Xenophon announces plan to save Dick Smith gift card holders
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has announced a possible solution for Dick Smith gift card holders following the electronics retailer's collapse.
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.
Election FactCheck Q&A: has the NBN been delayed?
Christopher Pyne’s assertion that there have been “no delays” in the implementation of the NBN is inaccurate.
Labor slams Turnbull’s NBN “broken promises”
The Labor Party has hit out at what it calls Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's "broken promises" over the NBN rollout and listed a number of perceived "stuff-ups" during his first year of office.
Turnbull’s NBN “hardly on target”, says Labor
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".
Truth: The Greens’ video game policy is a landmark strategy with a good chance...
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.
Thank you for the platitudes, Sir Berners-Lee
Why doesn't Australia have enough confidence in ourselves without these father figures looking on? I just don't know.
News Corp Australia vs the NBN: Is it really all about Foxtel?
In its arguments against the NBN, it would seem News Corp Australia’s campaign is less than wholly transparent in representing its own interests.
China’s Aussie ambassador denies Huawei spying
If someone has some direct evidence that Huawei has been spying for the Chinese Government, then let them come forward with that evidence. So far all we have is hearsay and innuendo. And that is not enough, as Huawei and China’s Ambassador to Australia have clearly stated, when we’re talking about billion dollar contracts and the reputation of one of the world’s largest technology vendors. As Huawei has said, on this issue, “put up, or shut up”.
AFP FOI review keeps filter info secret
An internal review has backed a decision by the Australian Federal Police to prevent the public from ascertaining the identities of ISPs participating in the Federal Government’s voluntary filter scheme for child abuse materials, through supporting the redaction of the ISPs’ details from relevant documents released under Freedom of Information laws.
Telstra pays tiddlywinks for huge privacy breach
We can't help but suspect that the telco considers itself to have gotten off relatively scot-free from the debacle, paying an infringement notice of only $10,200 in relation to its contravention of an earlier direction on the issue by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
New tax incentives bill aimed to promote innovation and risk taking
The Federal Government introduced a new tax bill into Parliament yesterday that is aimed to drive investment, economic growth and job creation by "encouraging innovation, risk taking and an entrepreneurial culture".
NSA spy scandal: Turnbull, Ludlam demand answers
Several of Australia's most high-profile politicians in the telecommunications portfolio have publicly demanded answers from the governments of the United States and Australia in the wake of news that the US National Security Agency had obtained open access to private data held by US technology giants such as Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft.
US doesn’t want Assange, says ambassador
Remember those high-handed statements and protests which erupted last week in Australia about the possibility of Australian citizen Julian Assange being extradited from Sweden to the US? Well, it turns out the US actually has no interest in extraditing the Wikileaks founder.
Google protecting pirates, says film giant
Film and entertainment giant Village Roadshow is decidedly unhappy with Google Australia for taking what the search giant believes is a realistic approach to dealing with Internet piracy. Go figure.
Uber is blocking Qld Govt inspectors from using its service … because it can
According to the Brisbane Times, Uber is fighting back against regulation by ... blocking the Queensland Government's inspectors from booking its services and thus being able to fine its drivers.
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”.
EFA ‘concerned’ about Nikolic Security appointment, Senate encryption motion
Electric Frontiers Australia (EFA) has said it is "concerned" about the recent appointment of Tasmanian MP Andrew Nikolic as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
Exposing whistleblowers: AFP logs phone calls of MPs + journos
Are you a journalist or a politician? Do you use your telephone to have private conversations about sensitive information? You do? That seems logical, given the position that you're in. Well, you may want to have a re-think about just how private that avenue of communication is, given that the Australian Federal Police recently revealed it occasionally examines the call logs of MPs and journalists (without their knowledge) in an attempt to track down whistleblowers or leakers within the Government.
ACCC letting NBN descend into retail “market failure”, says Macquarie
Top-tier business telco Macquarie Telecom has accused the ACCC of having little idea of what is going on in the competitive NBN market, in the wake of comments made by the competition regulator that it was not planning re-examine its controversial decision to set the number of points of interconnect with the NBN at 121.
“Extraordinary”: Telcos slam Turnbull’s Dept for backing Telstra over consumers
A group of major Australian telcos have issued a fiery statement damning Malcolm Turnbull’s Department of Communications for its “extraordinary” attempt to support Telstra’s profitability and keep telecommunications prices from dropping.
Foxtel’s IPTV launch delayed already
In late September last year, national pay TV giant Foxtel announced a new online service dubbed ‘Presto’, which was to see consumers charged $24.99 per month to access “a regularly updating collection of great films”, all streamed through the Internet, as opposed to its existing pay TV platform. However, according to the Financial Review, the launch of the service has already been delayed.
Truth: CVC pricing is the key NBN sleeper issue in this election
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.
Lucy Turnbull backs scheme to turn kids into entrepreneurs
Lucy Turnbull AO, wife of the Prime Minister, has become patron of an organisation called DICE Kids, which aims to turn Australia's kids into entrepreneurs.
UK Govt flies Aussie tech startups to London in open bid to nick Aussie...
So it's come to this. Other first-world countries are pushing so hard to attract lucrative technology startups to their shores to grow their own digital economies that they are actually paying to fly Australian entrepreneurs overseas to check out the local scene.
Sensis to chop 50 percent of staff?
Telstra's online and directories business Sensis hasn't been a great place to work for a while now. Executive departures and job cuts have proven to be pretty much the norm at the once-great home of the White and Yellow Pages empire over the past several years. But according to The Australian, we may not have known quite how bad things were.
“They’ve completely stuffed it”: MyRepublic slams Turnbull’s “shit” NBN
Pioneering Singaporean broadband provider MyRepublic has reportedly damned Malcolm Turnbull’s Multi-Technology Mix vision as “shit” on the eve of launching predominantly fibre-based broadband services with unlimited quotas in Australia.
Budget 2016: Tech giants in trouble as tax avoidance ramps up
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.
Shorten promises “greater role” for FTTP in NBN if Labor wins election
Bill Shorten this week said Labor would make sure that there would be a "greater role" for Fibre to the Premises technology in the National Broadband Network if it won the upcoming Federal Election. However, the Opposition Leader also intimated Labor wouldn't be able to reverse the changes Malcolm Turnbull has made to the project.
Tech can help Australians achieve life goals, says NBN report
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.
‘Significant’ bidder interest for Sydney’s White Bay tech hub project
The transformation of Sydney’s iconic White Bay Power Station into a hub for tech startups has received 'significant interest' from a range of Australian and international contenders, according to the managers of the project.
More Internet regulation unnecessary: Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has delivered a major speech arguing that government regulation is not the solution to societal challenges posed by the onset of new technology such as the Internet, in contrast to what he said was the Federal Government’s “command and control” approach to the medium.
Quickflix lets users buy TV shows, including Game of Thrones
One of the disadvantages of an online IPTV service such as Quickflix is that up until now, you haven't been able to buy distinct television shows through the service to own permanently; users have only been able to get access to the shows they want if they're paying a monthly subscription. However, all this is set to change, according to a media release issued by Quickflix today.
How to keep more girls in IT at schools if we’re to close the...
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.
Watch: Conroy’s NBN transparency reform a “legislative stunt”, says Fifield
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has labelled Stephen Conroy's successful amendments to force a radical degree of transparency on the NBN company as being a "legislative stunt" from the Labor Senator he said was still serving as the defacto Shadow Communications Minister.
