Archive for the ‘National Broadband Network’ Category

Cisco predicts that the number of network-connected devices in Australia will be more than 84 million, more than triple Australia’s population, by 2015.

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The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a step closer to reality for South Australia’s Riverland, with construction of the backbone cable from Mildura to Adelaide beginning today.

The cable links mobile phone towers and telecommunications exchanges to create a pathway for the NBN.

The program manager for the regional black spots program, Michael Ackland, says it will result in cheaper internet and faster speeds.

“The backbone allows for companies to deploy alternative ADSL2 services. That is by using their own infrastructure and what that will allow for is very different types of services delivered over ADSL2,” he said.

Mr Ackland says once installation is complete, consumers will see major benefits.

“In all capital cities and a number of regional markets where competitive backbone exists, you’ve got very large download caps, they are moving very quickly to unlimited plans and this will give regional consumers the ability to access those plans,” he said.

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Report suggests looking for alternative provider.

Brisbane City Council has reportedly dumped plans to deploy fibre optic internet cables in the city’s sewer system.

The council had touted a commercial deal with i3 Group Asia Pacific to deploy the fibre-to-the-home network in July last year. i3 was scheduled to begin the rollout early this year.

But reports by the Brisbane Times, The Courier Mail and City News indicated that the i3 deal had been canned less than seven months after it was first announced.

And a tweet by Brisbane City Councillor for Deagon Ward, Victoria Newton, appeared to confirm the i3 deal was off.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman was quoted as saying that council would no longer be dealing with i3, as he was reportedly unhappy with their progress on the project.

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MP Jenny Macklin with senior citizens at Yarraville senior citizens centre.

The Government celebrates 2000 kiosks amongst calls for more funding.

The Federal Government has celebrated the wiring of the 2000^th and final kiosk in its $15 million Broadband for Seniors program.

The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, opened the kiosk at the Yarraville [Victoria] Senior Citizens Centre late last week.

The kiosks – which are essentially pairs of PCs fitted with webcams and broadband access, have been “fabulous” for seniors, according to Nan Bosler, president of the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association, one of several organisations in a consortium behind the project.

Funding for the 2000 kiosks runs out in June 2011, and there does not appear to be any plans to extend the program.

“We’ll have to see,” Minister Macklin told iTnews.

Bosler told iTnews she was hoping for a funding extension. “Without funding, I’ll probably be down at least one staff member,” she said.

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David Havyatt crunches the numbers – and the results aren’t rosy.

There is probably a good reason Senator Conroy avoided mentioning the $120 million price NBN Co paid Austar for wireless spectrum last week in his otherwise laudatory press release.

The simplest of analyses suggests NBN Co has paid way too much for this spectrum.

For those needing a refresher on last week’s news, NBN Co paid $120 million to acquire five year leases on the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands.

Usually, the price paid for spectrum is governed by a price-based allocation (usually an auction) for spectrum licenses. The 900 MHz band originally used for GSM is the major exception.

Every price based allocation has occurred in different economic climates, with different lot structures.  A” lot” is a small band of the frequency available for a specific geographic area.

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