Jason Clare appointed Shadow Comms Minister; Michelle Rowland to assist
Former Home Affairs and Justice Minister Jason Clare, a politician with no previous known history in the Communications portfolio, has been appointed Shadow Communications Minister, with experienced former telco lawyer Michelle Rowland to assist him in opposing sitting Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Turnbull faces questions on NBN journalist bullying
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has faced a number of questions from the media over the past 24 hours as to whether his actions towards ABC journalist Nick Ross and others has constituted 'bullying' journalists with respect to the contentious National Broadband Network issue in his portfolio.
Most Australians now support MTM NBN, claims Morrow
The chief executive of the NBN company last week said that the debate over different technologies for the National Broadband Network was effectively over, with 'most' Australians having now accepted the rationale for the Coalition's technically inferior Multi-Technology Mix model for the network.
Telstra NBN remediation work on again
The nation's largest telco Telstra has announced that it will restart remediation work on its pits and pipe infrastructure, as controls on asbestos handling have been put in place to deal with the hazardous material. The remediation work is necessary for the National Broadband Network rollout to go ahead, using Telstra's infrastructure.
NBN CTO pitches 5Gbps speeds for HFC cable modems
The chief technology officer of the NBN company yesterday said new modems launched by the company's equipment supplier ARRIS will allow theoretical top speeds of 5Gbps down and 2Gbps up, in comments which appear to run contrary to ongoing claims by the company that Australians are not interested in gigabit NBN speeds.
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.
Chaos: Coalition a total shambles on NBN policy
Up until now, I've been willing to give the Coalition the benefit of the doubt when it comes to national broadband policy, due primarily to the intelligence and experience of its Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. But events last week starkly demonstrated the Coalition is currently a complete mess when it comes to this critical portfolio.
Huawei & the NBN: Beware the CCP’s long arm
Huawei Australia’s local company men appear to have little idea of how China’s political economy, the Chinese telecommunications sector, or the Shenzhen-based parent company operates.
NBN: Turnbull strengthens FTTN focus
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has intensified the Coalition's focus on fibre to the node as an alternative to the fibre to the home-style rollout used by the NBN, using similar FTTN rollouts by AT&T in the US, BT in the UK and Deutsche Telekom in Germany as examples for how the broadband rollout style could be carried out in Australia.
Spirit deploys 200Mbps FTTB to Southbank
It’s only a very limited rollout so far, but Melbourne residents might be interested to know that local telco Spirit Telecom has deployed what appears to be a Fibre to the Basement broadband rollout in the Triptych apartment facility in the Southbank area. It appears that Spirit has been able to achieve speeds of up to 200Mbps by using Fibre to the Basement and then deploying its own in-building network to extend broadband to each apartment — skipping the existing in-building copper infrastructure.
Tabcorp continues Telstra love affair
Wagering giant Tabcorp revealed this week that it had signed a new comprehensive telecommunications services deal with Telstra, in the latest contract the pair have inked in an extensive relationship dating back at least half a decade and covering a wide range of technology services.
First Vodafone 4G tests: It’s fast, but patchy
Due to its spectrum supremacy and the fact that there aren't many people using the network yet, Vodafone's 4G infrastructure does offer speeds that can in places be faster than those offered by Telstra or Optus. However, the telco is still lagging behind when it comes to the breadth of its network coverage.
Release your NBN plan already, Conroy tells Turnbull
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy this afternoon demanded his opposite Malcolm Turnbull release the Coalition's rival National Broadband Network policy, after the Liberal MP admitted to the Financial Review newspaper this morning that the policy was "ready".
MTM broadband plan a “dog’s breakfast”, says Budde
Respected telecommunications analyst Paul Budde has heavily criticised the Coalition's new preferred broadband deployment model, describing its "Multi-Technology Mix" approach as "a dog's breakfast" of different technologies, which could turn out to be a "logistical nightmare" to deliver in practice.
New surveillance powers akin to ‘China, Iran’
Digital rights lobby group Electronic Frontiers Austraklia has described the Federal Government's proposed new surveillance and data retention powers as being akin to those applied in restrictive countries such as China and Iran, as the group and others have renewed calls for an inquiry into the powers to have its timeframe extended.
Sensis to cut 800 staff
Telstra's advertising and directories business Sensis has revealed plans to cut about 800 jobs Australia-wide, in a move that one of the telco's main unions has immediately stated will "irreparably harm local economies and erode the nation’s skills base".
ISPs don’t have to collect voluntary filter data
The Australian Federal Police has confirmed there is no obligation by Internet service providers participating in its voluntary Internet filtering trial to collect data about how many requests to visit the sites they block under the trial -- or to disclose that data if it is actually collected.
Five things to like about the Coalition’s NBN policy
The Coalition's rival National Broadband Network policy has copped a lot of flak over the past several weeks. Business Spectator commentator Alan Kohler described it as "madness" and analyst Paul Budde described the UK model it's based on as "unconvincing". But there's still a lot of reasons to like the policy -- and here's five.
UK pledges “fastest” broadband in Europe
One of the key politicians responsible for delivering telecommunications policy in the UK delivered a major speech overnight pledging to deliver UK residents the "fastest" broadband of any major European country by 2015, through a range of initiatives combining fibre to the home, fibre to the node and wireless technologies.
Telstra creates giant national … Wi-Fi network??
The nation's largest telco Telstra has flagged plans to utilise its own and customers' infrastructure to create a giant national Wi-Fi network around Australia, in a move that comes just two years after the company shut down its existing Wi-Fi network with about 1,000 hotspots and goes against the clear Australian preference for 3G/4G mobile broadband access.
Exetel reveals 300GB, 100Mbps NBN plan for $70
Second-tier Australian ISP Exetel has launched a 300GB National Broadband Network pricing plan at 100Mbps for just $70 a month just a week after being criticised for having low top-end plans and undercutting rivals such as iiNet and Internode in the process.
HANDS OFF NICK ROSS: Conroy warns the ABC and The Australian
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has harshly criticised both The Australian newspaper and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for what he said were "outrageous" attempts to vilify and discipline senior ABC journalist Nick Ross for merely doing his job in comparing the Coalition and Government NBN policies.
Telstra buys MSC Mobility to boost enterprise mobility focus
Telstra has announced it is acquiring long-term partner MSC Mobility (MSC), a provider of mobile device solutions for businesses in Australia, in a move that is designed to enhance the telco's enterprise mobility capabilities.
New charging options for Delimiter 2.0
New yearly subscription and once-off individual article pricing launch for Delimiter 2.0.
Hackett’s NBN scale claim “sheerest nonsense”: Linton
Exetel chief executive John Linton has labelled as "the sheerest nonsense" the claim by Internode chief Simon Hackett that ISPs will need to gain scale to compete when the National Broadband Network is rolled out around Australia.
BT announces huge FTTP rollout to 2 million premises
BT today announced an investment in the UK's broadband infrastructure that will see a major rollout of fibre to the premises (FTTP) alongside other initiatives the firm said will help the country remain "the leading digital nation in the G20".
Shocker? Conroy’s not a reader, but Lundy is
This morning we had a fair old go at the Herald Sun for attacking Greens Senator Scott Ludlam for his extensive government-funded reading habits. But what about the other side of the coin? What do other parlimentarians active in ICT-related portfolios claim as reading expenses?
The NBN is in a regulatory hole: Time to stop digging
As the saying goes, when you are in a hole, stop digging. The NBN is looking like a large pit, and at present, everyone is digging in deeper.
China concerned by Huawei NBN ban, says Bob Carr
Foreign Minister Bob Carr hit up the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7:30 last night and was quizzed by host Chris Uhlmann on, among other things, the attitude of Chinese officials to the Federal Government's move to block Chinese networking gear supplier Huawei from participating in National Broadband Network contracts.
“Stopping surveillance overreach”: Greens unveil digital privacy policy
The Australian Greens has unveiled a broad digital rights and privacy policy aimed at stopping what the party this week week described as "surveillance overreach" by Australian and international law enforcement initiatives, as both Labor and the Coalition continue to ignore the area, refusing to release policies to deal with digital rights.
Insider Robin Payne appointed NBN Co CFO
The National Broadband Network Company, the company constructing Australia’s national broadband network, has appointed Robin Payne, Chief Financial Officer. Payne has been acting as CFO, succeeding Jean-Pascal Beaufret, who retired in January 2012.
Help crowdsource an NBN implementation study
The Register has posted an entry on local crowdsourcing site Pozible inviting Australians to help it fund a detailed implementation study into the NBN, sourcing quotes for such a study from veteran analyst houses IBRS and Market Clarity.
Optus ropes in Thorpe, Wahlberg for small business focus
Optus is launching a celebrity-endorsed campaign to emphasise its "refocus" on providing custom solutions for Australia’s two million-plus small business owners.
Pro-NBN National Day of Action is tomorrow
Supporters of Labor's all-fibre vision for the National Broadband Network project have organised a national day of action for Tuesday 26 November, which will see thousands of Australians physically present Members of Parliament with copies of a 270,000-strong petition on the issue.
Telstra to invest $250m more to fix network issues
Telstra CEO Andrew Penn has announced that his firm is to spend $250 million addressing issue that have hit users of its mobile and broadband networks in recent months.
iiNet ramps up Internode digestion
iiNet has taken several key milestone actions over the past week as it continues its ongoing efforts to integrate the operations of fellow national broadband provider Internode into its own, following its acquisition of the company in late December last year.
Crowdsourced NBN think tank launches Senate submission
A loose-knit collective of Australian technologists has formed what it has dubbed an online crowdsourced think tank focused around the National Broadband Network project and has started putting together a submission to the NBN Senate Select Committee which will argue for a network built on the best available 'fit for purpose' technology - not on political ideology.