Defence graduate allegedly leaked secret info to 4chan
If you're a regular user of 4chan, then you're probably aware that the Internet board is notorious for the number of Internet subcultures and memes it has created. What you probably wouldn't expect to find on 4chan is classified Department of Defence documents.
NBN Co’s MTM choices “prudent and efficient”, finds Analysys Mason
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".
iiNet’s Hollywood ending: what does its court victory mean for copyright law?
In what is being billed as iiNet versus Hollywood, the Australian internet service provider has come out an apparent winner after the High Court dismissed a copyright infringement case brought by industry movie studios. Nicolas Suzor, lecturer, Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology, explains the decision and what it means.
Telstra fixes first blackspots under government program
Telstra has made the first improvements to regions with poor mobile coverage as part of the government's Mobile Black Spot Programme.
Telstra ‘not logging’ customers’ web, email history
The nation's largest telco Telstra has flatly rejected allegations that it is routinely logging all of its customers' web browsing data and email history on behalf of national security and intelligence agencies, stating that it does not "routinely" collect or store its customers' telecommunications data unless required to do so.
NBN calls for ‘experienced technicians’ to help with Tassie rollout
The NBN company has called for experienced telecoms technicians and workers to assist the network rollout in Tasmania during 2016 and beyond.
Truth: Simon Hackett proven right on “insane” NBN pricing, POIs
History has proven Simon Hackett right: The pricing and Points of Interconnect models set up by the NBN company and the ACCC have helped destroy broadband competition in Australia and are actively helping Telstra re-establish its odious monopoly in an NBN world.
AFP arrests two alleged ‘Anonymous’ members
The Australian Federal Police this morning revealed it had arrested two Australian men who it alleged were members of the loose-knit confederation of Internet activists who self-organise under the banner "Anonymous", claiming that the pair were involved in "a campaign targeting Australian and international websites".
Funding “storm clouds” ahead for NBN, says Budde
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.
DHS issues due to ‘chronic’ IT underfunding, says union
Computer malfunctions and other issues at the Department of Human Services are due to "chronic and prolonged underfunding" according to the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU).
Drastic govt measures needed: IT price hike report pulls no punches
The Federal Parliament committee examining IT price hikes in Australia has published an extensive report recommending a raft of drastic measures to deal with current practices in the area, which, the report says, are seeing Australians unfairly slugged with price increases of up to 50 percent on key technology goods and services.
Stephen Conroy announces retirement from Senate
Labor Senator Stephen Conroy has made the surprise announcement that he is to retire from Senate later this month.
Turnbull pressured to ‘fix’ NBN for far north Queensland
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.
Internet Australia raises concerns over ‘hidden consequences’ of TPP
Internet Australia, an organisation that represents Internet users, has called for "widespread debate" on all the provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, especially those that could have “hidden consequences”.
Fifield gets serious about VDSL cross-talk issue
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has registered a new regulation which will force Australia's broadband industry to develop its own industry code dealing with the thorny issue of cross-talk interference in the new generation of Fibre to the Node and Basement technologies.
Assistant Minister Roy pitches innovation policy ‘hackathon’
If you follow Australia's technology startup scene at all, you are probably aware of the 'Startup Weekend' or 'hackathon' events that are regularly held across the country. It's a lot of fun and a great way to get involved in the tech startup community. So much fun, apparently, that the newly minted Assistant Minister for Innovation, Wyatt Roy, wants to bring the concept to the public policy debate over innovation.
Truth: The MTM NBN business case is unravelling by the day
Senator Mitch Fifield has only been Communications Minister a matter of months. And yet, if his performance in the Senate this afternoon is any indication, he has already gotten to the point of attacking anyone who dares to even question the Government's controversial Multi-Technology Mix NBN model.
Liberal backbencher slams “Gestapo” data retention
The first sign of tension has emerged within the Opposition over the Federal Government's proposed new surveillance and data retention powers, with a prominent Liberal backbencher describing the proposal as being akin to tactics used by the Third Reich's notorious Secret Police.
Truth: Turnbull’s innovation policy is the Hail Mary, slam dunk moment Australian technologists have...
Truly, the wind has changed in Canberra. It will be exhilarating to see just how far an unleashed Australian technology sector can go.
Geoblocking content must end, demands Choice
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.
Australian agencies have NSA encryption access
Remember how international media outlets The Guardian, The New York Times and ProPublica revealed last week that the US National Security Agency had developed the ability to break some commonly used forms of Internet encryption? Scary, huh? Well, what you may not have realised is that Australia’s own intelligence agencies reportedly have access to the technology.
Pyne tries to rewrite history on Coalition innovation funding
New Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Christopher Pyne appears to have mildly misled the public on the Government’s approach to funding innovation, pushing the Coalition’s credentials in the space without mentioning the significant amount of programs and funding Tony Abbott’s administration has cut over the past several years.
Labor releases national open data policy to fuel digital innovation
The Opposition has released a plan for data reform that it said will "fuel digital innovation and productivity growth across Australia".
This is how Google changes country MDs
Other companies' Australian managing directors exit gracefully, in a carefully stage-managed process which sees a replacement privately sourced almost before the incumbent leaves. But not Google. Google just dumps a new job ad on its country page as the local MD leaves the country.
Insight: Morrow is misleading us about America’s gigabit FTTP appetite
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.
Truth: The CSIRO is not Netflix: Science cannot be treated like a startup
Technology and science are different fields. Replacing long-term research with ‘big data initiatives’ and ‘performance metrics’ might - if we are being super optimistic - help to streamline efficiency processes, but it won’t necessarily deliver accurate results and it will rob this country of crucial data we need to make the big decisions about its future.
Ludlam to do Reddit AMA this Wednesday night
Just a very brief message to let y'all know that Greens Senator, Communications Spokesperson and William Gibson fan Scott Ludlam is planning to open up his world to all and sundry this Wednesday night -- 15 May, from 7:30 to 9PM, for a Reddit AMA ('Ask Me Anything') session.
Turnbull backs away from encryption reform
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appears to have rejected the need to reform laws on telecommunications encryption technology in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, telling the Parliament today that human factors were more important than ever in the context of a different technological landscape.
Disaster in the making? Govt embarks on mammoth IT shared services scheme
The Federal Government has issued a landmark discussion paper seeking industry and other stakeholder opinions on how it can best implement a strategic shared services scheme to serve the needs of its departments and agencies, despite the fact that this very same model has abjectly failed several Australian State Governments over the past half-decade and been abandoned.
Govt releases assurance policy for migration to NBN
The government has released a Migration Assurance Policy (MAP) that sets out its plans to limit disruption during the switch-over to the National Broadband Network.
Analysts expect ‘unchained’ Turnbull to return NBN to FTTP model
Several of Australia’s telecommunications analysts have published statements noting they expect Malcolm Turnbull to reveal his ‘real’ views about the National Broadband Network project after taking the Prime Ministership and perhaps even return the project to a footing more based on its previous Fibre to the Premises technology.
Secret anti-piracy talks pointless, says iiNet
National broadband provider iiNet has fired a full barrage of vitriol at the content industry on the morning on which closed door talks held by the Government on the issue are due to re-commence, arguing in a highly public blog post that discussing a path forward with content industry groups was like "talking to a brick wall".
Scrimp now, pay later: CSIRO cuts could stifle long-term research
The moment we tie short-term political, economic or social goals to science is the moment we ensure we’ll slow down finding those momentous future breakthroughs that science has brought us. It is a paradox, but one that the government needs to understand before cutting big budgets out of long-term fundamental research programs at the CSIRO.
