advocacy group Internet Australia has said that despite the "huffing and puffing" from Australia-based representatives of overseas content rights holders, Australia is not on the US Government’s official content piracy watchlist.

Libraries, education sector, tech giants welcome proposed copyright reforms

5
The Australian Digital Alliance (ADA) has issued a statement welcoming the Productivity Commission’s "sensible and much needed" proposals for changes to Australia’s copyright law.

Geoblocking content must end, demands Choice

13
Consumer advocacy group Choice has backed recommendations by the Productivity Commission to make copyright more consumer friendly and called for an end to geoblocking of Internet content.

How high-speed wireless compares to cable in boosting our internet speeds

11
What’s needed is bipartisan commitment to accelerating NBN deployment along with modernising the infrastructure in the core network that will have to support increased access to broadband.

Productivity Commission IP reform recommendations likely to be lost in election haze

2
The Commission’s recommendations as a whole are thus very unlikely to be embraced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, by his colleagues or by Bill Shorten. The Commission states that “Australia’s intellectual property system has lost sight of users”. We should ensure that the Government does not lose sight of the report.

LNP, Labor, Greens agree: Govt should support video game devs

8
Australia's three major sides of political have achieved a rare unified agreement that the Federal Government should take a wide range of measures to directly support the growth of Australia's video gaming development industry, in a move which would dovetail with Malcolm Turnbull's innovation agenda.

Worst of the worst: Send us all your FTTN node photos

77
Right around Australia, right now, the NBN company and its contractor are deploying thousands upon thousands of brand Fibre to the Node cabinets and micronodes. But sometimes it stuffs up and places them in terrible locations. So send us all your node photos and we'll publish the "worst of the worst".

Photos: NBN Co leaves FTTN ‘micronode’ completely open to public access

82
The rollout of the Coalition's preferred Fibre to the Node technology has suffered another setback, with the revelation that the NBN company is leaving 'micronode' infrastructure completely open to public access, in a substantial security breach.

Productivity Commission to conduct USO inquiry

21
The Federal Government has asked the Productivity Commission to conduct an inquiry into the telecoms industry's Universal Service Obligation (USO) that will examine the "role and relevance" of the arrangements in today's "evolving market".

NBN Sky Muster broadband will be “world leading”, says Ovum report

12
Telecoms research firm Ovum has announced that the NBN Sky Muster satellite broadband service will be a "world leader" in its market.

The Inside Track: Behind the scenes of NBN Co’s Fibre on Demand program

13
So what's going on with the Technology Choice program? Is it still viable? Why are so few premises being connected? We'll try to present some answers to these questions in this article.

Truth: Tassie FTTP pledge raises questions about Labor’s broader NBN policy

18
The truth is that Labor's announcement -- as positive as it sounds -- actually raises more questions for the rest of the nation than it answers for the tiny area of Tasmania it covers.

Tasmania can pay for its own FTTP NBN, says Fifield

47
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield yesterday issued a statement stating the broadband situation on the West Coast of Tasmania was already being handled through the NBN company's Technology Choice policy, which allows for Australians to pay for their own NBN upgrade.

Labor’s Tasmanian FTTP plans a “sick hoax”, says Liberal MP

138
Tasmanian Liberal MP Brett Whiteley has labelled an election commitment unveiled yesterday by Labor to bring Fibre to the Premises to his electorate in Tasmania's West Coast as a "sick hoax" that was "uncosted" and "unfunded".

Fixing the hole: Labor pledges FTTP for Tasmanian West Coast

54
The Opposition today promised to deliver Fibre to the Premises to most of the West Coast of Tasmania if it wins the upcoming Federal Election, in a move squarely aimed at resolving the complaints of residents and businesses in the area over being relegated to satellite broadband access under the Coalition.

Truth: Expect a post-election Australian anti-encryption bill

12
The Federal Government is clearly right now engaged in the early stages of seeding the Australian public with the idea that tough new anti-encryption laws are something we need to stop terrorists.

