Archived News for IT Professionals

The Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, will open the 2012 Cybersafety Summit in Canberra on the 12^th of June.

The managing director of the country’s leading anti-copyright theft body, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), has admitted that online piracy of television programs and movies is an inevitability.

A study conducted by Sydney based telecommunications specialist Market Clarity has found that Australian and New Zealand Internet Service Providers (ISP) pay comparable costs for services such as domestic international IP Transit.

US based ISP Verizon has announced it will roll out its first ultra-high-speed home broadband service, offering speeds of up to 300 Mbps, in a bid to cater for the boom in demand for bandwidth-intensive applications.

Internet Service Provider Internode’s founder Simon Hackett has announced he will step down from his executive duties to assume a seat the board of the company’s new owner, iiNet.

A $7 million centre, the INSPIRE Centre, designed to lead research and practice in the use of technology, has been launched at the University of Canberra.

The University of Wollongong has launched its StartPad ideas incubator, a joint initiative with Wollongong City Council, NSW Trade & Investment, Enterprise Connect, and RDA Illawarra local business and entrepreneurs.

With initial funding of $50,000 from NSW Trade & Investment and Wollongong Council providing the space, in iHub, StartPad has also been supported by state and local governments.

Councillor Bradbery said: “The development and nurturing of companies in StartPad shows that Wollongong is developing as a city where companies and entrepreneurs can work innovative applications and tools to deliver new businesses and employment opportunities.

“Council is keen to see this area of the city cultivated to support entrepreneurs who have ideas and foresight,” Cr Bradbery said. “This is an opportune time to support a dynamic growth industry in our city.”

“We have a tidal wave of innovation going on and we need to get involved in this evolving digital age. We may become the ‘silicon beach’,” he said.

StartPad is a component of the iAccelerate program built around entrepreneurship and fast growth businesses. The program was developed by the University of Wollongong to position the Illawarra as the capital for ICT in NSW.

The driving force behind iAccelerate, Elizabeth Eastland, Innovation and Commercial Research Director at The University of Wollongong said: “iAccelerate and its associated programs represents a turning point in the industry profile of the Illawarra and will support the growing innovation ecosystem here.

“StartPad delivers real opportunities for companies identified through the Universities Entrepreneur Club, a pipeline of highly engaged and talented graduates into the Illawarra innovation ecosystem.”

Dr Tamantha Stutchbury, General Manager of StartPad said: “Already, in the short time we have been operating, we have seen our eight companies grow and achieve some big goals. Having 16 entrepreneurs co-located in an open-plan space makes for an amazingly vibrant and creative environment.”

A call for applications from early staged technology businesses to join StartPad will begin in mid-2012. For more information about StartPad go to www.startpad.com.au

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft determination proposing to grant authorisation for an agreement between NBN Co and SingTel Optus for the migration of Optus’ HFC subscribers to the NBN and the decommissioning of parts of Optus’ HFC network.

The International Square Kilometre Array Organisation has announced a dual site solution for the construction of the Square Kilometre Array telescope, with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa sharing the construction of the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

Two hundred IT workers at Westpac bank’s Kogarah site have won a reprieve after the bank backed down on plans to outsource their jobs.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications has announced it will conduct an inquiry into the pricing of IT software and hardware in Australia compared to overseas markets.

Telstra’s new infrastructure-as-a-service cloud service platform has been independently certified as complaint to industry security standards.

The Queensland Government has begun its ‘comprehensive audit’ into information and communication technology systems used by the state’s public service in an attempt to identify savings and efficiencies.

The Federal Government has released the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications review Committee report, concluding that the National Broadband Network (NBN) is crucial for the development of regional telecommunications.

Global business execution software specialist SuccessFactors has revealed its new data centre in Sydney. Forming part of the company’s expansion into the Asia Pacific region, the centre is set to service the Australian cloud computing market.

Australian computing researcher, Dr André Carvalho, from the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology and the Research School of Physics and Engineering, part of the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, has worked with collaborators from Brazil and Spain to come up with a new proposal for quantum computers.

The Federal Government has announced that seven Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees have received funding to assist in the development of strategies for the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) in their communities.

The Federal Government has announced it will hold bilateral meetings with the United States to develop a ‘prioritised’ work program’ to further cyber security cooporation.

Optus has announced it has signed a $15 million five-year contract with the New South Wales Government’s Department of Education and Communities to deliver an enhanced satellite service to improve long distance learning for the state’s most remote students.

The Federal Government has released its Mid-term Review into the first two years of operations of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).