Turnbull asked NBN Co to generate info to tear down FTTP
A letter tabled in the Senate by the Government yesterday has revealed that as Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull explicitly asked the NBN company to create information that could help the Coalition make the case that Labor’s Fibre to the Premises model was not worth pursuing.
Labor slams Govt over personal data breach notifications
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.
Electronic Frontiers Australia outlines 2016 priorities
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has spelled out its priorities for the coming year, addressing a host of areas including data retention, intelligence gathering and copyright issues.
Satellite NBN a “great opportunity”, West Tasmanian MP claims
Tasmanian MP Brett Whiteley has told residents and businesses unhappy with the satellite broadband the NBN company is planning to deploy in his electorate in Western Tasmania that the infrastructure represents a "great opportunity" and they should stop pining for a Fibre to the Premise instead.
StartupAUS welcomes Turnbull’s new innovation ministers
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.
“Criminal”: MyRepublic CEO mourns loss of Australia’s “marvellous” NBN vision
feature The chief executive officer of upstart telco MyRepublic has described the Coalition’s move to significantly water down Labor’s National Broadband Network vision as...
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.
Watching the detectives: the case for restricting access to your social media data
Let’s hasten slowly in considering calls to free the state from administrative inconveniences such as warrants and rules of evidence.
Consumer group invited to secret piracy talks
The Federal Government has invited the nation's leading telecommunications consumer groups to participate in the latest round of the closed door talks it is holding on the issue of Internet piracy, reversing a previous ban on consumer representatives attending such talks.
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.
Pirate Party to contest Rudd’s seat
The Pirate Party Australia has signalled it will contest the Griffith by-election for the seat of formr Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, in another sign that the party which has achieved electoral success in Europe on digital rights and civil liberties issues is increasingly serious about gaining a higher slice of the popular vote in Australia.
Governments undermining encryption will do more harm than good
Western governments, notably the UK and the US, are pushing the software industry to open “backdoors” into our encrypted communications.
Govt signs deal to clamp down on multinational tax avoidance
The federal government has agreed to share Australian information with other nations as part of a plan to combat tax avoidance by multinationals.
Mobile blackspot nominations deadline extended
The government has announced that the deadline for public nominations for Round 2 of the Mobile Black Spot Programme has been extended from 31 December 2015 to 15 January 2016.
Why is Anonymous hacking Australia?
We are in a new phase online where the blind are leading the blind, trying to find a path towards a more secure and regulated internet that enshrines our right to privacy.
Rethink needed on Internet piracy strategies, says Internet Australia
Internet Australia, a non-profit body representing Internet users, has called for a rethink of current strategies used to deal with piracy of online content.
Turnbull resigns as Communications Minister to challenge Abbott
Malcolm Turnbull has reportedly resigned his post as Communications Minister and from Federal Cabinet to challenge Tony Abbott for the Prime Ministership, in a move that has the potential to result in a dramatic shake-up of the way the National Broadband Network project is run.
NBN overbuild based on “fairer competition”, says Turnbull
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has issued a statement to the effect that the NBN company’s alleged “overbuilding” activities were based on regulatory decisions to ensure “fairer” competition in the broadband market that would allow the NBN company to compete with commercial providers.
DFAT blocks media from public TPP briefing
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has taken the extraordinary step of rescinding confirmations of attendance for journalists who had registered to attend a public briefing on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in Sydney today, stating that the meeting is “off-the-record”, and that journalists are not welcome.”
Turnbull’s NBN blowout caused by MTM, says Quigley
Former NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley has stated that the up to $15 billion blowout in the cost of the National Broadband Network was due to the Multi-Technology Mix imposed by Malcolm Turnbull, using previous comprehensive audits of the company as evidence.
Turnbull’s Department seeks replacement CIO
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is looking for a new Chief Information Officer following the departure of Radi Kovacevic to the DTO.
Kim Dotcom wants Mega servers in Australia
Kim Dotcom flags plans to host some servers for his new Mega venture in Australia.
Budget 2016: StartupAUS says it’s a “disappointment”
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".
“Spectacularly incompetent”: Govt slams Labor NBN funding model
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.
Immigration Dept creates innovation division to drive digital transformation
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has formed an innovation division to help accelerate the pace of its digital transformation.
Labor proposes measures to boost Australian startups
The Labor opposition has announced a tranche of proposals to drive innovation across Australia – a move that is likely aimed to take the wind out of the government's sails with a big innovation announcement due on Monday.
‘Appalling treatment’: Vic IT minister to take Ross’s cause to ABC MD
Victoria's Innovation Minister has described the ABC's treatment of its former technology editor Nick Ross as "appalling" and has expressed a desire to meet with the journalist and take his case directly to the managing director of the broadcaster.
NBN takes on delivery partners to deploy HFC network
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.
Digital Transformation Office adds Sydney digs as formal hiring campaign kicks off
The Federal Government’s Digital Transformation Office has revealed plans to locate a small office on-campus at the University of Technology Sydney, as well as embarking on a rapid hiring campaign in which it will seek the best Australian technologists to help deliver lasting changing in government IT service delivery.
Budget 2016: Govt establishes joint taskforce to fix myGov
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.
Trolling our way to national security
Yesterday's Daily Telegraph features a call to action – an Internet petition to stop trolling (the media definition of any offensive or deliberately hurtful behaviour online, not the traditional definition). This is both terrible journalism and falling for a trap.
John Birmingham skewers Game of Thrones pirates
Personally, I have been somewhat stunned about the incredibly vitriolic reaction which so many readers have responded with, after our article yesterday reporting that Australia, on a per-capita basis, pirates Game of Thrones more than any country in the world.
Sorry, ATO: The Senate hearts Bitcoin as a currency
Those of you who follow the crypto-currency scene in Australia may remember that the Australian Taxation Office hasn't always treated the most popular type of crypto-currency, Bitcoin, the way that those involved in its trade would prefer. However, the long-running crypto-currency inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on Economics may be about to disagree with the ATO.
“Large ISP” (TPG?) refuses to deploy Interpol filter
The Australian Federal Police has revealed that its limited mandatory ISP filtering scheme based on a list of offensive sites supplied by Interpol has not yet been taken up by most of Australia's ISPs, with only Telstra and Optus having implemented the filter so far and a further "large ISP" having flat out refused to comply with the project.
Cryptographers issue belated complaint about Defence Trade Controls fix
Australian and international cryptographers have published statements noting they remain “deeply concerned” about Australian legislation that places some controls on research involving sensitive technologies such as encryption, despite several years of consultation resulting in recent multi-partisan moves to rectify flawed legislation first introduced in 2012.
Not just metadata: ASIC wants content retained
Australia’s financial regulator has called for the content of online communications – not just the metadata associated with the communications – to be retained as part of the Federal Government’s data retention and Internet surveillance package being pushed by the Attorney-General’s Department, in a move which was immediately damned by critics of the proposed scheme.
Telstra calls for USO to be maintained
Telstra has said that the universal service obligation (USO), which guarantees that every Australian has reasonable access to a phone, should not be abandoned.
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.
ABC embroiled in copyright debate over iview
The ABC has found itself caught up in a copyright debate after it forced the removal of an application that enabled people to download and watch programs offered on its iview service.
Government closes in on legislation over serious data breaches
The government has released an exposure draft of a bill that will define what it considers a 'serious' data breach and place notification requirements on some businesses or organisations should they suffer from such an attack.
