Archived News for IT Professionals

Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has hit out at the Federal Opposition’s ‘pretence’ of support of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Networking and cloud computing specialist NextDC has officially opened the company’s new M1 data centre, the largest of its kind currently servicing the city.

Telstra and Australia Post have announced the signing of a new deal that will see the country’s largest telecommunications group provide Australia based telecommunications and IT cloud services to the postal group.

Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) together with NICTA (National ICT Australia) developed the high-tech system to automatically and continuously monitor the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s structural integrity.

The University of Tasmania is to play a role in the development of Australia’s 100-petabyte storage cloud.

The Federal Government has announced a $15.2 million training initiative for 36 communities across the country to assist in the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) under the Digital Hubs and Digital Enterprises program.

The Research Data Storage Infrastructure (RDSI) Project, a $50 million Federal Government project that aims to transform the storage of research data has revealed the location of its first five nodes in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart.

The University of Queensland (UQ) is leading the program on behalf of the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE).

Dr Nick Tate, RDSI Project Director who is based at UQ, said each of the five nodes would receive funding under the Research Data Storage Infrastructure scheme. He announced that:

• Intersect  will establish a primary node in Sydney

• Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation (QCIF) will establish a primary node in Brisbane

• Australian National University will establish a primary node in Canberra

• eResearch SA (eRSA) will establish a primary node in Adelaide

• The University of Tasmania will establish an additional node in Hobart

The department funds the program from the Education Investment Fund under the Super Science (Future Industries) initiative.

Professor Max Lu, UQ's Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said further nodes would be announced in the near future.

“The project will be a significant boost for researchers around Australia who are capturing and processing of enormous data sets,” Professor Lu said.

“The powerful potential of ‘big data', combined with the significant computing capability that the Government is also investing in, will transform research in many areas, including astronomy, genomics, physics and environmental studies.

“The recent announcement of Australia's involvement in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an example of this rapidly growing area. SKA's dishes will produce data each day equal to about 10 times the current global internet traffic.”

Dr Tate said the RDSI project's storage capacity was expected to grow to 100 petabytes.

“This is many times the size of existing systems,” he said.

The RDSI project aimed to develop a national network of distributed data stores where research data could be readily accessed, analysed and re-used and to support the retention and integration of nationally significant data assets.

It aims to:

• Identify, strengthen and develop research data centres, or nodes, that can hold and process high data volumes

• Identify research data holdings of lasting value and importance and contribute funding to their development at the most appropriate nodes

• Provide the widest possible range of general data sharing and movement infrastructure suitable for data-intensive research activities.

“The project's goal is to develop a coherent and integrated national research data environment, building on the strengths of different providers,” Dr Tate said.

“It aims to ensure a co-ordinated and collaborative use of these resources. This will support enhanced research outcomes through greater access to, and sharing of, research data.”

Dr Tate said consultations with the sector were held during 2010 and 2011, and the project office was established at UQ in 2011.

“Feedback revealed a preference for a distributed model for the RDSI in which services would be developed on the basis of existing local strengths, and the decisions on the location of the first five nodes reflect this,” Dr Tate said.

The Federal Government has announced the inaugural members of the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency (TUMSA), the new statutory agency that will be tasked with ensuring basic telecommunications services are available to all Australians.

The New South Wales Government has released draft Industry Action Plans for the manufacturing, professional services, international education and research and digital economy sectors for final consultations.

Deakin University has outlined a ‘radical new approach’ to student engagement after it outlined its new Strategic Plan, which will focus heavily on ‘driving the new digital frontier.’

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.