Government IT

 

Broadband

'Fastest ever' broadband speeds achieved in fibre test

Fibre: Broadband speeds of 1.4 terabits per second were recorded in a test.

James W. Manning  The "fastest ever" broadband speeds have been achieved in a test that hit 1.4 terabits per second - enough to transmit 44 high-definition movies in just one second.

Telcos

Telstra fined $500k for urban phone line delays

Fined: Telstra paid a $510,000 penalty.

Lucy Battersby  Telstra has been fined half a million dollars by the communications watchdog for taking too long to connect new phone lines in urban areas.

Broadband

Australian broadband speeds inconsistent, patchy: study

Melbourne University will have access to the National Broadband Network in the next year.

Lucy Battersby  More than a third of Australian premises with access to fixed broadband never get more than moderate speeds of 9 megabits per second.

Broadband

NBN alternatives: fibre to the node or HFC cable?

The government now supports a multi-technology broadband network.

Adam Turner  HFC cable has the potential to outperform fibre to the node, but only after a significant and expensive network upgrade.

Broadband

The $1b difference between Labor's and the new NBN, and the big catch

Untangling all the NBN options will take some time.

Lucy Battersby  Hidden within the recently released NBN strategic review is a surprising fact.

Procurement

High-achieving employee sues IBM for bonus

IBM is the subject of two separate law suits at the moment.

Clay Lucas, Lucy Battersby  An IBM sales executive on a salary of $295,000 is suing the company because it paid her half a million dollars less than she expected.

Broadband

Hearing: NBN Co gagged on finer details of strategic review

NBN Co executive chairman Dr Ziggy Switkowski.

Ben Grubb  NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski has refused to hand over an unredacted version of the NBN strategic review.

Broadband

Turnbull does what he says he would, still questions remain

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Why is the government delivering a second class network when a couple more years could deliver fibre to every premise, asks Tony Brown.

Security

Inquiry launched into internet, phone surveillance

An inquiry will scrutinise internet and telephone surveillance by law enforcement.

Ben Grubb  A Senate committee will examine internet and telephone surveillance by law enforcement and security agencies.

Broadband

Bill Morrow wants to build NBN legacy for Australia

Bill Borrow said yes when called to help build Australia's NBN.

Lucy Battersby  Vodafone's outgoing CEO hopes running NBN Co will be more difficult than his job at Vodafone, where he is leaving two-thirds of the way through a three-year turnaround process.

Broadband

Labor leaks NBN Co analysis of Coalition NBN

Shadow communications minister Jason Clare has released a draft NBN Co analysis of the Coalition's NBN.

Ben Grubb  A draft analysis of the Coalition's NBN plan produced for the incoming Abbott government by NBN Co has been released by the Labor party.

Broadband

Coalition NBN could reach gigabit speeds by 2030

A report given to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull shows an upgrade path to gigabit broadband.

Ben Grubb  The fixed-line portion of the Coalition's version of the NBN could be upgraded to super-fast gigabit broadband speeds by 2030, according to the NBN strategic review.

Broadband

Vodafone CEO Bill Morrow an 'interesting' appointment for NBN Co

Bill Morrow will leave Vodafone to head NBN Co.

Lia Timson  The man hired by Vodafone to turn its business around will now be in charge of turning the NBN into a profitable enterprise.

Broadband

NBN has not tested fibre to the node

A new website has launched to help consumers with wiring up their homes for the NBN.

Lucy Battersby  NBN Co has not conducted any trials of the alternative national broadband network since the change of government, executives told a senate select committee on Wednesday morning.

Broadband

Funding for alternative NBN may require rethink

A new website has launched to help consumers with wiring up their homes for the NBN.

David Braue  Taxpayer funding, sale of company may be needed if project not viable.

Procurement

More Apples, fewer BlackBerries is the forecast for Canberra

Government agencies are less resistant to non-BlackBerry devices than they used to be.

Sylvia Pennington  More Apples, fewer Blackberries - that's the purchasing pattern market watchers expect to see as Canberra overhauls its panel of suppliers of mobile products and services in the new year.

Broadband

NBN Co execs ordered to Canberra again

Cheaper, faster NBN unlikely to meet 2016 deadline according to confidential briefing papers.

Lucy Battersby  A Senate select committee has ordered NBN Co executives to attend a public hearing in Canberra on Wednesday.

Broadband

Mike Quigley to Malcolm Turnbull: 'you don't have a minute to lose'

Former NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley appearing before a public hearing at Parliament House in 2012.

David Braue  He may have been founding chief executive of the best-funded start-up in Australia, but Mike Quigley and his staff consistently refused to throw undue amounts of money at the national broadband network's problems just to make them go away.

Broadband

TPG to take on dominant ISPs with AAPT deal

Junior telco TPG bought AAPT for $450 million.

Max Mason  TPG Telecom has provided its strongest indication yet that it is preparing to take on Australia's dominant internet players.

Procurement

Private largesse: how CenITex accepted hospitality offers

Hospitality has proven one of the hottest tickets in town for CenITex employees.

Melissa Fyfe  Fancy free tickets to games, dinners and the races? You might want to become a Victorian public servant.