“No evidence” Aussie banks boycotting Apple Pay, claims RBA Governor
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens has claimed in a letter to a Labor MP that he has not seen "any evidence" that Australia's major banks are actively boycotting the Apple Pay mobile payments service, despite the fact that only American Express has signed up to the service in Australia.
Politicians to attend Parliament House innovation ‘boot camp’
Federal MPs and senators will learn about coding and novel uses of technology at an innovation 'boot camp' today in Parliament House organised by tech giant Intel, along with students from five Canberra schools.
Police want “indefinite” data retention
According to the ABC and a plethora of other media outlets reporting from parliamentary hearings yesterday Australia's friendly police want data retention laws extended to cover a period lasting ... forever.
Enough is enough: We demand a Royal Commission into the NBN
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.
Qld ploughs $24m into startups, teaches coding
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor Government in Queensland yesterday revealed plans to throw $24 million at the state’s rapidly expanding startup sector, as part of a much wider $180 million package of reforms aimed at creating “jobs of the future”.
#NatSecInquiry: Tracking Australians in real time
The ongoing National Security Inquiry has dislodged quite a few stones from the bottom of the paranoia well. One aspect that took my interest in particular is the relationship between data retention and mobile or cellular telephone data.
XKeyscore + NSA surveillance leaks: Australian expert reaction
XKeyscore is an online surveillance tool run by America’s National Security Agency (NSA) that allows analysts to search contents of chats, emails and browsing histories without warrants. Australian experts respond in this article to the issue.
It’s on: Foxtel to meet IPTV challenge head-on
Most of Australia's younger generation of Internet-focused media consumers probably think Pay TV giant Foxtel is merely a blast from the past; a mouldering old dinosaur with no tricks left up its sleeve. But if revelations by the company last week are any indication, Foxtel 'gets' the Internet and has exactly the right moves planned to tackle it.
50Mbps “only a milestone” as Germany targets “gigabit society”
Germany's top technology minister Alexander Dobrindt and the heads of its telcos have reportedly described 50Mbps broadband speeds as only a "milestone" on the country's broadband roadmap, which will ultimately culminate in a "gigabit society".
RBA hasn’t been worried by “limited” Bitcoin risk
A research paper produced internally by the Reserve Bank of Australia 12 months ago has shown the nation's central bank was at that stage not concerned about the potential impact of the Bitcoin crypto-currency on Australia's financial system, due to what it saw as the "limited" impact of a "niche product".
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.
Fact check: Pyne misleads Q&A audience on key NBN facts
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.
Truth: Yes, the Coalition will try to sell off the NBN
The truth about an eventual sale of the NBN is that, for a Coalition Government, it is truly only a matter of timing and political position. It is not a matter of if: Only a matter of when.
Australian Govt pledges action on Google tax avoidance
The Australian Government has outlined a series of new legislative initiatives with which it will attempt to protect its corporate tax base and rein in the tax minimisation strategies of corporations such as search giant Google, which expects to pay just $74,000 in corporate income tax for the 2011 calendar year in Australia, despite making an estimated $1 billion in local revenue.
Fact check: Joyce perpetuates false NBN myths on Q&A
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.
Labor raises “glaring omissions” in mobile blackspot funding
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.
Revealed: ASIC’s secret website block notices
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has published the full text of its official notices to telcos requesting they block websites suspected of providing fraudulent financial information, with the documents revealing that both the frequency and breadth of the agency's blocking activities has increased since they began 12 months ago.
Victoria launches new body to give startups a boost
The Victorian Government has unveiled a new body called LaunchVic that is aimed to accelerate startups, drive new ideas and create jobs in the state.
ADFA hack a national security failure: expert
According to media reports, a single hacker from the Anonymous group, calling himself Darwinare, released online the names, birthdays and passwords of 20,000 staff and students from a university database at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Turnbull’s NBN “fundamentally unfair”, says Michelle Rowland
Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland has delivered a speech criticising the Coalition’s version of the National Broadband Network for not being “fair”, highlighting among other factors the fact that premises with inferior technologies such as Fibre to the Node will pay the same access charges as those on full fibre.
House Foxtel: Unbowed, Unbent and Unreasonable
The argument by pay television giant Foxtel that the launch of its new Play IPTV streaming video service will cause Australians' objections about the lack of legitimate access to popular shows such as Game of Thrones to "vanish" is nothing short of ridiculous and strongly indicates that the company still has no idea why the nation is so frustrated with it.
The Australian public cares about privacy: Do politicians?
Two documents released this week highlight divergent views among the community and politicians.
Delimiter has been approved to join the Press Gallery in Canberra
I just wanted to drop readers a brief note to let you know that yesterday I was approved to join the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery in Canberra.
“National security matter”: Third agency caught unilaterally blocking web sites
The Federal Government has acknowledged that a third agency, beyond ASIC and the Australian Federal Police, has been using the Telecommunications Act to unilaterally block certain websites, with bureaucrats refusing to disclose which agency was involved, apart from stating that the issue was "a national security matter".
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.
ABC tech editor claims broadcaster “gagged” his NBN coverage
The ABC's outgoing technology editor today claimed he had been "gagged" by the broadcaster from publishing further articles about the National Broadband Network, after several initial articles heavily criticised the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix model.
Truth: Labor’s new NBN plan is pitch perfect
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.
Assange registers Wikileaks party; targets Victorian Senate seat
Crusading Internet activist Julian Assange has delivered on his promises to run for Australian political office in the upcoming Federal Election in September, reportedly registering the WikiLeaks Party in Australia yesterday and flagging his intention to become a Senator representing Victoria.
AUSTRAC tracks every AUD-Bitcoin conversion
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) admitted in a Senate Estimates session in Canberra this week that it is literally tracking every conversion between Bitcoins and Australian dollars. Wow. Talk about privacy-invasive.
Crowd-funding legislation reaches parliament
New laws aimed to provide a framework for crowd-sourced equity funding (CSEF) have been introduced into Parliament.
WA likely to vote again for Senate
Western Australians are likely to be forced to vote again for their Senate representatives in Federal Parliament, in a move which will once again place the seat of Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam in doubt, as the Australian Electoral Commission last week confirmed it would seek a by election in the state.
UK introduces new Digital Economy Bill
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.
Major tech firms, Australian startups back new innovation organisation TechSydney
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".
DHS issues show Turnbull’s innovation talk just ‘spam’, says Labor
Labor has criticised the Turnbull government over recent IT and other issues at the Department of Human Services (DHS), saying they reveal that the Prime Minster's talk of Innovation is just "spam".
Brandis refuses to answer piracy questions
Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has flatly refused to comment on a report that the new Coalition Government has signalled plans to restart long-running talks between the telecommunications and content industries to deal with the issue of Internet piracy, with the Liberal Senator declining to answer any question on the issue.
AFR claims on NBN sale just plain “wrong”, says Fifield
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield today flatly rejected claims by the Financial Review newspaper that the Government was in talks to sell the bulk of the National Broadband Network to Telstra for as little as $20 billion, stating: "There are no plans to sell NBN".
Google Play Music finally hits Australia
Were you there when Apple’s iTunes Music Store first launched in Australia? I was. It was back in October 2005 and I was a journalist at technology news site ZDNet Australia. At the time it was a huge deal for Australian music fans, who had previously been resorting to naughty platforms such as Napster to get their digital music fix on. Well, things have changed a lot in the IT industry, but the iTunes Music Store is still around and kicking. Now it’s got a new competitor: Google.
