Archived News for IT Professionals

The Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) have launched a guide for consumers to the National Broadband Network.

ACCAN Chief Executive Teresa Corbin said the NBN will “fundamentally change the Australian social, economic and cultural landscape in a way we haven’t seen since the establishment of the electricity grid.”

“We think it vitally important that all Australians have access to jargon-free information about what the NBN will mean for them, regardless of their income, their age or their disability.”

Victorian company wins NBN network software contract

The National Broadband Network (NBN) Co has signed a contract with Victorian ICT company SPATIALinfo to supply software to manage the fibre-to-the-home physical network infrastructure for the rollout of the NBN.

Inquiry finds Government should "justify" snooping

The Federal Government should justify why mandatory collection and retention of personal data is necessary for law enforcement, a senate report into online privacy has found.

Second Wave e-health care groups identified

The Australian Government has announced nine Second Wave sites for the implementation of its $467 million national Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (PCEHR) project.

New centre for green telecommunications

A new Centre for Energy Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) has been launched in Melbourne with the focus on innovation in energy efficient networks and telecommunications infrastructure with the aim to reduce the industry's impact on the environment.

Australia's internet subscribers exceed 10 million

Internet subscribers in Australia climbed to 10.4 million in the six months to December 2010, according to a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is up from 9.5 million in June 2010, which represents a growth of nearly 10% in the last six months.

The number of business and government internet subscribers grew by 26% to 2.3 million, while the number of household internet subscribers grew by 6% to 8.1 million. The growth in both sectors was driven by the continued uptake of mobile wireless broadband connections, which increased by 777,000 ( or 22.5%) to 4.2 million in the six months to 31 December 2010.

At the end of December 2010, there were 8.2 million mobile handset internet subscribers in Australia. The volume of data downloaded via mobile handsets was 4,029 Terabytes.

Further information is available in Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0).

IBM to handle NBN systems integration

NBN Co has appointed IBM as the prime systems integrator of its operational and business support systems under a three-year agreement.

NBN Co starts again on network construction

NBN Co has indefinitely suspended its network construction tender after construction companies were unable to provide acceptable terms and prices following four rounds of pricing negotiations.

NBN Co Head of Corporate Services, Kevin Brown said the NBN would be built, but not at any price.

“We have thoroughly benchmarked our project against similar engineering and civil works projects in Australia and overseas and we will not proceed on the basis of prices we are currently being offered.

“NBN Co is confident it can secure better value for money by going a different route. We have left the option open to continue negotiations at a later stage.

Discussion paper invites feedback from Queenslanders on National Broadband Network

The Queensland Government has released a discussion paper: Queensland’s approach to the National Broadband Network, and called for feedback from the community about ways to best use the NBN.

Government to develop National Digital Economy Strategy

The Australian Government has announced plans to develop a national strategy to guide the uptake of the National Broadband Network (NBN) with the aim of making Australia a world leading digital economy by 2020.

Call for rethink on NSW's FirstNet health information system

A survey of IT experts by the University of Sydney has supported calls to halt the rollout of the NSW Clinical Information System FirstNet, with a review finding the system should be spearheaded by an IT-savvy clinician.

Future Fund sells down on Telstra

The Future Fund Board of Guardians has announced that it has ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Telstra with the sale of shares down to a holding of 620.4 million shares or 4.99% of the company.

Queensland launches tools to help business transition to global digital economy

The Queensland Government has launched a new online toolkit and ICT database and directory to assist local businesses to take advantage of the National Broadband Network (NBN) as is rolled out.

NBN Companies legislation passes in the Senate

Amendments to the National Broadband Network (NBN ) legislation introduced by Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, have been passed with some late changes.

Cloud computing offers financial services a new future

A white paper produced by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) and Fujitsu has outlined opportunities for the financial services industry to improve its customer service by using techniques of cloud computing.

Online retailers facing supplier obstacles

Australian online retail businesses are facing road blocks from suppliers who are trying to prevent their products being sold online, according to a recent survey by eBay.

NBN rollout setback likely due to delays in Telstra agreement

Telstra has been forced to delay its extraordinary general meeting, scheduled for 1 July, due to delays in the process of negotiation over the National Broadband Network. As a result, NBN Co has indicated that the schedule for construction of second release sites may be delayed.