Turnbull NBN advisor leaves key facts out of MTM defence

140
An influential advisor to Malcolm Turnbull has published a spirited defence of the Coalition's controversial Multi-Technology Mix approach to the NBN, but without including key facts which show a stark difference between the MTM model and similar policies in comparable countries.

“No public interest”: NBN obstructs release of board minutes

61
The NBN company has refused to reduce hefty Freedom of Information charges for the release of minutes of its board meetings, claiming there is “no general public interest” in the documents being released.

Govt’s MyHealth Record scheme a “privacy disaster”, warns Privacy Foundation

0
The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) has warned that the Federal Government’s 
MyHealth Record system is a "privacy disaster waiting to happen".

Turnbull opens “cutting-edge” UNSW quantum computing lab

3
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has officially opened a new "cutting-edge" quantum computing lab at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), airing the hope that it could ultimately lead to a commercial, "super-powerful" quantum computer.

First NBN FTTN services switched on in South Australia

17
Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has jointly announced that the first NBN fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services have been switched-on in South Australia.

iiNet founder Malone joins NBN board as Hackett leaves

34
The Federal Government has appointed iiNet founder to the board of the NBN company as a non-executive director, replacing Internode founder Simon Hackett, with the change to commence immediately.

Individuals not the priority in the Cyber Security Strategy

3
The Cyber Security Strategy announced today by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull clearly places a high priority on protecting Australian government systems from foreign powers. But when it comes to protecting citizens' personal information, it appears to be rather a mixed bag.

The Cyber Security Strategy is only a small step in the right direction

1
Our reliance on technology is now a given and cybersecurity is as important a consideration as protecting our health, food and water sources and general environment. From that perspective, the cybersecurity strategy is a welcome but very small step in the right direction.

Labor slams Govt over personal data breach notifications

6
The Labor opposition has strongly criticised the federal government over its failure to pass legislation on personal data breach notifications, saying Australians currently have no recourse if their data is hacked.

Turnbull warns of growing cyber aggression

36
Australian public and private sector organisations and individuals are facing malicious cyber activity that is unprecedented in scale and reach, Malcolm Turnbull warns in the government’s new cyber security strategy, launched on Thursday.

Govt pays $280k to bring startup accelerator to Australia

2
The Federal Government has splashed out $280,000 to bring one of the world’s top startup accelerators to Australia in a bid to help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

NBN Co urges Tasmanians to subscribe to “surging” fixed wireless service

57
The NBN company this week said that its fixed wireless technology was "surging" in Tasmania, bringing fast Internet to many remote rural and regional communities, yet people may not know of its availability.

Music industry moves to block KickassTorrents over piracy concerns

14
Members of Australia's music industry have teamed up to block peer-to-peer file-sharing site KickassTorrents over piracy concerns.

NSW announces Opal app top ups, credit card “tap in” trial

4
The NSW Government has announced that customers using its Opal smartcard ticketing system for public transport services can now top up via its "new and improved" Opal Travel app. Also announced were 2017 trials of a scheme that would allow commuters to tap "contactless" credit and debit cards as an alternative to the Opal card.

NSW Govt launches inquiry into driverless cars

6
The NSW Government's Staysafe Committee has launched an inquiry into driverless vehicles and their potential impact on road safety in the state.

Further details emerge about NBN Katoomba fatality

13
A raft of further details have emerged about the second National Broadband Network-related fatality to take place in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba earlier this month, including photos of the location where the tragic accident took place, as well as some of the circumstances involved.

WA FTTN launch marred as NBN leaves ‘node’ open to the elements

146
The official launch of the Coalition’s preferred Fibre to the Node technology in Western Australia last week appears to have suffered a minor setback, with one of the NBN company’s neighbourhood ‘nodes’ appearing to have been left with its door open, endangering the provision of broadband in its area.