Turnbull ignores NBN in campaign launch while Shorten goes hard
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.
Unprecedented: Whole ICT sector combines to blockade TSSR bill
Four of Australia’s most important industry groups have joined forces to deliver an unprecedented and comprehensive rejection of the Government’s planned national security telco legislation, labelling the bill ineffective and adding burdensome regulation and costs on the private sector.
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.
History repeating: Five ways data retention is like Conroy’s filter
Like history repeating, the Australian Government just keeps on coming up with disturbing new ways it wants to control and censor the Internet. Here's five ways the current controversial data retention proposal is similar to its predecessor in infamy: Senator Conroy's mandatory ISP-based Internet filter, which was shot down in flames in 2010.
Telstra may be deploying brand new greenfields copper
The Department of Communications has published statistics which appear to show that incumbent telco Telstra has deployed brand new copper to hundreds of new development premises around Australia, as a direct result of the Turnbull Government's new greenfields NBN policy.
Aussie email provider FastMail says it is exempt from Data Retention law
Australian email provider FastMail has claimed it will not be subject to the Data Retention law which is shortly scheduled to come into force in Australia, due to the fact that it is not a telecommunications carrier and does not operate hosting infrastructure in Australia.
Libraries, education sector, tech giants welcome proposed copyright reforms
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.
Delimiter needs you: Help convince Conroy to open up about tech policy
In which I request the help of Delimiter's readership in convincing former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to speak to me about technology policy.
Govt invests in big data, surveillance systems for AFP, ACC
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.
Doubts remain about NBN Gigabit HFC upgrade
Questions have continued to arise about whether nbn’s planned Gigabit upgrade of the HFC cable networks it is acquiring from Telstra and Optus will be able to deliver on its speed promises, with a number of telecommunications industry sources pouring cold water on the long-term capacity of the ageing networks.
NBN a “key election issue”, Labor policy coming soon, says Shorten
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.
Quickflix leadership decimated as losses mount
Online DVD rental and Internet media company Quickflix this week revealed a series of senior leadership losses including the representative of investor HBO, as the company continues to burn through cash and seek further funding to continue its operations.
Pauline Hanson to fix NBN “white elephant” with FTTN/Wi-Fi combo
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.
What will the National Broadband Network really cost?
It’s worth looking more closely at cost difference between FTTP and FTTN to see if the claimed A$84 billion to A$56 billion maximum cost comparison stacks up, and see where Labor’s new half-way solution sits.
Sexism and douche-baggery in the hackersphere
Australian online technology activist Asher Wolf slams elements of the hackersphere which she says have been demonstrating sexism.
ACMA proposes changes to spectrum rules to open up Internet of Things
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is proposing changes to spectrum rules in order to allow Internet of Things (IoT) devices to 'talk' to each other.
Fifield keeps pressure on Labor for ‘lack of NBN policy’
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.
Govt seeks substantial boost to surveillance powers
The Federal Government today revealed a wide-reaching program to substantially reform its telecommunications interception and surveillance powers with the aim of bolstering the ability of law enforcement organisations to fight crime, including the introduction of a so-called "data retention" scheme that has attracted a great deal of controversy in Australia under the 'OzLog' banner.
Australia top Game of Thrones pirating nation
Australia is the nation which most pirates the popular HBO television series Game of Thrones, new analysis released this week has shown, with time delays and cable TV lock-in being the primary culprits believed to be behind the nation's copyright infringing habits.
The Inside Track: How NBN Co decides rollout locations
If you’re wondering how the NBN company decides which locations around Australia it will roll out the National Broadband Network infrastructure to and why, wonder no more. This issue of The Inside Track will examine the company’s selection criteria.
Turnbull’s Digital Transformation Office gets a new Minister
Malcolm Turnbull appears to have stripped responsibility for digital government policy from his Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and handed it to a neophye MP, in a move that appears set to give the Prime Minister's Digital Transformation Office a new overseer.
ACCC approves Telstra’s variation to NBN Migration Plan
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.
Australia in huge slip down global broadband rankings
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.
Snowden an “American traitor”, says Australia’s Attorney-General
Federal Attorney-General George Brandis has reacted to the revelation of what a Queen's Counsel lawyer has stated are borderline illegal surveillance tactics by the Australian Signals Directorate by supporting the agency and accusing NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden of being an "American traitor".
Early customers say Sky Muster NBN satellite delivers “outstanding” broadband
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.
NBN reaches 1 million customer milestone
The Government has announced that the National Broadband Network (NBN) has now passed the 1 million customer mark.
Launceston city now has total NBN coverage
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.
Defying the Federal Police: iiNet refuses to implement Interpol filter
National broadband player iiNet today revealed it had not implemented the Federal Government’s limited mandatory ISP filtering scheme based on a list of offensive sites supplied by Interpol and had no immediate plans to do so, in a move which appears to represent a total reversal of the ISP's position on the matter and defiance of the Australian Federal Police's wishes.
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.
Abandon all hope: Turnbull’s win screws the NBN permanently
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.
Conroy bushwhacks Fifield with NBN transparency reform
Former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has blindsided the Government in the Senate, successfully passing an amendment to an otherwise innocuous piece of NBN legislation that will enforce a degree of radical transparency on the NBN company.
Lunch and dinner with Julian Assange, in prison
The fact is that electoral victory for Julian Assange later this year would be one of those rare political miracles that make life as a citizen worth living. In a country weighed down by sub-standard politicians, sub-standard journalists and sub-standard freedom of information laws, the political triumph would be great. It would breathe badly-needed life into Australian democracy.
Women in IT: Govt action only part of the solution
From my point of view, although this is an important policy debate, and I am glad that we are having this debate on Delimiter, I don’t personally want to weigh in too heavily into it. The reason is pretty basic: I am male, not female, and I don’t feel that it’s my place to set policy for women or to preach to women how they should engage with the IT sector.
Wyatt Roy’s innovation policy hack day will be Saturday week in Sydney
Remember how Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy publicly discussed the possibility of holding an innovation policy ‘hackathon’ to generate new policy ideas to help develop Australia’s economy into an innovation powerhouse? Well it’s already organised, and it’ll be Saturday week in Sydney, with tech accelerator BlueChilli doing much of the organising.
“Failure and incompetence”: Mark Newton on surveillance reforms
At Delimiter we love a good rant, especially if it’s about the tragically flawed understanding which our Federal Government and attendant politicans appear to have about technology. And this one, by network engineer Mark Newton (he’s got form in this area) is a cracker.
How far should Australia go for Julian Assange?
Australians are constantly finding themselves in trouble overseas and turning to their government for assistance. But there is a limit to what Australia is legally required to do.
Telstra not forced to deploy brand new copper, says Fifield
The office of Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has issued a statement denying that regulatory decisions by the Government were forcing Telstra to install brand new copper in new greenfields estates, adding that it was up to Telstra to decide what technology it wanted to install.
“Get on with it”: Ludlam tells Govt on data breach notification bill
Greens Deputy Leader and Senator Scott Ludlam has filed a Senate motion demanding the Government "get on with" its plans to introduce mandatory data breach legislation, pointing out that the concept had multi-partisan support and would be likely to pass Federal Parliament in quick order.
‘No apologies’: ASIC pledges to block more sites
The chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission last week said the regulator would not "apologise" for using an obscure section of the Telecommunications Act to block websites suspected of fraud, and stated that the organisation would continue to use the controversial power to block more sites.