Coalition to answer all NBN policy questions
The Coalition has published an extensive document with which it appears to be hoping to answer all of the 'frequently asked questions' regarding its rival National Broadband Network policy, including points of contention such as its cost, technical aspects when compared to Labor's existing fibre solution, and future telecommunications industry structure.
Tassie Govt criticises TPG over Basslink Internet issues
The Tasmanian Government has expressed its disappointment over service interruptions for customers of TPG's Internet service provider brands following the cutting of the Basslink cable.
SingTel, SubPartners, Telstra to build new Perth-Singapore fibre cable
Singtel, SubPartners, and Telstra have inked a deal to build a new international submarine cable that will carry data between Perth and Singapore.
Another view of Greg Adcock’s appointment
If you were reading Delimiter and Delimiter 2.0 yesterday, you may have seen that we took a fairly strong view on the departure of NBN Co chief operating officer Ralph Steffens and the appointment of Telstra’s NBN lead executive Greg Adcock in his place. However, in the interest of balance, and with particular reference to our new formal Code of Ethics published last night, we believe it’s worth alerting readers to another side of this story.
Parliament knocks back surveillance terms
The Parliamentary Committee tasked with examining the Labor Federal Government's wide-ranging plans to broadly increase and deepen its surveillance powers has reportedly knocked back the terms of reference which the Government has given it.
Adam confident on NBN despite Internode exit
South Australian internet service provider Adam Internet has reiterated the company’s commitment to the South Australian market, subsequent to the surprise $105 million acquisition of fellow SA-based ISP Internode by long-time rival iiNet; expressing confidence about the company’s future in the National Broadband Network (NBN) environment.
Turnbull wants strong ACCC oversight of NBN Co
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned the National Broadband Network Company must not not dodge Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) oversight, echoing concerns by a number of the company's ISP customers early this year.
iiNet announces NBN satellite plans
Australia’s second largest DSL Internet provider, iiNet has announced it will launch its first National Broadband Network satellite services in the latter part of March and has provided details of its pricing plans, which start at $49.95 per month.
Class action lawsuit starts against Vodafone
Just when you thought Vodafone’s problems couldn’t get any worse … they just did. Remember that potential class action lawsuit which local firm Piper Alderman had been promoting back in December 2010 in the wake of Vodafone’s ‘Vodafail’ problems? Well, it’s back, it’s on, and some 23,000 people have joined the action.
ACCC rubber stamps Optus’ NBN deal
The national competition regulator has approved an $800 million deal which will see number two telco Optus shut down its HFC cable network and migrate its fixed-line broadband and telephony customers onto the National Broadband Network infrastructure as it is rolled out over the next decade.
SA Premier gets US fast broadband tour
South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill has toured the high-tech city of Chattanooga, Tennessee in the United States, to survey the city’s revitalisation brought about with the use of high-speed broadband.
Tassie NBN rollout “dead in the water”: Turnbull
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described the National Broadband Network rollout in Tasmania as being "dead in the water", with no progress in the state having been made "for month", in the context of calls from activists in the state for the Fibre to the Premises rollout promised under Labor to be completed.
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.
FTTN or FTTP? Both. The NBN should be hybrid.
It's time to get away from the Fibre to the Premises/Fibre to the Node debate, writes Progressive Democratic Party director and IT consultant Michael Berry, and acknowledge that Australia's National Broadband Network should include elements of both.
Did NBN Co fudge its rollout numbers?
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull this week claimed the National Broadband Network Company had in January fudged its network rollout statistics by retroactively updating its December fibre rollout database to show additional premises; a claim NBN Co has denied.
Customers dumping fibre for 4G in Japan
There is now serious evidence emerging that the arrival of high-speed LTE (4G) mobile networks coupled with the smartphone and tablet boom is creating serious problems for fibre to the home operators in some markets such as Japan.
Turnbull’s Quigley slander is flatly offensive
Malcolm Turnbull’s dogged attacks on the highly capable and transparent chief executive of the National Broadband Company are without basis and run contrary to the Shadow Communications Minister’s public call recently for truth, leadership and responsibility to re-enter Australia’s political sphere.
Why the NBN needs a safe pair of hands
When I think about the future of the National Broadband Network project, what mainly concerns me is that whoever is in charge of the initiative keeps it moving forward, keeps it on track and delivers better broadband to all Australians within the next decade.
Telstra preparing mobile network for 1Gbps speeds ‘later in 2016’
Telstra has made a raft of announcements this week, including the launch of 1Gbps speeds on its mobile networks in certain areas.
Telstra 4G trials hit 300Mbps
Just how fast can 4G mobile broadband go? Very fast, according to Telstra, which has been conducting trials of LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation technology.
Fifield misleads Senate on Labor’s NBN policy history
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield appears to have this afternoon inadvertently misled the Senate regarding the history of the Labor Party's National Broadband Network policy, falsely alleging that the party had not considered re-using existing network infrastructure during the development of the policy.
ISPs, consumers sign up for NBN Co’s FTTB pilot
The National Broadband Network Company has signed up four of Australia's major Internet service providers for its trial of Fibre to the Basement (FTTB) technology in its rollout, with ordinary consumers to be given a chance to test the technology and provide feedback on their experiences.
Vocus to buy Nextgen Networks for $861m
Vocus Communications has announced the acquisition of Nextgen Networks, along with two undersea cable projects, the North West Cable System and Australia Singapore Cable.
NBN Press Club debate: It’s on
Communications Minister Anthony Albanese and Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull have agreed to debate the National Broadband Network, likely at the National Press Club.
Leaked numbers show NBN fibre rollout lagging
I've been quite optimistic about the speed at which NBN Co is rolling out its brownfields fibre infrastructure, but that optimism has been challenged today by what appears to be the inadvertent release of new statistics regarding the company's rollout progress.
NZ brings FTTP costs down to FTTN levels
The telco deploying New Zealand's own version of the National Broadband Network has revealed that it was able to cut the cost of deploying its Fibre to the Premises model by 29 percent in a single year in 2015 and will cut it evern further this year, bringing the overall cost down to a comparable level with rival mdoels such as Fibre to the Node.
‘Partisan ideology’: Turnbull blasts pro-NBN ‘media apologists’
Shadow Communications Minister has taken a verbal pick axe to a number of ‘pro-NBN specialist commentators’ who he said were delivering a “partisan ideology” and helping “fantasy” triumph over fact in the ongoing national debate over the specific details of how Labor’s flagship National Broadband Network project should go ahead.
If Nicola Roxon doesn’t believe in her own policy, why should we?
Contrary to utopians such as Julian Assange, there is a place for secrecy in national security. But we need to be able to trust the spooks and police. Proposals that are vague, extraordinary and unsubstantiated do not induce trust. Neither does an Attorney-General who confuses kite-flying with an own goal.
Just watch, Quigley tells NBN critics: We’re on track
NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley has laughed off criticism of the speed of the rollout of the National Broadband Network’s fibre deployment, confirming it is on track for its December target of 758,000 premises being constructed, and pointing out similar criticism levelled at the deployment of Australia’s first telephone networks in 1909.
Court reversal: TPG ads not misleading
The full Federal Court has largely reversed an earlier decision by a single judge which had found that TPG's advertisements of its $29.99 'unlimited' ADSL and telephone bundles had been misleading, forcing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission onto the back foot in the case.
“Simply incorrect”: Morrow refutes most NBN leaks with evidence
The CEO of the NBN company has delivered a strong rebuttal of negative conclusions which commentators had drawn from a recent spate of leaks, providing a Senate Committee hearing this morning with evidence that the NBN was ahead of its targets on all measures and that its technology was performing well.
Please explain Huawei ban, Greens tell Labor
The Greens have called on the Labor Federal Government to publicly disclose its reasons and associated evidence for blocking Chinese networking giant Huawei from tendering for National Broadband Network contracts, pointing out that the company has not been accused of breaking any laws.
Further Liberal hypocrisy on the NBN
It seems Liberal MPs all around Australia just can't stop demanding that the National Broadband Network be rolled out in their area.
Turnbull’s Blue Book: Help us crowdfund the new Minister’s briefing
Want to read the massive, 545 page departmental briefing document which Malcolm Turnbull received when he was sworn in as Communications Minister several weeks ago? We do too, but we'll need your help; so we've launched a $2,000 Pozible campaign to crowdfund access to it under Freedom of Information laws.
Telstra testing in-flight 4G broadband
The nation's largest telco Telstra has built new mobile towers covering the airplane route between Sydney and Melbourne and tested mobile broadband speeds up to 15Mbps to planes in the air, in a pilot program which could one day see the telco finally solve the long-running problem of in-flight Internet access in Australia.
Morrow must receive the dignity that Quigley never did
Those opposed to the Coalition's rival broadband policy must not step over the line into offensiveness in their pursuit of NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow over past failures at US utility Pacific Gas & Electric. The better path of valor would be to treat Morrow with the same level of respect and dignity that his predecessor Mike Quigley deserved, but never got.
NBN here to stay under Coalition, says analyst
Labor's flagship National Broadband Network project is here to stay in one form or another and won't be discontinued as a whole, telecommunications analyst Paul Budde said this week, even if the Coalition was to take power in the next Federal Election.
NBN critics: Can’t you do better than this?
Attention, NBN critics: If you're going to engage in the popular Australian pastime of sledging the National Broadband Network, at least get your basic facts right before doing so. Otherwise, you'll end up with egg all over your face.
NBN Co sets 150GB cap on long-term satellite access
The NBN company has proposed setting a series of caps on usage of its two satellites, with entry-level plans featuring a cap of 75GB per month and higher level plans offering between 100GB and 150GB per month.