Australian Privacy Foundation slams “Orwellian” census data retention

33
The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) has strongly criticised what it calls the "Orwellian" storage of census data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

“Fibre witch-hunt”: Budde says MTM defenders getting “desperate”

205
Independent telecommunications consultant Paul Budde has said that defenders of multi-technology mix (MTM) are getting "more and more desperate" in their defence of the fibre to the node (FTTN) model used for the NBN.

Telcos still waiting on Data Retention funding, one year after bill passes

1
Communications Alliance, Australia's primary telecommunications industry body, has criticised delays over funding for telcos following the Federal Government’s mandatory data retention legislation a year ago.

Labor needs “a good explanation” to change NBN, says Morrow

221
The chief executive of the NBN company has made an extraordinary intervention into the pre-election national political debate over the National Broadband Network, warning Labor that it would need "a good explanation" to change the NBN model imposed by the Coalition.

Truth: The MTM NBN could have been so much better

28
Everyone knows that Malcolm Turnbull's Multi-Technology Mess is an absolute dog of a model for the NBN. But every dog has its day, and the truth is that even the MTM could have been implemented so much better than it has been.

ACCC raises competition concerns over NBN’s Telstra HFC deal

14
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has expressed concerns around Telstra’s involvement in the rollout of the NBN network, saying it poses a threat to competition.

Truth: We’re building an NBN that only a mother could love

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The reality that is becoming increasingly apparent is that the MTM – or, more specifically, its emphasis on trying to breathe life into a dog's breakfast of creaking old and unproven new technologies – is going to cost nearly as much as the original FTTP plan and do nothing at all to improve Australia's broadband to anything that can be called remotely 'world-class'.

NBN pays Telstra $1.6bn to extend HFC cable network

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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.

Shorten confirms Labor will shift to a “hybrid” NBN policy

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news Bill Shorten appears to have confirmed Labor will retain elements of the Coalition's controversial Multi-Technology Mix policy if it won power in the...

Home truths: Baxter points out how ridiculous NBN speed tiers truly are

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One of Australia's most successful and experienced technology entrepreneurs has published an extraordinary analysis of the NBN company's technical model, highlighting the sheer stupidity of speed tiers on a fiber network which offers essentially unlimited speeds, as well as a wide range of other obvious problems.

“Extraordinary innovation” happening in copper broadband, says Nokia chief

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A senior Nokia executive this week said that "extraordinary innovation" is happening in copper broadband technology, in comments that will likely boost the case for the Government's mixed technology policy on the NBN.

Early customers say Sky Muster NBN satellite delivers “outstanding” broadband

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The new Sky Muster NBN satellite service has received positive reviews from early customers, who said performance is "outstanding", according to Activ8me, an official NBN provider.

“Mongrel network”: Waleed Aly consigns Turnbull’s MTM NBN to the trash

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The outspoken host of Ten TV show The Project has taken a pickaxe to the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix approach to the NBN, consigning the model to the rubbish box in a lengthy segment which also included appearances by founding NBN chief executive Mike Quigley.

Call to arms: Budde says FTTdp NBN needs our support

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Independent telecommunications consultant Paul Budde has called for Australians to do more to ensure the rollout a "future-proof" NBN that includes a full-fibre network (including FTTdp) rather than the fibre and copper mix that is currently being promoted by government.

Prysmian developing new cable tech for NBN

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Prysmian, a manufacturer of telecommunications cables and systems, is developing new fibre optic cable that will become part of the "multi-technology mix" of the National Broadband Network, the government has announced.

Labor slams Turnbull’s record on tackling multinational tax avoidance

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Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh has slammed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's record on tackling multinational tax avoidance, following a massive leak of documents from a Panamanian legal firm.

Fifield keeps pressure on Labor for ‘lack of NBN policy’

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Mitch Fifeld, Minister for Communications, has once again hit out at Labor over what he called its lack of policy on the NBN and the technology that best supports it.