Kim Dotcom may list Mega on ASX
Kim Dotcom expresses an interest in listing his new Mega business on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Turnbull tries to accelerate mobile blackspot fix for Canning by-election
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reportedly promised to attempt to intervene in the Government’s Mobile Black Spot Programme to accelerate the deployment of a mobile tower in Dwellingup in Western Australia, in what appears to be an effort to boost the Liberal Party's chances in the Canning by-election in the state.
Blackspot programme reopens to further boost mobile coverage
A second round of the Mobile Black Spot Programme (MBSP) has opened to help boost the consistency of mobile coverage across Australia.
Pirate Party ACT registration not a failure
Pirate Party Australia failed a recent attempt to register their Australian Capital Territory branch. But media reports about the issue don't tell the whole story.
They did it
From this day on, whenever Australian engineers are facing a tough task, they should look up into the skies and remind themselves of the power of the Australian mind. If Australian ingenuity can put such a hunk of incredibly complex communications infrastructure into orbit to serve our broadband needs, purely on the strength of some clear thinking and a lot of hard work, then we truly can do anything. And we will.
Truth: Data Retention: We told you so
The catastrophic failure of the Attorney-General’s Department to successfully implement the ludicrous Data Retention scheme its incompetent bureaucrats dreamed up at the behest of Australia’s intelligence and law enforcement cabal comes as absolutely no surprise. In fact, many people have been predicting it since the start of this doomed project.
Fixed Wireless NBN turns out worse than ADSL for some
It was supposed to be next-generation infrastructure which would make their old broadband connection obsolete. But for some connected to the NBN company's Fixed Wireless infrastructure, the performance of the platform is leading them to question whether their old ADSL broadband was actually a better option.
GetUp! rejects Roxon’s “partisan spin”
Citizen lobbying organisation GetUp! has published a strongly worded rejection of a YouTube video published by Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon yesterday relating to the Government’s current data retention and surveillance proposal, describing Roxon’s video as “partisan spin” and highlighting what it said were inaccuracies in it.
NBN “disastrous” for piracy, claims music industry
Australia's peak music industry organisation has claimed that the rollout of the National Broadband Network could have "disastrous results" for the local music industry due to the lack of "graduated response" or "site blocking" processes to stop the "serious problem" of Internet-based piracy of music.
Would FYX’s global mode have breached copyright?
We should think carefully about the inevitable alarmist claims regarding FYX and be wary about movie industry calls for new laws that protect their interests at the expense of Australian consumers.
Disruptive tech companies killing off workers’ rights, says union
The 'disruptive economy' being brought about by companies such as Uber is "driving down" workers’ rights, the Transport Workers Union has warned.
Melbourne Cup corruption agency demands metadata access
Victoria's Attorney-General Martin Pakula has written to Federal Attorney-General George Brandis requesting that the state's Racing Integrity Commissioner -- which oversees the Melbourne Cup and other races -- be given access to Australians' telecommunications metadata.
Truth: The Govt’s data retention project has already spun out of control
The ridiculous number of agencies which have applied for unwarranted metadata access clearly shows that the data retention policy enacted by the Coalition and Labor was founded on a preposterous lie: That access would be limited. The truth is that scope creep was built into the policy's DNA.
Government “botched” NDIS IT systems, says Labor
Labor has said the Coalition Government has "botched" the rollout of the IT systems for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) healthcare programme.
Mike Quigley to join NBN election debate
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.
Electronic voting may be risky, but what about vote counting?
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.
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.
Greens announce solar battery funding plan for Sunshine Coast
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".
Time for a government rethink on Julian Assange
The granting of political asylum by the Ecuadorian government to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange puts pressure back on the Australian government to act, says leading QC and human rights advocate, Julian Burnside.
Turnbull’s MTM NBN plan “in crisis” says Jason Clare
The Opposition today said the Multi-Technology Mix plan which Malcolm Turnbull imposed on the National Broadband Network project was "in crisis", following revelations published over the weekend that its Fibre to the Node centrepiece was substantially behind projections and suffering a litany of issues.
Up to 45 agencies are seeking data retention powers
As many as 45 separate departments and agencies around Australia have petitioned the Attorney-General's Department to gain unwarranted access to Australians' metadata under the Government's Data Retention scheme, Delimiter can reveal.
Sharing economy an opportunity for NSW, says Govt paper
The NSW Government has released a position paper suggesting that the burgeoning collaborative or sharing economy offers opportunities for the state.
Shorten accuses NBN Co of “cover-up” to protect Turnbull
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.
Labor, Coalition reject Intelligence committee reformation
Both Labor and the Coalition have voted down a motion put by the Greens in the Senate which would have called on the Parliament to re-establish the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security, a key oversight mechanism of Australia's intelligence agencies which has lain dormant since the election.
NBN FTTN kills off ADSL for metro customer, to be replaced with satellite
The NBN company has confirmed plans to terminate the ADSL connection of a customer living in metropolitan Adelaide and replace it with a high-latency satellite connection, due to the installation of Fibre to the Node services to neighbours in the same street.
Truth: The NBN is the Achilles heel of Turnbull’s Innovation policy
A rude black crack ran through yesterday's brightness that Turnbull cannot have failed to notice. Try as he might, the Earl of Wentworth just could not and cannot escape from the shocking mess that he has made of the National Broadband Network.
Fifield’s website goes down on first day as Comms Minister
Spare a thought for Senator Mitch Fifield. Just as the new Communications Minister was being sworn in at Government House in Canberra this morning, his web developer was apparently knocking his website offline for maintenance.
“Hopeless, useless and a joke”: Labor MP sets Turnbull NBN policy on fire
Federal Parliament erupted into a fiery debate yesterday over Malcolm Turnbull's reshaping of the NBN project, with Labor MP Lisa Chesters stealing much of the show with a furious diatribe in which she labelled the PM's NBN plan as "incompetent, hopeless, useless and a joke".
NBN Co, Telstra help Greg Hunt out with election campaign event
The NBN company join Telstra at an election campaign event to be held by Environment Minister Greg Hunt in his electorate of Flinders in late March, Delimiter can reveal, in a move that further calls into question the NBN company's independence in the pre-election period.
Detailed analysis of NBN Co’s finances shows FTTP better value than FTTN
A researcher from Monash University has published a detailed analysis of the NBN company's costs which appears to show that Labor's technically superior Fibre to the Premises model represents better financial value than the Coalition's preferred Fibre to the Node technology only a scant few years after FTTP was deployed.
Labor, Coalition vote against strong encryption in Senate
Both of Australia's major political parties have explicitly rejected a Senate motion calling on the Government to support public use of strong encryption technologies, in a move that comes in the wake of the US Government's demand that Apple provide it with a backdoor for open access to its iPhone handset.
Photos: NBN Co leaves FTTN ‘micronode’ completely open to public access
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.
Telstra reaches “significant” mobile black spot milestone
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".
Ziggy deliberately breached Caretaker Conventions
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.
It’s just a “draft” document, NBN says on $641m FTTN blowout
The NBN company has attempted to cast doubt on the veracity of leaked internal documents showing that the cost of remediating Telstra's copper network has blown out by a factor of ten times to $641 million, pointing out that the document in question was a "draft" and "not endorsed" by its executive team.
No demand: Qantas dumps in-flight Internet
It's hard to be surprised by this move, given Qantas' on-again, off-again relationship with in-flight Internet access, but one can't help but be disappointed. Australian Business Traveller reports this morning that Australia's premiere airline has exited a trial of in-flight Internet running since March this year.