Australia Post reveals digital mailbox plan
Australia Post has announced that what it has described as a "Digital Mailbox" will be offered free to every Australian this year.
Coalition to adopt UK broadband platform
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed plans to implement the same underlying broadband infrastructure platform in Australia which has already been used for some time in the UK, with the two nations' incumbent telcos Telstra and BT to collaborate on the exchange over the next several years.
Australia’s Internet services slower in 2012 than 2011: Akamai
Australia’s average Internet speeds have decreased by 23% compared with a year ago, according to the latest quarterly figures from global content distribution network (CDN) giant Akamai.
Hypocrisy: The Australian attacks ABC’s NBN objectivity
The Australian this morning published several articles accusing a senior ABC journalist of failing to uphold the broadcaster's editorial standards in coverage of the National Broadband Network, despite the fact that the News Ltd newspaper and its commentators have themselves faced the same criticism from the print media watchdog and others in the past.
iiNet to double quota in new NBN satellite plans
iiNet has announced it will soon launch broadband products based on the wholesale availability of services from NBN's Sky Muster satellite, which was successfully launched last October.
Labor has 60 complaints from congested FTTN users who want their ADSL back
The Opposition said this week that it has received about 60 complaints from early adopters of the Government's preferred Fibre to the Node NBN rollout model, many of whom were receiving such poor service that they would prefer to have their original ADSL broadband back.
This is what the NBN debate has come to
If you had any shred of belief that Australia's debate over the National Broadband Network had further depths to sink to, let that belief be laid aside. Today, News Ltd published an article attacking the amount of money which NBN Co spends on ... coffee. That's right; coffee.
Optus 4G hits Brisbane, Gold Coast
The nation’s number two telco Optus announced this morning that it had switched on its first 4G sites in the Brisbane central business district and Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, adding to its existing coverage zones in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Newcastle.
Turnbull taints Budget with NBN cost lie
Malcolm Turnbull late yesterday used the Federal Budget announcements process to again erroneously claim that the Coalition's technically inferior version of Labor's National Broadband Network project would be $32 billion cheaper, despite the fact that the Communications Minister is aware this claim is not true.
NBN could cost $100bn, claims Hockey
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has claimed the National Broadband Network could cost as much as $100 billion to build, despite the company’s own estimates showing that it will require around $37 billion of capital injection from the Government and eventually make a return, paying back the investment with some profit on top.
NewSat offers to buy NBN Co satellites
Pure play satellite company NewSat has made an offer to the buy the National Broadband Network Company's two satellites before they are even launched, as speculation continues to swirl around the potential privatisation of chunks of NBN Co's infrastructure under the new Coalition Federal Government.
No matter who wins the election, here’s why Telstra should build the NBN
The issue of how the National Broadband Network should be rolled out is an extremely fraught and highly debated one. But one thing has become very clear over the past several years: The rollout has not progressed as fast as Labor said it would; in fact, far from it. One reason for this may be that the organisation with the most expertise in rolling out telco networks hasn’t participated in the construction effort, unlike in virtually every other country in the world. If we want this rollout to happen, it is definitely time to turn back to Telstra to get this thing done.
iiNet’s Malone takes 3-6 month sabbatical
iiNet chief executive Michael Malone has signalled plans to take a break of between three to six months from the business he founded in his garage some 20 years ago, with iiNet's chief financial officer David Buckingham to step in as acting chief executive in his absense.
Google Fiber takes 1Gbps to 34 new US cities
US technology giant Google has announced that it will work with a further 34 cities in the US on deploying its high-speed Fibre to the Premises broadband infrastructure, in a move that further solidifies the long-term case for the FTTP deployment model globally.
Oops: Pro-NBN ad campaign raises $40k
A crowdfunding campaign which aimed to raise $15,000 to place pro-FTTP NBN ads Malcolm Turnbull’s local newspaper has massively blown its original target in a matter of days, with almost $40,000 being pledged to the cause so far.
Unlimited 100Mbps for $89.99: TPG equals top NBN plan
TPG has launched a new plan on the National Broadband Network fibre infrastructure which appears to match the existing best option on the market from rival Exetel, with the national broadband provider also now offering an unlimited option at speeds of 100Mbps for just $89.99 per month.
Coalition must support FTTH, says Oakeshott
Ever the supporter of the Federal Government's National Broadband Network project, independent Rob Oakeshott has come out swinging this week to demand that the Coalition must support the fibre to the premises basis of the NBN, not the FTTN model the Coalition currently supports.
Switkowski worried about “heroic” effort needed to meet NBN targets
Some of you may recall that then-Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull was fond of using the word "heroic" with reference to the NBN company's rollout targets and revenue assumptions under the previous Labor Government, indicating that he did not believe they were realistic. With this in mind, we were surprised this week to read in the pages of the Financial Review that the NBN company's chair Ziggy Switkowski has chosen the same word to apply to the NBN's rollout plans for the next five years.
The FTTN truth the Coalition does not want known
ABC Technology & Games editor Nick Ross is the only journalist in Australia so far to have gone into the appropriate level of detail in analysing the Coalition's rival NBN policy. And the Coalition should be very afraid of this fact indeed: Because his most recent NBN opus reflects a knockout blow for its disastrously flawed fibre to the node plans.
NBN Co to kill TPG rollout while Minister dithers
The National Broadband Network Company has decided to take action into its own hands to deal with TPG's plans to deploy competitive broadband infrastructure in Australia's cities, revealing plans this morning to accelerate its own rollout to compete with TPG ahead of any expected decision on the issue by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
“Liar!” Rowland demands Turnbull tell NBN truth
Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland has accused Malcolm Turnbull of being a "liar" and failing to "tell the truth", with respect to the Communications Minister's ongoing false statements about the cost of Labor's National Broadband Network policy.
NBN Co renews Service Stream greenfields deal
National construction firm Service Stream this morning revealed the National Broadband Network Company had renewed its contract to design and deploy NBN Co's fibre network to greenfield developments (usually housing estates), in a deal which could eventually be worth some $140 million.
Think big, Hackett tells Australians on eve of Internode departure
Internode founder Simon Hackett has exhorted Australians to think about their legacy and how they can "leave a good result behind", in a heartfelt speech given on the eve of his departure from the Internet service provider he founded and arrival as a board director at the National Broadband Network Company.
For whom the Whirlpool trolls? Stephen Conroy and the NBN
Is Whirlpool or the Financial Review more accurate when it comes to reporting on the National Broadband Network? Two Canberra journalism professors analyse the situation.
Good guy Gates on the NBN
Good guy Gates on the National Broadband Network.
Exetel to compensate heavy downloaders over ‘unfair’ contracts
Internet service provider Exetel is to compensate consumers over residential broadband contracts that were deemed "unfair" by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
NBN supports Coalition MPs as election campaign escalates
The NBN company has taken minor steps to support two Coalition MPs this week in promoting their work bringing broadband to their local areas, in moves that call into question the company's independence in the pre-election period before the national poll expected to be held later this year.
Telstra rejects Choice’s unfavourable price comparison as “flawed”
Telstra has said that a price comparison of some of its mobile and Internet plans that suggested consumers are paying a premium of up to 92% over other telcos' products is "flawed".
Turnbull forces all Dept staff to re-apply for jobs
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has ordered all 550 staff at his Department of Communications to re-apply for their jobs, according to the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), as part of a sizable cull that could see up to 125 jobs cut from the department.
6 months free: New Internode 1.5GB mobile plan
iiNet subsidiary and national broadband provider Internode has launched an inexpensive new mobile plan offering customers six months’ free access to its monthly NodeMobile plan, including 1.5GB of data and $450 of mobile calling value, to customers who sign up for two-year ADSL broadband and telephone plans.
Higher 100Mbps uptake will spur NBN price cuts
If Australians continue to buy 100Mbps NBN services at the current rate, it is likely that the real-world consumer cost of accessing the NBN will come down substantially over time, as the network will pay for its own construction much faster than the National Broadband Network Company had been anticipating.
Optus to cut “several hundred” jobs, union says
Australia's second-largest telco Optus is set to cut several hundred jobs, one of its main unions claimed last week, as part of a "company-wide restructure" that may involve outsourcing and offshoring some aspects of Optus' operations.
Syntheo quits NBN rollout; Lend Lease + Downer EDI step up
Embattled construction firm Syntheo has walked away from the construction of the National Broadband Network project after a series of issues that have resulted in a material financial loss for the company, with Lend Lease to pick up its existing contracts and Downer EDI also coming on board with the NBN in other areas.
Conroy misleads public on Internet filter
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy today appeared to consciously tell a factual inaccuracy with respect to the current implementation status of Labor's controversial Internet filtering project, stating that Telstra and Optus had implemented the filtering system, when they have only implemented a drastically reduced version.
Cranky Telstra wants its champagne glass back
Telstra's response so far to concerns about its Structural Separation Undertaking has been conciliatory by its own standards; but has not yet come anywhere near to substantially addressing issues with the document expressed by its rivals and the competition regulator over the past several months.
Turnbull’s broadband brochureware falls short of election promise
The new Coalition Government has failed to successfully deliver what it had promised before the election would be a key report on the overall status of broadband infrastructure in Australia, instead releasing just before Christmas an extremely brief report of only several pages which does little to illuminate the situation.
Stephen Conroy wishes you Merry Christmas
Yes, the above is a Christmas card sent by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to Delimiter. It was addressed to "Ms Renai LeMay" (oops), but we choose to believe that it expressed sentiments by the Minister not to me personally, but to the Delimiter community as a whole, as the site's strength is not in one person's voice, but in the many.
Coalition NBN will suffer in the long term: Experts
The federal Coalition’s new A$30 billion plan for “fast, affordable” broadband is a quick-fix strategy, which is likely to cost more and be less reliable long-term, according to experts.