Wishful thinking? NBN CEO says HFC will do 30Gbps, FTTN 5Gbps

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The chief executive of the NBN company this morning claimed the top-end speeds for the company's HFC cable network could be as high as 30Gbps and that its Fibre to the Node network could do 5Gbps, but without providing any evidence as to why this would be the case.

The Inside Track: New CVC model is NBN’s attempt to fix congestion issues

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The new CVC pricing model announced by the NBN company this morning is at least partially an attempt to fix the peak hour congestion issues being experienced by early Fibre to the Node users. But only time will tell whether the attempt will succeed.

DTO broadens consultation as GOV.AU problems bite

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The Federal Government's Digital Transformation Office has broadened its consultation process around the prototype of its centralised GOV.AU platform, as concerns continue to circulate within the public sector that the model has substantial problems.

NBN finally overhauls damaged CVC pricing model

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The NBN company has finally overhauled its controversial 'Connectivity Virtual Circuit' (CVC) pricing model in an attempt to unlock further uptake of its infrastructure and reward retail Internet service providers who provide adequate broadband capacity to their customers.

Labor will dump FTTP NBN policy, says Fifield

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Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has hit out at Labor's stance on the NBN's underlying technology, saying the opposition party could to be preparing to abandon its position on fibre to the premises (FTTP).

ISP and content industries ask Govt to place piracy code on ice

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Remember that pesky Internet piracy industry code? The one that Attorney-General George Brandis and then-Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull asked the ISP and content industries to develop, on pain of having one developed for them? Well, it appears as though the code has more or less been permanently shelved at this point.

Australia’s broadband ranking dive shows MTM right for NBN, says Fifield

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A recent Akamai report showing that Australia has taken a deep slide downwards in global broadband rankings represents evidence that the Coalition's controversial Multi-Technology Mix approach is right for the National Broadband Network, Comms Minister Mitch Fifield said today.

New leaked docs appear to show further FTTN delays

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The Coalition's controversial Multi-Technology Mix approach to the NBN has taken another body blow, with a fresh set of leaked documents from inside the NBN company reportedly showing that its Fibre to the Node rollout is comprehensively missing its targets.

Data retention secrecy: AFP unable to disclose journo, MP metadata requests

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The Australian Federal Police has refused to answer questions from a Federal Senator about whether it has recently accessed the metadata of journalists, politicians or political staffers, on the basis that doing so would be illegal under new Data Retention legislation.

CASA cuts red tape for drone operators

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The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has announced that regulatory requirements for operators of remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, are to be relaxed later this year.

NBN election: Labor polling voters on Coalition’s NBN performance

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The Australian Labor Party has started directly calling voters to ask whether the Abbott/Turnbull Government's handling of the National Broadband Network will influence how they vote at the upcoming Federal Election, in a sign Labor sees it as a key election issue.

‘Open letter’ galvanises marketing sector into NBN action

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An 'open letter' from a senior figure in Australia's marketing and advertising sector calling for action to address the Coalition's "sub-standard" National Broadband Network has generated an instant and strong response from other high-profile industry figures.

AT&T, Google launch new 1Gbps FTTP networks in US

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US technology giants AT&T and Google this week launched new Fibre to the Premises networks in several US cities, with the flagship feature of the networks being their ability to offer gigabit speeds (1Gbps) to residents and businesses in the areas they cover.

Insight: Morrow is misleading us about America’s gigabit FTTP appetite

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The evidence indicates that NBN chief executive Bill Morrow is likely deliberately attempting to deceive the Australian public about America's appetite for high-speed fibre broadband.

“No debate”: Australia needs “gigabit” fibre, says Atlassian co-founder

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Billionaire software mogul Mike Cannon-Brookes last night stated that there was "no debate" about Australia's need for "gigabit fiber", in comments that come in direct contrast to controversial statements made on the topic last week by the chief executive of the National Broadband Network.

Q&A panellists agree: Politicians have completely screwed up the NBN

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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.