AFP arrests alleged LulzSec hacker
A high-profile takedown is sure to send shockwaves through the hacker community after the Australian Federal Police arrested a 24-year-old IT worker on a variety of charges that could land him up to 12 years in jail.
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.
Truth: The Internet piracy industry code may be dead in the water
The required date for Australia’s Internet service providers to address the Internet piracy issue has long ago come and gone. Now our new Communications Minister appears determined to let the issue lie. Has the Government decided to abandon its efforts to curb Internet piracy?
Labor’s new policy won’t delay NBN again, says Quigley
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.
Budget 2016: The Govt is kind of obsessed with FinTech
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.
ACT Government raises privacy concerns over facial matching initiative
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government has raised "fundamental concerns" about the proposed National Facial Biometric Matching Capability – a Federal Government initiative that will allow images of unidentified individuals to be matched to photographs stored across a range of government records.
NBN CEO won’t talk South Brisbane, TransACT
The chief executive of the NBN company has flatly refused to comment on contentious situations with relation to the company's rollout in the South Brisbane and Canberra areas, where it appears to be overbuilding existing open access high-speed broadband infrastructure.
Three senior telco commentators agree: Ziggy must be sacked
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.
The Inside Track: Behind the scenes of NBN Co’s Fibre on Demand program
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.
Michelle Rowland appointed Shadow Minister for Communications
Labor MP Michelle Rowland has been appointed to the Shadow Cabinet, taking on the role of Shadow Minister for Communications.
Google boss: let Internet flourish to boost productivity
The annual $27-billion boost to Australia’s productivity from internet innovation is at threat from policymakers who would rather restrict online access than embrace it, Google’s Australia boss has warned.
“Political indecision” leaving Australia a broadband backwater: ex-NBN CTO
The NBN company's first chief technology officer this week said that the protracted disagreement between Australia's two major political parties on how to best upgrade broadband networks was leaving Australia languishing in global broadband rankings, despite several obvious ways forward.
Hockey pays “tribute” to Labor’s NBN project in final speech
One of the Coalition’s most vocal critics of the National Broadband Network, former Treasurer Joe Hockey, has used his final speech to Federal Parliament to praise the previous Labor Government for initiating the project, which he described as “a very significant commitment”.
Govt maintains Huawei ban for now
Attorney-General George Brandis and Huawei have issued statements stating that no decision has been made by the new Coalition Government with relation to the Chinese vendor’s ability to tender for National Broadband Network contracts, contradicting a report by the Financial Review newspaper on the issue.
Worst of the worst: Send us all your FTTN node photos
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".
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.
Ads not misleading: Google wins High Court case
Search giant Google has won a High Court case against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in which the regulator had alleged that Google breached the law by displaying misleading or deceptive advertisements on its search results pages.
Six more years: Ludlam on track for Senate win
Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam looks set to be re-elected to the Senate for another six years in Western Australia's Senate by-election, with projections late on Saturday night showing the technology-focused politician had easily won a full Senate quota.
ACT Govt to legalise ride-sharing
news The ACT Government this morning announced it would legalise and regulate ride-sharing services such as UberX, in the wake of a wide-ranging review...
Dallas Buyers Club won’t appeal piracy ruling, but may still seek large damages
In essence, what we’re seeing here is that Dallas Buyers Club and Marque Lawyers have decided to more or less accept Justice Perram’s ruling, but may be seeking to reword their approach to alleged copyright infringers to still target them for facilitating uploading of content online (as occurs in a BitTorrent situation, for example), rather than merely targeting them for downloading material.
ACT NBN rollout highly unfair, says Labor MP
Federal Labor Gai Brodtmann has strongly criticised the NBN company in Federal Parliament this week for its internal decision-making processes in relation to the Australian Capital Territory, which are seeing the company ignore broadband-starved areas in favour of overbuilding existing high-speed broadband networks.
Choice wants geo-IP blocking abolished
One of Australia's peak consumer groups has recommended the Federal Government investigate whether region-coding and charging Australians higher prices for products based on Internet IP address should be banned, in the context of an investigation which has found little justification for average Australian price hikes of 50 percent on technology goods.
New Greens Leader holds firm on FTTP NBN policy
New Greens Leader Richard Di Natale has confirmed he will stand firm behind the original universal Fibre to the Premises version of the National Broadband Network, rejecting what he said was the “half-measures” being implemented by the Coalition Federal Government.
NBN Co urges Tasmanians to subscribe to “surging” fixed wireless service
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.
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.
Wikileaks’ Assange may sue PM for defamation
video Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is threatening to sue Julia Gillard for defamation, following the Prime Minister's comments in late 2010 that Wikileaks' publication of US diplomatic cables was "illegal" (the Australian Federal Police subsequently found nothing to charge him with under Australian law).
MegaUpload user data soon to be destroyed
MegaUpload has received a letter from the US Attorney informing the company that data uploaded by its users may be destroyed before the end of the week.
Labor reshuffle sees Husic take on startups, Rowland lose Communications
A portfolio reshuffle announced by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten this afternoon has brought both good and bad news for Australia’s technology community, with tech-focused MP Ed Husic taking on additional responsibilities for digital innovation and startups, but Michelle Rowland losing her Assistant Minister role in the Communications portfolio.
Telecoms industry raises concerns over latest TSSR draft
A coalition of industry groups has raised concerns over new national security legislation for the telco sector – the draft Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015.
Bitcoin miner lists on ASX
If you needed any further indication that we now live in the science fiction future long ago mapped out for us by visionary authors, then look no further. News arrived this week that an Australian digital currency company and Bitcoin mining concern, digitalBTC, has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange through a backdoor listing.
Tiger Airways joins growing list of spamming corporations
Tiger Airways is likely to face further damage to its reputation, after joining a growing list of big corporations being fined for breaching the Spam Act.
Google didn’t quite destroy Aussie Wi-Fi data
Search giant Google this week revealed it has not yet deleted all of the payload data its Streetview cars had collected over the past several years as they brushed past Wi-Fi networks on their journeys around Australia, contrary to a statement in May 2011 that the data had been deleted.
Finally! ABC to re-launch iView with Android app
Regular readers of Delimiter will be aware that we’ve long had a beef with the ABC over the public broadcaster’s lack of an iView app for the popular (some would say dominant) Android platform. Well, the ABC looks set to finally rectify that issue, making several announcements relating to Android and the iView more platform generally.
Has Anonymous hacked an Aussie ISP?
A number of technology media outlets yesterday reported they had spoken to a member of the Anonymous collective of Internet activists, who stated that they had broken into a major Australian ISP and were preparing to release a vast package of internal data to prove that the Federal Government's surveillance and data retention plans weren't secure.
Where’s our Arrested Development? Choice Australia asks Netflix
At this point, most Australians who watch Arrested Development have probably resigned themselves to (ahem) obtaining the new season through Channel BitTorrent. But there is one organisation still maintaining the rage: Consumer advocacy group Choice, which has written to Netflix demanding to know what the hell is going on.
Turnbull appoints new Communications Department secretary
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has appointed a new Secretary of the Department of Communications and the Arts.
Piracy: iiNet refutes content industry “doom and gloom”
National broadband provider iiNet has renewed its public attack on the content industry, using a high-profile report published in February to push the argument that the overall global content ecosystem is booming and that content providers should stop trying to stop Internet piracy and instead focus on new business models.