Exetel launches off-peak unlimited NBN plans
National broadband provider Exetel has launched a dozen new pricing plans on the National Broadband Network's infrastructure which feature unlimited off-peak downloads between 1AM and 9AM in the morning.
Pirate Party slams ‘unjust’ surveillance upgrade
The Australian division of digital rights political movement the Pirate Party has slammed Federal Government plans to "unjustly" boost online surveillance powers by law enforcement agencies, describing the initiatives as "steps towards a police state".
Conroy fights Internet control in Dubai
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has revealed he is leading a team to a key telecommunications conference being held in Dubai this week at which the International Telecommunications Union is attempting to seek greater control over the operation of the Internet.
Crazy spectrum prices? No. Historically consistent.
The flagrantly worded argument by Liberal MP Paul Fletcher and others that the Federal Government has badly mismanaged the process of auctioning off 4G wireless spectrum is overly simplistic and does not well-represent the complex dynamic involved in this commercial bidding process.
Final closure: TPG buys AAPT for $450m
In a move which will finally put paid to Telecom New Zealand's lengthy and frustrated failed adventure into Australia, second-tier telco TPG this morning revealed it would buy its ailing Australian division AAPT for $450 million.
Turnbull’s MTM CBN should not be a monopoly
The only way for Labor's all-fibre National Broadband Network to sensibly function was for it to be a legislated infrastructure monopoly. But the Coalition's watered-down, multi-technology alternative is a very different kettle of fish, and consumers will clearly benefit if rival telcos such as Telstra, Optus and TPG are allowed to overbuild portions of the network.
Regulator pins Vodafone on Do Not Call breaches
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a statement noting that it has accepted an enforceable undertaking from Vodafone to restrain errant dealers telemarketing products from Vodafone and 3 Mobile.
War of NBN words: Turnbull clashes with Pesce again
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has again engaged in a highly public clash of wills with technology innovator and futurist Mark Pesce, over whether Labor's flagship National Broadband Network policy is the right way forward for Australia's telecommunications industry.
Five more telcos get access to Vodafone 4G
Vodafone has announced it will give five more mobile virtual network operators access to its 4G network.
The shape of things to come: FTTN criticism will not die
The creation of a fast-growing petition and the publication of a landmark article by the ABC on the issue are among growing signs that a powerful level of dissent about the Coalition's unpopular fibre to the node-based National Broadband Network policy will come to dog the incoming Abbott government on an ongoing basis.
Telstra’s Sensis sacks 648 staff
It seems like we’re always hearing about redundancies at Telstra’s directories and digital division Sensis. Last week it was half the division’s staff, this week the number has firmed at 648, according to an official Telstra media release issued this morning. Apparently the restructure is aimed at “digital growth”. Right.
Dreaming of the perfect NBN policy
In an ideal world, the perfect National Broadband Network policy would be a mix of the policies espoused by both Labor and the Coalition, taking the best ideas from both sides and ditching the bad ones. It would address Australia's short-term needs while still investing in the future. Here's how it would work.
Turnbull needs evidence for FTTN claims
A consensus is developing amongst National Broadband Network commentators that Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull needs to provide more evidence that Fibre to the Node is the best style of broadband infrastructure rollout for Australia's long-term telecommunications needs.
NBN rejects analysis: FTTP rollout to take “significantly longer”
The NBN company has called into question the validity of a detailed value analysis by a Monash University researcher, stating that a full Fibre to the Premises rollout would take significantly longer to achieve in Australia than its current Multi-Technology Mix model.
Secret piracy talks: Govt banned consumer groups
The Federal Government has revealed it denied requests by consumer organisations to attend a secret meeting held between the content and telecommunications industries to address the issue of illegal file sharing through avenues such as BitTorrent.
Exetel launches 4G mobile plans
Tier two national broadband provider Exetel has launched a range of 4G mobile broadband plans with monthly download quota ranging up to 20GB, based on Optus’ new 4G infrastructure located in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Newcastle.
NBN HFC trial achieves 84Mbps/33Mbps average speeds
The NBN company today revealed it had completed its HFC cable in the Queensland region of Redcliffe and was on track for a June commercial launch of the technology, with users on the trial achieving average downlaod speeds of 84Mbps and average upload speeds of 33Mbps.
The NBN’s new kingpin plan: Exetel offers unlimited 100Mbps for $89.99
National broadband provider Exetel has unveiled a raft of new ADSL and Fibre-based broadband packages that appear to be extremely competitive compared with rival options on the market, including a headline option which offers early customers on the National Broadband Network unlimited downloads and 100Mbps speeds for $89.99 a month.
Optus to operate CBN satellites
NBN Co announced over the weekend that it had signed a deal with Optus which will see the SingTel subsidiary provide tracking, telemetry and control services regarding NBN Co's two satellites planned to be launched in 2015.
ABC ignores damaging NBN leaks in lengthy Fifield interview
The ABC's political flagship Insiders failed to ask Communications Minister Mitch Fifield a single question about the National Broadband Network in an extensive interview yesterday, despite several damaging leaks regarding the project which dominated parliamentary debate over the past week.
Turnbull slams “insulting” NBN delays, blowouts
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday claimed the new corporate plan released by NBN Co this week showed the project was falling "disastrously" behind its benchmarks on both financial and infrastructure rollout measures, in a trend which he described as being "insulting" to the nation's taxpayers.
NBN enjoys massive public support despite “overwhelmingly negative” print coverage
A new comprehensive study of public attitudes towards Labor's National Broadband Network project has found the initiative still enjoys very high levels of widespread public support from ordinary Australians, despite what the study described as an "overwhelmingly negative" approach to the project by print media such as newspapers.
Most ISPs sign NBN Co wholesale contract
The National Broadband Network Company this morning revealed some 27 wholesale customers -- generally retail Internet service providers, including major market players Telstra and Optus -- had signed its permanent Wholesale Broadband Agreement that will shape the way they work with the company. However, at least one major ISP -- iiNet, has reportedly refused to sign.
Abbott faces down Tassie NBN supporters
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has stared down harsh criticism of the Coalition's rival broadband policy in a tense community meeting in Launceston, where the Labor Federal Government's popular National Broadband Network was one of the topics being discussed by Tasmanian residents.
Greens slam “offensive” secret piracy meetings
Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has attacked the Federal Government, which his party is in broad partnership with to form Government, for holding what he said were "offensive" secret meetings with the content and ISP industries on the issue of illicit Internet file-sharing.
Turnbull has “grave misgivings” on data retention
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has broken his silence regarding the Fedeal Government's controversial data retention and surveillance package, declaring that he has "grave misgivings" about a project which he feels "seems to be heading in precisely the wrong direction".
amaysim buys fellow mobile telco Vaya
Mobile telco amaysim this morning announced it had bought privately owned Vaya for $70 million, in a move that will add some 140,000 subscribers to amaysim's customer database and further consolidate the already tight mobile market.
Voda Win: Vodafone’s back, baby
You might have noticed that there's a decidedly positive tenor to the announcements which ailing mobile telco Vodafone Australia has been making recently. The company's leadership in 4G mobile broadband speeds, its appointment of a qualified executive from Europe to replace outgoing leader Bill Morrow, and this morning, the news that it has a million customers on its 4G network.
Vodafone achieves 67Mbps in 4G tests
We want to just briefly highlight the fact that ailing mobile telco Vodafone has finally kicked off trials of its new 4G network and is achieving top-range speeds of up to 67Mbps and upload speeds of up to 30Mbps.
NBN Co already acting like a monopoly, says Optus
Optus chief executive Paul O'Sullivan has accused NBN Co of attempts to cement its monopoly over the telco sector that "would make a Telstra executive blush", in a fiery speech in Sydney this afternoon in which he also opened fire on traditional Optus target Telstra and even the Federal Opposition.
Internode sets up first ever offshore call centre
Adelaide-based ISP Internode this week revealed to staff that it would set up its first ever offshore call centre, in a move that represents a radical departure of the company's customer service and sales approach since its acquisition by iiNet and then TPG.
Giddings offers NBN Co free access to power poles
Tasmanian Labor Premier Lara Giddings has offered the National Broadband Network Company free access to the overhead power poles of state-owned energy utility Aurora to incentivise a full rollout of Fibre to the Premises broadband in the state, as part of a package of technology policy promises associated with the State Election.
Fairfax columnist prints blatant NBN falsehoods
A senior columnist writing for Melbourne newspaper The Age has falsely claimed that the fibre technology used in Labor's NBN project had a life of only 25 years and that it could be made obsolete by "low earth orbiting satellites", in an article riddled with inaccurate and highly disputed claims regarding the project.
AFACT demands Govt action over iiTrial loss
The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) today said its high-profile loss in its High Court case against ISP iiNet illustrated that Australia's Government needed to step in and take action on the issue of Internet piracy in Australia.
‘Malcolm, you’re not listening’: Pro-fibre NBN ad unveiled
The group of pro-fibre National Broadband Network activists planning to publish advertisements in the local newspaper of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull have revealed the creative they will use to target the Liberal MP, headlining their ads with the admonition: “Malcolm, perhaps you haven’t heard us clearly.”
Coalition NBN policy launch: Full video
Missed the Coalition's rival policy launch on TV this morning and want to catch up? No worries, Delimiter's got your back. Catch the whole presentation by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull in this YouTube video. We're also working on uploading the question and answer session in which yours truly and a number of other journalists put the tough questions to the pair.
IIA requests “streamlined” piracy controls from Govt
The main organisation representing Australian Internet service providers has strongly backed a Federal Government proposal which would make it easier for anti-piracy organisations to request details of alleged Internet pirates from ISPs; in a move which dovetails with a proposal outlined last week by ISPs to handle piracy online.