Industry group slams mandatory data breach bill

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The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has hit out at the government's mandatory data breach bill, airing concerns over its implementation and saying it will bring an "unreasonable" burden for businesses.

Queensland will be first to get NBN HFC cable, says Fifield

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Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has announced that residents in Queensland will be the first to experience the NBN's "superfast" HFC cable broadband service when the network goes live in June.

BT follows NBN with ‘skinny’ fibre trials in UK

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British telco BT has reportedly followed the NBN company in Australia and conducted trials of so-called 'skinny' fibre technology that could allow the telco to substantially cut the cost of deploying fibre throughout its network.

As NBN visits, Verizon insists FTTP is “superior” to HFC

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One of the US telcos visited by the NBN management this month, Verizon, has deployed a new advertising campaign with the aim of 'making it clear' to Americans that "there is a difference" between the dominant HFC cable broadband service and Verizon's own "superior" FTTP-based 'Fios' offering.

Australia in huge slip down global broadband rankings

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Australia has taken a substantial leap down the table of countries globally with good broadband, with the nation's poor average peak connection speeds seeing it slip 14 spots in just the past six months by one measurement, and other benchmarks also slipping slightly.

Truth: Google Fiber shows how great a FTTP NBN could be

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Labor's original version of the NBN would have delivered the broadband capability which the global technology industry agrees will be needed for the future. It would have done so in the public interest, with the aim of delivering nation-building infrastructure, and it would have done so using a unified technology platform: The best technology platform.

Labor calls on Govt to bring forward tax incentives for investors

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Labor has called on the government to bring forward the start date of its tax incentives for investors over its concerns about an "investor strike" affecting Australian startups.

Budde says Turnbull may announce FTTdp as NBN election policy

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Veteran telco analyst Paul Budde this week said it was his view that the speed and cost advantages of the NBN's new Fibre to the Distribution Point (FTTdp) model might lead Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to announce it as the Coalition's new NBN policy ahead of this year's Federal Election.

ACCC green-lights ihail taxi booking app

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given its approval for a new taxi app called ihail, a joint venture between taxi networks and other participants that the industry hopes will allow it to fight back against ride-sharing services like Uber.

Google Fiber shows people don’t want FTTP, says Morrow

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The chief executive of the NBN company this week reportedly said briefings with the team behind the Google Fiber project showed broadband users didn't want Fibre to the Premise infrastructure or the gigabit speeds behind it, and that the NBN company was built to make money, not as a public service.

Govt inquiry will investigate forcing business to open data to startups

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The Federal Government has announced it will ask hold an inquiry into the potential costs and benefits of opening up more data to business, as well as review the uptake of the credit reporting framework.

Govt details FinTech support, action on GST treatment of cryptocurrencies

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The Federal Government has released a statement that sets out its plans to support Australia's FinTech startups in order to boost jobs and economic growth, and includes measures to tackle the "double taxation" of digital currencies.

NBN changes mind again: Some HFC suburbs to get FTTN after all

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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.

Govt open to NBN using skinny fibre, FTTdp, says Fifield

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Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has confirmed the Government is open to using 'skinny' fibre and Fibre to the Distribution Point models as part of the National Broadband Network, as speculation continues to mount the two technologies may form the basis of a new Coalition NBN policy to be released ahead of this year's Federal Election.

StartupAUS praises Govt’s tax incentives bill

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Advocacy group StartupAUS has welcomed the government’s new tax legislation that will provide incentives for investors, saying the measures are arguably the "most generous startup investor scheme in the world".

Stephen Conroy plays Candy Crush on his iPad during Question Time

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It is Conroy's habit to play Candy Crush on his iPad instead of doing, you know ... actual work.

NBN reveals new FTTdp trials, but says FTTN not ‘dead’

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The NBN company today revealed it would undertake a new set of trials in Sydney and Melbourne of the Fibre to the Distribution Point technology which some believe represents a viable path forward for ditching the company's Fibre to the Node rollout style once and for all.