Archived News for IT Professionals - June, 2012

The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has announced its third satellite ground station will be constructed at Geeveston in Tasmania’s Huon Valley.

A recent survey by ICT consultancy firm Telsyte shows that that 85 per cent of respondents had a desire to connect to the internet at 50 mbps and higher, while most are reluctant to switch providers.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found that Telstra breached its customer privacy obligations when it leaked the personal information of about 734,000 of its customers to a freely available website.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIA) has been strengthened with new powers to help customers with telecommunications complaints, and will see a significant increase in the monetary value of complaints the TIO can help with.

The University of Tasmania has appointed Ms Ros Harvey to lead the SenseT project, one of the biggest coordinated investments in knowledge infrastructure in Tasmania’s history.

SenseT is a $42 million program which will use data from sensors to deliver real-time information to help industry and government make better decisions. It is expected to deliver significant productivity gains for the state’s economy as well as supporting improved management of Tasmania’s resources and the environment.

Initial practical projects will focus in agriculture and food production, emerging carbon markets, smart infrastructure and logistics, as well as catchment and flood management.

SenseT was launched by the Premier and the Minister for Regional Australia, Simon Crean, on 14^th June.

Ms Harvey, the architect of the state’s economic development plan, is currently Deputy Secretary of the Department of Economic Development Tourism and the Arts. She returned to Tasmania in 2010 after 15 years abroad.

Ms Harvey was the founding Director of the Better Work program – a partnership between the World Bank group and the UN’s International Labour Organisation based in Geneva. Better Work is globally recognised as a landmark program in the field of corporate social responsibility, global supply chains and pro-poor development.

Vodafone Australia has revealed plans to rollout its new 4G network and expand its existing 3G network.

Australian businesses received online orders worth $189 billion in the twelve months to 2010-11, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

The Victorian Government has started work on the development of a new ICT strategy after a report by the state's Auditor General found systemic obsolescence throughout frontline services.

The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has announced it has awarded $183 million in contracts over 19 months to Visionstream and Service Stream to provide additional rollout capacity and support a new approach to rollout of fibre in new estates.

The Federal Government has announced plans to begin the rollout of the National Broadband Network’s fixed wireless services in Far North Queensland. Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said the Government plans to connect more communities around the Cairns area in the coming months.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced the suspension of the National Broadband Network’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU) in the expectation that the company will soon ledge a revised undertaking.

Obsolescence in frontline ICT hardware, software and supporting network infrastructure is systemic in the Victorian public service according to a review conducted by the state’s Auditor General.

Optus has completed its purchase of the Vividwireless Group from Seven Group Holdings, gaining control of the 98MHz 4G spectrum in the 2.3GHz band across key population areas.

BRW Magazine and the Australian arm of the Great Place to Work Institute have published the list of Australia’s top 50 employers of 2012, with Melbourne based IT services group OBS taking the top gong. The award recognises companies for their outstanding culture, workplace ethos and treatment of their employees.

The Federal Court has slapped Internet Service Provider TPG with a $2 million fine for misleading broadband advertising and failing to prominently display the minimum charge in relation to a national ad campaign. 

Swinburne University of Technology's new $3 million GPU Supercomputer for Theoretical Astrophysics, 'gSTAR', has been officially launched.

An interdisciplinary Victoria University Faculty of Business and Law research team has been awarded a $30,000 grant to develop a unique information and communications technology (ICT) program for tradespeople in Victoria.

Associate Professor Stephen Burgess (School of Management and Information Systems), Dr Rafael Paguio (School of Accounting and Finance) and Dr Carolyn Woodley (Victoria Law School) were awarded the grant by the Telematics Trust for their project, ‘Enabled Tradie’.

The Telematics Trust grants attract applications from leading educational institutes, government, business and not-for-profit organisations exploring innovative ways of using information and communications technology (ICT) for educational purposes.

‘Enabled Tradie’ will develop an educational program that combines face-to-face, online and work-based teaching approaches to build ICT awareness among Victorian tradespeople and encourage ICT usage. The pilot project will mentor a group of 12 tradespeople, supporting them in the adoption of appropriate ICT tools to help achieve business process efficiency, market effectiveness and work-life balance.

Offering an innovative alternative to the occasional training seminar format, the integrated project will take into account learners’ individual requirements and will provide practical support to successfully adopt and evaluate ICT. It will draw on Victoria University’s expertise in the use of face-to-face as well as online learning technologies. Another distinctive feature is the use of business students to provide dedicated and customised mentoring support to initiate and integrate ICT adoption.

Local councils in the Melbourne West region have been advised of the project and expressions of support have been received by the project team. Beyond this pilot phase, future plans include a wider roll-out across the region in line with VU’s Local Government Areas Engagement framework.

VU Research Grants Manager, Sandy Superina described the award as ‘fantastic news’. Sandy adds, ‘this is a prestigious grant and demonstrates how we can forge productive links between VU expertise and the educational and research needs of Victoria.’

The Federal Government has passed legislation through the Senate that will enable the creation of a R18+ age restriction for computer games.

A collaboration between the University of Tasmania, state and Australian governments and a range of industry partners promises to deliver a world-first SenseT data sensor network will utilise the National Broadband Network rollout in Tasmania to mesh together historical, spatial and real-time data and make it available through the web to the community.

Internet retailer Kogan has announced the introduction of a world first tax on Internet Explorer 7 users. The 6.8 per cent charge came into effect last week and will increase by 0.1 per cent per month.