Advancing a competition agenda
Regulatory assessments have not acknowledged that Telstra’s dominance in fixed telephony has significant impacts on the mobile industry, according to Vodafone chief executive Bill Morrow, who argues in this opinionated article that in a converging world, this siloed approach is no longer tenable.
NBN confirms doubled satellite, wireless speeds?
NBN Co today revealed that its satellite and wireless services designed to serve a small proportion of the population will feature higher speeds than previously confirmed, with the services now to provide download speeds up to 25Mbps and upload speeds up to 5Mbps. However, questions remain over the timing and technical details of the company's announcement.
iiNet’s piracy stance attracts global praise
A decision by Australia's third-largest ISP to pull out of controversial secret talks with the content industry over Internet piracy issues has attracted international attention, with global commentators and readers highlighting the ISP's approach as a sensible one to dealing with litigious film and TV studios.
Telstra in mobile: Making out like a bandit
The nation's largest telco Telstra has continued to blitz rivals Optus and Vodafone in the mobile phone and broadband market, revealing today that it had added 958,000 new customers to its roster over the past six months, in a year in which Vodafone went backward and Optus experienced only modest mobile customer growth.
4G faster than the NBN? I don’t think so
Today's dose of National Broadband Network-related FUD comes from the West Australian newspaper, which has done some testing of Telstra's 4G mobile broadband network in Perth and come to the conclusion that "Wireless 4G leaves NBN in its wake". Riiiiight.
Govt bans Huawei from NBN tenders
Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon appears to have confirmed that her department has banned Chinese networking giant Huawei from participating in the multi-billion dollar National Broadband Network tendering process, despite the company not being accused of having broken any pertinent laws in Australia.
Huawei’s NBN ban: A 24 hour round-up
With this in mind, if you are interested in the Huawei NBN story, we can only recommend that you head to the the AFR and check out the following stories on the issue, where the paper has gathered the views of many, many different government and industry stakeholders on the issue. The best thing? None of it's paywalled.
Worst of the worst: Photos of Australia’s copper network
You don't always have a perfect day. Some days, you just get out of bed on the wrong side of the bed, and things go wrong for you all day. Australia's copper telecommunications network is like that. Most days it works OK, but on some days it's just a shocker. And there's a very good reason why -- it's old and in many areas it hasn't been maintained very well.
Telstra hits 450Mbps speeds in 4G trial
Australia’s largest telco Telstra this week said it had achieved live network speeds of 450Mbps on its Next G mobile broadband network, using the LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation standard across a combination of the 1800MHz and 2600Mhz spectrum bands.
NBN tower “life-threatening”, claim residents
A small community group in the Victorian town of Dereel is attempting to block the installation of a National Broadband Network wireless tower in the region despite most of the community approving, inaccurately claiming that the installation of the tower could cause life-threatening radiation to residents in the area.
Now Jason Clare writes to ABC over Nick Ross ‘gag’
Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare has stated that he is "very concerned" about claims that the ABC gagged its former technology editor from reporting on the NBN, and has joined his Victorian counterpart Philip Dalidakis in demanding answers from ABC managing director Mark.
‘Cooked books’, ‘funny money’, ‘trickery’: Coalition on NBN budgeting
Leading Opposition figures have slammed the Government's handling of funding for the National Broadband Network in this week's Federal Budget, alleging that the project's finances are being misallocated to cover up holes that would have sabotaged the policy aim of delivering a budget surplus.
‘Bold & visionary’: UK MP loves Australia’s NBN
One of the UK Government’s up and coming technology-focused politicians, Chi Onwurah, has declared Australia’s National Broadband Network to be bold and visionary following a visit Down Under and asked her own country’s administration why it doesn’t have similar ambitions in its own, much more limited broadband policy.
Optus lifts profits but loses customers … what is its long-term future?
The nation's number two telco Optus today reported a 15 percent jump in net profits for the year ended 31 March as cost-cutting initiatives take fat out of its operations, but the company is still facing a troubled future due to the fact that its overall revenues and customer numbers are still slumping.
Geo-block busting ISP not realistic, says Hackett
Internode managing director Simon Hackett has downplayed the potential for Internode or other Australian ISPs to follow a New Zealand ISP and offer a "Global Mode" that offers greater access to the internet by circumventing geographical restrictions placed on the certain internet services such as Hulu and Netflix.
Please accept my apologies: I was wrong about Malcolm Turnbull
I am here today to formally apologise. I was wrong to have faith in Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition on this issue. You were all right. Turnbull does indeed appear to be attempting to "demolish" the NBN.
NBN pricing revisited: The ARPU argument
Grahame Lynch is a respected telecommunications commentator and a professional colleague of mine with whom I have shared many an ale. But, like other commentators on the issue of NBN pricing, he hasn't provided enough evidence to make his case that broadband prices will rise under the NBN.
Turnbull appoints Simon Hackett, others to NBN board
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull today announced that he had appointed three senior executives, including Simon Hackett, Internode founder and doyen of Australia's broadband industry, to be non-executive directors sitting on the board of the National Broadband Network Company.
Turnbull “virtually invented the Internet in Australia”, claims Tony Abbott
Oh dear. Sometimes you just have to laugh — because if you didn’t laugh then you would cry. Tony Abbott is talking about Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull massively as the man who “virtually invented the Internet in Australia." Riiight.
Scott misleads Senate about Q&A’s NBN coverage
Mark Scott appears to have unintentionally misled the Federal Senate about the degree to which the broadcaster's Q&A program covers the National Broadband Network issue, with the ABC managing director yesterday erroneously claiming that Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull had faced "many questions" about the issue on the show.
Telstra sells most of Sensis to private equity
The nation's biggest telco Telstra this morning revealed it would sell 70 percent of its ailing directories and advertising business Sensis to US-based private equity firm Platinum Equity, with the sale to net the telco $454 million.
Google Fiber shows people don’t want FTTP, says Morrow
The chief executive of the NBN company this week reportedly said briefings with the team behind the Google Fiber project showed broadband users didn't want Fibre to the Premise infrastructure or the gigabit speeds behind it, and that the NBN company was built to make money, not as a public service.
Delimiter’s curious response to UK Superfast report
Delimiter has published a curious response to a UK House of Lords report on broadband policy released this week. Strange days indeed. Perhaps Delimiter read a different report to everyone else.
Nonsensical farce: NBN massively overbuilding Canberra’s FTTN with … more FTTN
The NBN company’s new three-year rollout plan has revealed the company plans to overbuild TransACT’s long-established Fibre to the Node and HFC cable networks in Canberra, Mildura and Geelong with more Fibre to the Node cables, in a decision which appears to make no technical or commercial sense.
HFC the “steam train” of broadband, says Budde
Australian telecommunications analyst Paul Budde has published a strongly worded blog post arguing that the HFC cable networks focused on by the Coalition in its rival NBN policy are akin to steam trains in the 1930's through the 1960's -- they'll still around for decades, but don't represent the future of their industry.
iiNet’s NBN HFC trials will soon kick off in Queensland
iiNet has announced that it will soon be starting trials of HFC cable as part of the NBN rollout, adding that they will "bring faster, more reliable Internet to Australians faster".
NBN nightmare install escalated to CEO, fixed
Remember Andrew Devenish-Meares, the Armidale resident who penned a nightmarish tale several weeks ago relating to his ongoing struggle to get the National Broadband Network fibre connected to his house? Well, the situation has been resolved, and Devenish-Meares is now a happy NBN camper with Internode.
iiBorg assimilates Adam Internet
Highly acquisitive Internet service provider iiNet has revealed plans to buy Adelaide-based ISP Adam Internet, swooping in quickly on the company following the collapse of a controversial deal that would have seen it bought by Australia's incumbent telco Telstra.
auDA dumps CEO Chris Disspain after 16 years … but why?
What I can't understand at this point is why the auDA board itself would turf Disspain from the position he has done an admirable job in. Was it a personality conflict? A professional disagreement of opinion? The statement says auDA is looking for "new leadership", but isn't the essence of auDA that it needs to remain stable -- something which Disspain has certainly been able to deliver to the organisation?
NBN: Can’t we all just get along?
So far the National Broadband Network debate over the past several years since Malcolm Turnbull became Shadow Communications Minister has been broadly polite, with both sides rationally examining and critiquing each other’s policies in a calm manner, while engaging in a friendly rivalry about who has the best polic. Oh, wait, I’m wrong. It’s actually become a a bile-filled cesspit of misleading statements, public slander, irrelevancy and flat-out lies. How could I forget?
Consumers paying up to 92% more with Telstra, says Choice
Choice, the not-for-profit consumer advocacy group, has said that consumers are paying "up to a 92% price premium" to access Telstra’s network, which has experienced a number of major outages in the last six months.
“Next item”: LNP mayor gives NBN Co just 8min
The Liberal/National Party-backed Mayor of the Gold Coast Council this week dramatically cut short a presentation by the National Broadband Network Company to the council, according to multiple reports, calling time on the company's comments just eight minutes into a scheduled half-hour briefing.
Visionstream to cut workforce, says union
Telecoms and ICT services provider Visionstream is to slash its workforce, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) has said.
‘Shelved’? No. Data retention will be back
Yesterday it was widely reported that the Federal Government had 'shelved' its data retention plans, walking away from the controversial proposal to monitor all Australians' communications. But the reality is the complete opposite: Data retention is still being actively considered as a policy and will shortly return to plague Australia once again.
Fletcher to assist Turnbull with NBN
As expected, Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott has named Malcolm Turnbull as incoming Communications Minister in his new cabinet, additionally appointing Liberal MP and former Optus executive Paul Fletcher as a parliamentary secretary to assist the Member for Wentworth in dealing with the communications portfolio.