Morrow predicts “NBN Generation” by 2020
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.
Photos: Rain floods NBN nodes in Bowral
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.
NBN blogger predicted FTTN congestion seven months ago
A prominent blogger about the National Broadband Network appears to have predicted significant congestion problems with the Coalition's preferred Fibre to the Node technology about seven months before early FTTN adopters started revealing them in the past week.
“Buzzwords”: Ludlam slams Turnbull’s new homelessness app
Scott Ludlam, Deputy Leader for the Australian Greens, has criticised Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's introduction of an app for the homelessness over poor financing of supporting services.
WikiLeaks Party implodes, candidates quit
WikiLeaks Senate candidate Leslie Cannold quits the party, alleging impropriety in its internal processes.
Fifield invites Australians to comment: Who has the better NBN?
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has invited the Australian public to comment on whether it has more confidence in Labor's near universal Fibre to the Premises version of the National Broadband Network, or the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix, in a fraught parliamentary session yesterday in which tempers again became heated over the NBN topic.
Truth: Turnbull’s NBN mess cost him dearly in the Election
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.
Conroy re-commits to filter, slams Lundy amendments
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has reiterated the Government's support for its mandatory internet filter policy after the change in Prime Minister and has slammed proposed amendments by Senator Kate Lundy that would allow Australians to opt in or out of the technology.
It’s our damn NBN satellite, says Labor
The Australian Labor Party has issued a fiery statement noting that it was responsible for commissioning the National Broadband Network satellite that successfully launched from French Guiana this morning, reminding the electorate that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull “fought tooth and nail” against the idea of the NBN company launching its own satellite infrastructure.
Truth: South Australia’s “Gig City” plan is hyped-up nonsense
"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.
WA Govt to trial driverless electric bus
A staged trial of a driverless electric shuttle bus will take place in Western Australia later this year, according to the state government.
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.
CIA cufflinks in the PM’s office? Turnbull hires Data Retention guru
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reportedly brought in one of the chief architects of the controversial Data Retention legislation -- an advisor who was known to have worn CIA cufflinks into the Senate Chamber -- to act as one of his key security advisors.
Labor pledges Data Retention policy review
The Australian Labor Party passed a motion at its National Conference on Friday that will see it formally review the Data Retention legislation passed earlier this year — despite the fact that such a review is already enshrined in the legislation itself.
Happy nine month birthday, Classification Review. Time for Conroy’s filter to finally die?
Today is the nine month anniversary of the publication of the Classification Review, which readers may remembers as the key document which would guide the development of Labor's infamous mandatory Internet filter policy.
Opening Pandora’s box: secret treaty threatens human rights
The Australian Parliament should reject ACTA because of its impact on human rights – particularly taking into account health care, access to medicines, and development.
Government issues draft amendments to Copyright Act
The government has announced proposed changes that are designed to simplify and modernise Australia's copyright laws.
NBN Sky Muster broadband will be “world leading”, says Ovum report
Telecoms research firm Ovum has announced that the NBN Sky Muster satellite broadband service will be a "world leader" in its market.
Truth: Expect a post-election Australian anti-encryption bill
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.
Labor needs “a good explanation” to change NBN, says Morrow
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.
Labor promises $4.5m to inspire women to learn coding
The Australian Labor Party this morning announced that it would put $4.5 million towards a grants program to promote, encourage and inspire more Australian girls to learn coding, if it wins power in the upcoming Federal Election.
TPG’s FTTB rollout still progressing extremely slowly
news Retail broadband provider AusBBS has released new statistics showing that the Fibre to the Basement network which Australia's third-largest telco TPG is deploying...
Devil’s Advocate: Is the political innovation obsession a giant waste of money?
Eventually we'll look on this madness the same way as we did the first technology bubble: Unsustainable hype. It'll be a great party while it lasts, fuelled by billions of dollars in taxpayer money. But eventually it'll all come crashing down.
Reality check: Piracy is not killing Australian film
Imagine a world where you can only consume culture from government-approved sources, months after its widely publicised release overseas, in low definition, with long term lease agreements where you can never purchase a copy to own, only to borrow and use within a specific set of technologically locked parameters. Where the freedom to share or own copies of cultural works has finally been stamped out and middlemen are free to charge what they like for mediocre services and innovation is locked in a box then dropped into an ocean abyss.
Delimiter files FOI request for Govt ICT Audit
Technology media outlet Delimiter has filed a Freedom of Information request seeking to retrieve the unreleased comprehensive ICT Audit which the Federal Government presented to Finance Minister Mathias Cormann in January this year.
Ludlam holds Senate seat in recount; But possible by-election looms
Greens Communications Spokesman Scott Ludlam has held his Senate seat in Western Australia following a controversial recount of the state's Senate vote in September's Federal Election, but the result is likely to be formally challenged by the rival Palmer United Party and may head to a by election because of the loss of 1,375 crucial votes.
NBN says customers just as happy with FTTN or FTTP
The NBN company today stated that customers using its Fibre to the Node service were just as satisfied with their broadband service as those using Fibre to the Premises services, on the basis of the industry standard Net Promoter Score rating.
‘We’re fixing Labor’s NBN mess,’ says Turnbull
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has avoided directly answering the question of whether he still stands behind the NBN company's existing cost estimates with respect to its use of HFC cable and copper technologies, instead claiming that the Coalition Government was cleaning up the NBN "mess" which he said Labor had created.
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.
Home truths: Baxter points out how ridiculous NBN speed tiers truly are
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.
Fifield refuses to accept NBN Co’s own evidence of FTTN delays
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of evidence contained in leaked internal documentation, in which the NBN company's chief network engineering explicitly states that its Fibre to the Node rollout is categorically behind target.
Labor unveils strong Digital Economy push with top political support
The Australian Labor Party has created a new internal policy group focused on building a “new economy” through fostering innovation, startups and entrepreneurs, in a move that appears to have support from the highest political levels within the party.
Consumer group has piracy conflict of interest
A substantial conflict of interest issue has arisen regarding the participation by the sole consumer group invited to attend the Government's secret Internet piracy talks, with the group's chairman attending the meetings also currently leading the peak national organisation devoted to advocating copyright on behalf of creative professionals.
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.
Vodafone urges voters to appeal for more mobile black spot funding
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.
NBN Co conducts XG.FAST trials with Nokia
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.
The Inside Track: What’s delaying Telstra’s data retention compliance?
The deadline for the Government’s Data Retention policy to go live has come and gone, and yet large Australian telcos such as Telstra have openly stated they are not yet complying with the policy. What’s holding things up? We’ll provide a view from the inside in this edition of The Inside Track.
New copyright laws not the answer to illegal downloads
New laws are not the answer. Rather, we need to look at education, technical mechanisms, licensing solutions and responsibility of ISPs and search engines to find a workable balance between the right to own and creative content and the ability of users (and intermediaries) to access and reuse such content.
Australia not on Internet piracy watchlist, says Internet Australia
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.
Optus and TV Now: Will copyright law catch up to the cloud?
A legal decision which forced Optus to shut down its time shifting service TV Now may eventually lead to reform of existing copyright law to cater for cloud technology.
After 16 years, Microsoft finally exits ninemsn
Sixteen years after the founding of the company during the first dot-com boom, global technology giant Microsoft has finally revealed plans to sell its 50 percent stake in online venture ninemsn, with television partner Nine to take full control of the joint venture.
NSW announces Opal app top ups, credit card “tap in” trial
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.