Wrong: NBN Co rejects News Ltd wireless science
NBN Co's chief technology officer has published an article strongly rejecting a claim by News Ltd publications last week that recent scientific breakthroughs in the area of wireless science could make the predominantly fibre-based National Broadband Project irrelevant.
#firstworldproblems
Life is tough when you're a gazillionaire Australian ISP mega-mogul ;)
Back off, Turnbull tells FTTP petitioners: You’ve had your “democracy”
Malcolm Turnbull has sternly rejected an online petition which has so far garnered more than 200,000 signatures calling for the Coalition to support Labor's all-fibre NBN policy, with the Communications Minister-elect claiming it wouldn't be "democracy" for the new Coalition Government to reverse the rival NBN policy it took to the election.
Telstra pledges strong NBN asbestos controls
The nation's biggest telco Telstra has announced a wide raft of new measures designed to ensure safety around the handling of dangerous asbestos materials in its pits and pipes, as concern continues to grow regarding the issue unearthed by the rollout of the National broadband Network.
Senate Committee calls NBN Co for full day of hearings
The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network has resolved to hold another full day of hearings in Canberra, with the date to be 15 March and the only witness to be called being the NBN company.
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.
NBN Co adds “build preparation” zones into map
The National Broadband Network Company yesterday revealed it had added a new category of construction into its dynamically updated network rollout map, with the company now providing additional transparency around areas where "build preparation" activities are being undertaken ahead of the actual physical construction of its network.
Ex-staffer threatened ISP director with axe
If you thought you were having a bad day, spare a thought for the company director of an un-named South Australian ISP, who was recently threatened with an axe by an angry individual who had also allegedly hacked into its servers.
Havyatt appointed Conroy special adviser
As first reported by Communications Day, Telecommunications sector veteran David Havyatt has been appointed temporary special advisor to Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy starting today.
As Labor and the Coalition duel over the NBN, the real winner is Telstra
The real winner out of the National Broadband Network process is Telstra, writes Gennadi Kazakevitch, Deputy Head, Department of Economics at Monash University.
Exetel cuts NBN prices, limits quota to 150GB
National broadband provider Exetel has radically slashed the number of National Broadband Network plans it offers customers, as well as cutting prices and limiting the total monthly download quota on any plan to 150GB.
BitTorrent “not time-critical”: Telstra defends trial
The nation's largest telco Telstra claimed over the weekend that BitTorrent-style peer to peer traffic on its network was "not time-critical" and so could be slowed on its network "without significant consumer detriment", in an extensive statement defending highly controversial plans to trial several new network management practices.
Abbott, Hockey mislead again on NBN funding
Senior Coalition figures Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey have both this week again made misleading statements about the funding model for the National Broadband Network, separately stating that the NBN funding should be included in the Federal Budget as an expense, although standard accounting guidelines would see it listed as an investment.
NZ Govt rejects Turnbull’s HFC cable approach
The New Zealand Government has reportedly explicitly rejected a proposal by Vodafone NZ which would have seen the country take a similar approach to the re-use of existing HFC cable assets in its own national broadband network rollout as the new Coalition Government is proposing to take in Australia.
Sky News kills NBN topic with Shadow Minister
A host on pay TV channel Sky News last week defended the new Coalition Government's unpopular radical overhaul of Labor's NBN project and subsequently shut down discussion of it during a live interview with Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare, as controversy continues to swirl about the extent to which mainstream media is censoring coverage of the project.
“Malcolm in a muddle”: Husic accuses Turnbull of FTTP “porkies”
One of Labor's newest recruits to the broadband portfolio has accused Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull of "telling porkies" and "complete fabrications" with respect to the Liberal MP's statement that businesses in key areas such as CBDs would not need to pay extra to have fibre connected to their premises under the Coalition's rival NBN policy.
Hypocrisy? Fletcher pushs tech exports to China while TSSR bill looms
Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher has taken the extraordinary step of publicly advocating for Australian technology firms to sell products and services into the booming Chinese market, while the Federal Government that he is part of is seeking to pass legislation which may block Chinese companies from selling to Australia’s public sector.
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.
“Really good job”: Abbott praises Turnbull’s NBN work
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott this week said the fact that the Australian population overwhelmingly believed long-time rival Malcolm Turnbull would be the best choice for leader of the Liberal Party indicated that Turnbull was doing “a really good job” as Shadow Communications Minister, including his ongoing attacks on Labor’s National Broadband Network project.
We’re not shutting down T-Box, says Telstra
The nation's biggest telco Telstra has rejected a report by The Register that it is expected to shut down its T-Box IPTV streaming video platform and shift its 300,000-odd customers using the platform to the Foxtel pay TV company it part owns.
Turnbull repeats Triple J lie to Alan Jones
Malcolm Turnbull earlier this week made several statements on Alan Jones' breakfast show on 2GB radio which the Communications Minister is aware are false, repeating incorrect information he had previously broadcast on the ABC's Triple J several weeks ago and failing to correct incorrect information broadcast by Jones himself.
Optus mulls user pays FTTH NBN plans
The nation's number two telco Optus has revealed that it is considering launching plans which would allow Australians to individually pay to have the Coalition's fibre to the node NBN infrastructure extended all the way to the premises, in a move which will echo similar plans launched in the UK by British telco BT.
Fact check: The NBN wasn’t a “media stunt”
Free market thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs recently claimed Labor’s flagship National Broadband Network project was drawn up purely as a “media stunt” to drum up publicity for the Government. Unfortunately, this is a factually inaccurate statement, and here’s the evidence to prove it.
Why the NBN probably won’t kill Foxtel
The theory that the National Broadband Network is a threat to Foxtel's pay TV business doesn't really hold water.
NBN Co awash with review consultants
The National Broadband Network Company revealed late last week that it would appoint three consulting firms to assist with its Strategic Review process, despite the fact that Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull had stipulated it was his intention that the review be conducted by NBN Co itself.
Regulator clears Alan Jones of NBN falsehoods
Australia’s broadcast media regulator has cleared Alan Jones of any wrongdoing in a controversial broadcast in October 2012 in which the radio shockjock claimed the National Broadband Network was a “white elephant” and a “disaster” and that the future of telecommunications was “clearly wireless”, with the regulator giving Jones a pass because his statements were classified as "opinion" and not as "fact".
Vodafone announces continued “solid growth” in 2016
Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has announced continued "solid growth" during the first six months of the year, with both customer base and earnings on the rise.
The company you keep: Section 313 notices and IPv4 collateral damage
Internet Protocol researcher Geoff Huston analyses the Federal Government's usage of Section 313 notices to block certain websites, with reference to the ongoing issue of how IPv4 addresses are being used on the Internet.
TPG’s $69.99 unlimited plan shows the NBN future
The $69.99 unlimited plan revealed by cut-rate ISP TPG yesterday shows what the future of broadband plans on the National Broadband Network will look like, and it's not good news for premium ISPs such as Telstra, Optus and iiNet.
Conroy staffer + Telstra PR enters Parliament
Stephen Conroy might no longer be Communications Minister, and his party might no longer be in power, but the Victorian Labor Senator has just gained a new ally in Parliament, courtesy of the election of his former policy advisor and current Telstra regulatory affairs manager Tim Watts to Nicola Roxon's seat of Gellibrand.
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.
Why broadband is too important to be left to the private sector
Vox Media in the US has recently published a fascinating interview with Susan Crawford, former Special Assistant to President Obama on Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy. In it, Crawford expresses a view very similar to that taken by the Australian Labor Party — that the development of broadband is too important to be left to the profit-focused private sector.
When NBN installs go wrong: A nightmare tale
Turn the lights down low and prepare to be frightened by just how bad the National Broadband Network install process can be. Self-described "IT guy, husband and father", Andrew Devenish-Mear, has penned an extensive blog post on the horrors of trying to get your NBN connection running even when you're in one of the early fibre roll-out zones.
Vodafone buys TelstraClear for $660m
The nation's largest telco Telstra this morning confirmed it would walk away from its ill-fated venture into the New Zealand market, with rival Vodafone New Zealand to buy its Kiwi division TelstraClear for A$660 million.
Australians still overwhelmingly support the NBN
Research from the University of Melbourne shows that Australians still overwhelmingly support Labor's National Broadband Network project, despite the fact that the same research shows newspapers have been overwhelmingly negative about the project.
Fault brings month-long outage for PPC-1 international cable
A fault discovered on the 6,900km PPC-1 submarine cable connecting Australia to Guam is likely to take around 30 days to repair, according to TPG Telecom.
Correction: Cutting the NBN won’t save money
Yesterday Opposition Leader Tony Abbott stated in a high-profile speech at the National Press Club in Canberra that cutting Labor's National Broadband Network project would free up Federal Government money to be spent in other areas such as transport. It was a nice political soundbite. However, unfortunately, this statement was factually incorrect.
Fletcher wants Oz to learn from UK broadband policy
In a new blog entry entitled “What can we learn from the UK?”, Liberal MP Paul Fletcher has lambasted the broadband policies of the Gillard Government, unfavourable contrasting them with the approach of the Cameron Government in the UK.
Greens want to “maximise” FTTP, says Ludlam
Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam has accused the Coalition Government of 'pulling the plug' on Labor's National Broadband Network project and leaving Australians "stranded" on legacy copper infrastructure. In comparison, Ludlam said, the Greens were focused on "maximising the amount of optic fiber laid directly to premises".
NBN Senate Committee will hold hearings next week … without NBN Co
The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network has resolved to hold hearings in Parliament House in Canberra next Friday 4 March, but has opted to hear from a diverse range of witnesses in academia and industry, without the presence of its usual target, the NBN company.
Turnbull reportedly hires Henry Ergas for NBN cost/benefit analysis
If you were seeking to hire independent experts to conduct a cost/benefit analysis on an important piece of national infrastructure, you would probably seek to hire, well, experts who were independent, right? Experts who hadn't previously formed a fixed view on what would be the best way to deploy that infrastructure? Wrong, at least if you're Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
How the NBN will change education: Australia’s “Last Spike” moment
The NBN is all about people; not about technology. It is about being able to train, inspire and educate students of whatever age to work together as never before. And it is about devising solutions to real challenges in an interdisciplinary way.
“Misinformation”: Kogan enters open war with Telstra on disconnections
The troubled mobile division of consumer electronics giant Kogan has accused Telstra of misleading the public about the telco's willingness to continue to support Kogan's mobile customers abandoned by the failure of wholesale ispONE, in a furious statement alleging commercial impropriety by Telstra on a range of fronts.
Offended by ‘fraudband’? Maybe you shouldn’t have said it first
There’s been a bit of hoohah about the use of the hashtag #fraudband recently by [Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull[ & his cronies, decrying every use as ‘poor form’ & the like. Yet when you look deeper into the use of the term ‘fraudband’, the reality is that the Liberal & National Party were using it LONG before anyone supporting the NBN was.
New tests: Optus 4G as fast as Telstra
A series of new speed tests on Optus’ fledgling 4G mobile network in the Hunter region of NSW appear to show the network has the potential to be at least as fast as Telstra’s 4G network, reversing earlier results which had appeared to show Optus’ infrastructure was much slower than that of its rival.
What would Turnbull need to do in his first 100 days as Communications Minister?
Turnbull has made a very strident argument over the past several years that Labor needs to drastically rework its National Broadband Network policy. Well, it looks like the Viscount of Vaucluse is about to get his chance to make that argument reality. Will Turnbull fold or fly in his first 100 days in office, if the Coalition takes power next week?
Telstra, Optus, TPG, spend $1.9bn on spectrum
The Australian Communications and Media Authority this morning revealed that the majority of its auction of wireless spectrum, as expected, was snapped up by Telstra and Optus to fuel their 4G mobile broadband rollouts, with surprise bidder TPG also picking up a tiny portion of spectrum. The total raised from the sale was $1.9 billion.
iiNet backs Movie Rights Group’s legal process
One of Australia’s largest ISPs, iiNet, has indicated it supports the legal approach taken by a new company planning to target thousands of Australians with threatened legal action over BitTorrent downloads and would hand over customer information to the company if ordered to by a court.
Conroy and Husic fight over NBN rollout
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and fellow Labor parliamentarian Ed Husic appear to have gotten into what the Daily Telegraph is describing as "an expletive-laden" "behind the scenes slanging match" in the Labor party room over NBN Co's rollout schedule.
“A whole mess of garbage”: Ludlam blasts Turnbull’s “mongrel” NBN
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has given a fiery speech to Parliament this week damning the Coalition's version of the National Broadband Network as instigated by Malcolm Turnbull, labelling it as a "whole mess of garbage" and as being held together with "gaffer tape and plastic bags".
Telstra cuts 651 jobs in offshoring move
The nation's largest telco has revealed it will cut some 651 Australian jobs in areas such as customer support, with some of the work to be absorbed by other workers locally and some to be offshored to facilities in countries such as the Phillipines.
When academics perpetuate NBN ignorance
Professor Zumbo, we humbly submit that it might be wise for you take another look at the fundamental premises contained in your NBN article in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning. We humbly suggest that the degree of academic rigour contained within is sadly ... inferior.
Internode directly matches ADSL broadband plans to iiNet
National broadband player Internode has updated its broadband plans to almost precisely match those of its parent iiNet, as the two companies continue their drive to harmonise their operations almost precisely following their acquisition by TPG.
NBN irony as Turnbull takes the high ground
Last week Malcolm Turnbull gave what is generally acknowledged to be a landmark and admirable speech calling for truth, leadership and responsibility to boost the quality of debate in Australia's rapidly deteriorating political sphere. Now if only the Liberal MP would practice a little of the same when it comes to the National Broadband Network.
“Fictitious”: Turnbull rejects every Senate NBN allegation
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has published an extensive, 33 page Coalition rebuttal of specific allegations raised by the Opposition in late March claiming that evidence shows NBN Co’s Strategic Review published last year is based on “flawed and unreliable” premises and was in fact designed by Turnbull to constitute a “pre-ordained political outcome”.
Optus buys Vividwireless for $230m
Australia's number two telco Optus this morning revealed it would buy wireless broadband player Vividwireless from its parent the Seven Group, for a total cost of $230 million, in a move which Optus said will birth a new 4G mobile broadband network in Australia.
4G “far superior” to the NBN, claims Joe Hockey
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has inaccurately claimed that 4G mobile broadband has the potential to be "far superior" to the fibre technology which Labor's National Broadband Network policy features, in a controversial interview in which he also claimed that it could cost Australians up to $1,000 to connect to the NBN.
Revamped Telstra plans bundle yearly handset upgrade
The nation's largest telco Telstra has launched two new ranges of mobile phone plans, in addition to offering customers the option to pay $10 a month extra for the ability to trade in their smartphone once a year for a new model.
NBN could cost $100 billion, claims Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has publicly claimed that Labor's National Broadband Network project could could cost as much as $100 billion to build, despite the company’s own estimates showing that it will require around $37 billion of capital injection from the Government and eventually make a return.
Optus gives retail ISP customers access to 121 NBN POIs
Optus Wholesale has announced that it will provide wholesale NBN access to smaller ISPs, and has already signed an exclusive deal with SpinTel to allow wholesale NBN access for its residential broadband customers.
Coalition hasn’t addressed basic NBN policy issues
Fibre to the node isn't intrinsically a bad solution for Australia's broadband needs. But when you compare it to Labor's more visionary fibre to the premises plan, the differences between the two start to become starkly apparent. Australia deserves a whole lot better than what an incoming Coalition government will serve up to us.
FTTN a huge “mistake”, says ex-BT CTO
One of the UK's foremost telecommunications experts, a former chief technology officer of British telco BT, has publicly stated that fibre to the node-style broadband is "one of the biggest mistakes humanity has made", imposing huge bandwidth and unreliability problems on those who implement it, as the Coalition may do in Australia.
Optus launches customer forum
Giant national telco Optus has followed rivals Telstra and Vodafone and launched its own dedicated online customer support forum, supported by members of its successful social media team.
iiNet to splurge $350m on content, media
Over-the-top plays have not always gone well for Australia's telcos and Internet service providers. While the sector's big players -- Telstra, Optus, TPG, iiNet and Vodafone -- have proved themselves able at selling telecommunications services, in most cases they have also found it hard to make money from content or services sold over the top of their telco packages. But this doesn't appear to daunt iiNet, which tells the Financial Review this week that it has a war chest for just this purpose.
Turnbull’s right: ‘Under construction’ NBN stats are worthless
Malcolm Turnbull is absolutely correct in his claim that NBN Co’s focus on nebulous statistics regarding the number of premises where it has commenced or completed construction are “complete nonsense”. The company should stop using this figure as a measure of its progress, and focus only on areas where it has actually finished building the NBN.
Verizon Wireless vs Telstra: The great mobile rip-off continues
Does the recent announcement by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) of a new code of practice to prevent bill shock for “long-suffering telco customers”, and improve product marketing practices, bring Australia up to par with its international cousins? In a word: no.
Telstra offers free data following mobile network outage
Telstra is offering free data for a day for all customers this Sunday following an outage in its national mobile network that affected voice and data services for some customers.
Hockey says Govt spending $70bn on NBN
Treasurer Joe Hockey has stated that the Government is spending about $70 billion building its version of the National Broadband Network, in comments which appear to run contrary to existing estimates about the Government’s investment in the project.
Telstra cancels covert filter testing
The nation's largest telco Telstra today announced it had stopped archiving the web browsing activity of its users for the purpose of implementing a new voluntary Internet filter product, following widespread concern expressed this week after the test was revealed by a savvy group of network administrators.
The NBN, service providers and you … what could go wrong?
The NBN will provide Australians with a raft of exciting new opportunities. For services providers, it will provide a much-needed chance to improve their customer relations and procedures. And who wouldn’t welcome that?
Reality check: NBN Syntheo delays not significant
If you believe what you read over the past week, you'd think that construction delays on the part of contractor Syntheo have significantly derailed the progress of the National Broadband Network. However, as is often the case with the NBN, the truth couldn't be more different. The fact is that network remains squarely on track to meet its June 2013 rollouts targets.
A couple of important NBN corrections
Over the past several weeks, several prominent newspaper commentators have published a number of factual inaccuracies with respect to the Federal Government's National Broadband Network project. With the aim of informing good public policy debate, it seems appropriate to try and correct the record.
Leighton to sell NextGen, Metronode, Infoplex
Diversified contract and industrial group Leighton Holdings has flagged plans to sell its NextGen, Metronode and Infoplex telecommunications and technology businesses, in a move which will move the so-called “non-core” assets off the company’s books and potentially into the arms of another major player in the sector.
Internode to migrate customers to iiNet DSLAMs
National broadband provider Internode this week said its intention was, where possible, to eventually migrate all customers using ADSL infrastructure from rival wholesale providers Optus and Telstra to infrastructure owned by its new parent iiNet, as part of a "highest-priority" project following its acquisition.
Technical “dead-end”: Conroy smashes Turnbull’s NBN policy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has taken an axe to the national broadband policy outlined by his Coalition counterpart over the past few months, arguing Malcolm Turnbull's vision for Australia's future telecommunications needs would end up with the nation stuck in "a dead end".
NBN? No big deal, says Armidale
According to Business Insider, most residents of the rural NSW city of Armidale couldn't care less that the NBN's fibre has come to their region.
Telstra still working with Conroy on filter
Telstra is continuing to work with the Federal Government to filter a blacklist of child abuse sites developed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, despite the fact that the telco and rival Optus have already implemented a similar scheme with the cooperation of the Australian Federal Police and international policing agency Interpol.
NBN gridlock resolved: FTTN congestion fixed for some
Some of the early adopters of the Government's preferred Fibre to the Node NBN rollout model have now resolved their problems and are achieving the speeds they were promised on the service, following pressure on the issue from Delimiter and the Opposition.
Impolite Turnbull tweet sparks NBN backlash
A flippant response by Malcolm Turnbull to broadband problems being suffered by a high-flying small business owner and executive has backfired on the Communications Minister, with a plethora of responses being published on the social networking site slamming the new Coalition Government's controversial revision of Labor's popular National Broadband Network policy.
NBN chair seeks Quigley replacement?
Indications continue to firm up that NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley is not long for the position, despite the pivotal role he has played in getting the NBN -- Australia's largest-ever infrastructure project -- off the ground.
Caretaker mode? No. NBN Co should go hog wild.
Not only should NBN Co ignore Malcolm Turnbull's spurious claim that it's in some form of 'virtual caretaker mode' ahead of the upcoming Federal Election, it should intentionally sign as many long-term construction and equipment contracts as possible before September, in case the Coalition wins government and tries to shut it down.
Political brawl erupts over NBN sub-committee
Federal Parliament hasn't even been back in session for a week, but a political brawl has already erupted between the largest three parties over whether and how new parliamentary sub-committees will be established to provide oversight of the National Broadband Network project, in yet another sign that the initiative has become increasingly politicised.
Telstra meets CWU over alleged issues with redundancy procedures
Telstra has met with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over claimed procedural discrepancies as the telco seeks to reduce staff numbers via voluntary redundancies.
NBN contractors: No problem with rollout speed
A lengthy article published by the ABC last week (we recommend you click here for the full article) appears to blow claims of slow rollout speeds out of the water, with NBN Co’s contractors telling Aunty that getting the deployment done on time would be no problem.
Coalition NBN policy “bulletproof”, says Abbott
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has reportedly described the Coalition's National Broadband Network policy as "absolutely bulletproof", despite the fact that the Coalition has refused to formally cost the plan, and despite it containing a number of controversial assumptions which have been significantly questioned.
Back off, AFACT: Changing the law is not the answer
The Federal Government should ignore the pathetic demands of the film and TV industry for new legislation to "exterminate" Internet piracy and fix the blatantly obvious problems with its commercial model, following its latest loss in Australia's High Court. Australia's copyright law works well as it stands, and does not need changing.
CCC demands better ACCC oversight of NBN
Industry group the Competitive Carriers’ Coalition (CCC) last week reiterated the need for all-inclusive Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) supervision of the National Broadband Network Company, which it said was currently absent from the company's newly released NBN Co Wholesale Broadband Agreement (WBA).
‘Unbalanced’: Turnbull hammers ABC again on NBN
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has again hit out at the reporting of the National Broadband Network debate by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, accusing the broadcaster of “superficial, misleading and unbalanced reporting” of the issue and detailing a litany of complaints about the ABC’s Lateline program specifically.
Turnbull has no NBN plan, says Conroy
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has demanded that the Coalition publish its policy platform for the next election in the area of broadband and telecommunications, pointing out that this is the third time, in as many months, that he has made this inquiry of the Coalition; asking it to disclose its broadband policy, the technology it proposes to use, and the cost to Australians.
More ISPs sign up to AFP’s Interpol filter
The Australian Federal Police has revealed that two more ISPs have signed up to implement the limited Internet filtering scheme that has been developed by the AFP and industry group the Internet Industry Association, although their identities at this stage are unclear.
Exetel may balk Movie Rights Group’s demands
National broadband provider Exetel has signalled it may modify its core business systems to make it more difficult for anti-piracy organisations such as Movie Rights Group to target its customers for allegedly illegally downloading content.
Abbott not telling whole NBN truth, says Politifact
Opposition Leader Tony Abbot's statement that the Coalition's NBN policy would deliver broadband speeds "at least five times faster than the current average" was only half-true, fact-checking website Politifact said yesterday, in an article which has been heavily disputed by Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
NBN Co doubles coverage, user base over past year
The NBN company has doubled the amount of premises it serves and the number of end user customers actually connected to its network over the past year, the company announced this morning, as the deployment of its broadband network around Australia continues to proceed.
Vodafone UK dumps telephone line rental on broadband plans
Vodafone UK has said it is "removing" home broadband line rental charges, and is touting the claim in its latest ad campaign.
NBN should be in caretaker mode, claims Turnbull
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for the National Broadband Network Company to stop entering into major contracts that would affect a Coalition Government, due to what Turnbull described as being a form of the traditional government 'caretaker mode' that keeps governments running during elections.
The ACCC is falling too far in love with the NBN
In rubber-stamping the uncompetitive $800 million deal which Optus has signed with NBN Co, the national competition regulator has signalled a disturbing loss of independence and an obsequious willingness to make the Federal Government's National Broadband Network project succeed at all costs.
An update on our iTNews fact-checking effort
I want to apologise to iTNews and to readers for not getting the time to pursue the fact-checking article I planned to.
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.
Coalition NBN plans lack detail, says iiNet
National broadband provider iiNet has published an extensive list of questions it still has regarding the Coalition's plans to alter Labor's National Broadband Network strategy, noting that details ranging from points of interconnect to who would build the network are still unknown, a month after the Federal Election.
NBN media criticism highly politicised, says Budde
Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde has sharply criticised Australia's media for not levelling the same "malice" and "vicious media attacks" at the Coalition's National Broadband Network policy as it has with Labor's NBN vision, despite the fact that the two policies share a great deal of similarity.
Politicos reject NBN referendum idea
A number of politicians and lobby groups have panned the idea that Australia could hold a non-constitutional referendum on whether Labor's National Broadband Network policy should proceed following the next Federal Election, with most stating that such a vote would be unnecessary given existing popular support for the project.
“Systematic erosion of privacy”: Parliament launches surveillance review
The Federal Parliament has kicked off a review of and is seeking public submissions into a wide-reaching package of legislative reforms proposed by the Federal Government which the Greens have slammed as constituting a "systematic erosion of privacy" in Australia.
Telstra/NBN FTTB trial hits 90Mbps
Wondering how NBN Co’s Fibre to the Basement trials in the Melbourne suburbs of Carlton, Parkville and Brunswick are going? Well, we already know that they’re likely to garner some pretty high speeds. Similar commercial deployments in Sydney have delivered speeds of up to 100Mbps, after all, and NBN Co’s own testing in laboratory conditions in late 2013 showed similar results. The first actual speed tests have been disclosed by Telstra at the CommsDay Summit in Sydney this morning.
NBN Co’s whole board resigns: Report
The entire board of Labor's ill-fated National Broadband Network has reportedly resigned, a victim of the poisoned relationship which had sprung up over the past year between the project's management and new Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Rumours place Rowland as Turnbull’s Shadow
Rumours flying around the telecommunications industry have named second-term MP and former corporate lawyer Michelle Rowland as having picked up the role of Shadow Communications Minister in Bill Shorten's new Labor Shadow Cabinet, leaving more high-profile candidates such as Kate Lundy and Ed Husic out of the running.
Telstra 12Mbps wireless to surpass NBN: Liberal MP
A Liberal Member of Parliament inaccurately claimed this week on national television that Telstra would launch a 12Mbps wireless broadband service which would "surpass" the National Broadband Network's 100Mbps fibre to the home service, meaning there was no need to proceed with a project he said was a "white elephant".
Screw you, Turnbull: TPG starts FTTB deployment
National broadband company TPG today revealed it had started deploying its planned Fibre to the Basement rollout in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, in a move which directly challenges a statement by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the legality of such deployments would be examined by a panel within the next six months.
US ‘choke-points’ for Australian telecoms data are no surprise
So, what can we conclude from the latest developments? There are no real surprises. We know that lawful interception has been a highly valued (if at times shockingly misused) tool of law enforcement and intelligence agencies for decades. Perhaps the most important conclusion we can draw is that the law enforcement and intelligence agencies will not surrender such access easily.
Now Telstra threatens to do its own FTTB
The nation's largest telco Telstra has become the latest private sector player to threaten to deploy its own Fibre to the Basement solution in apartment blocks around Australia, in a move designed to both head off rivals and capitalise on delays suffered in Labor's National Broadband Network project.
Coalition front bench “technically illiterate”, says Ludlam
Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam has described the Coalition's new front bench as "technically illiterate", in a wide-ranging speech in the Senate last week kicking off his campaign to be re-elected in the upcoming Senate by-election in Western Australia and attacking Prime Minister Tony Abbott over various tech-related issues, from Internet piracy to the National Broadband Network.
Amaysim buys AusBBS to capitalise on NBN market
Mobile SIM card company Amaysim Australia has announced its entry into the broadband market via the acquisition of Internet service provider Australian Broadband Services (AusBBS).
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.
Back off: Optus, TPG tell Govt on Telstra pricing
Major telcos Optus and TPG have joined the rest of Australia’s broadband sector and sharply warned Malcolm Turnbull’s Department to stop interfering in the competition regulator’s decision to cut Telstra’s wholesale pricing by 9.6 percent.
Optus caught up in SingTel restructure
The nation’s number two telco Optus will undergo a substantial restructure which will see its long-time chief executive take up a wider role within its parent SingTel, it was revealed today, as SingTel reorganises its Asia-Pacific operation around a series of core vertical businesses rather than its traditional geographic markets.