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News

• Faster HSPA smartphones, modems coming soon

  Smartphones and modems are about to get faster mobile broadband connections -- 14.4M bps (bits per second) and 42M bps, repectively -- using HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access).

• US consumers get half of advertised broadband speed

  The actual download speeds that consumers get are about half of those promised by service providers, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

• Four ISPs left - and Internode's the point five, says Malone

  There are only "four and a half" meaningful players left in Australia's internet service provider market, iiNet supremo Michael Malone said today - with companies like Primus, Eftel and others just not relevant any more in terms of providing competition.

• On the streets of Stockholm with LTE

  A test of TeliaSonera's LTE (Long Term Evolution) network and its new multimode modem shows the next-generation mobile technology at its best -- delivering speeds at up 59.1M bps (bits per second) -- when used at 2.6GHz. But it also reveals how the technology sometimes struggles when used indoors.

• Net neutrality supporters to protest at Google HQ

  Five left-leaning groups that want the U.S. government to create formal network neutrality rules are organizing a rally to protest a recent proposal by Google and Verizon Communications at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, Friday.

• Conroy promises NBN speeds of up to 1Gbps

  Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, claims the National Broadband Network NBN willreach speeds of up 1Gbps, 10 times faster than the originally announced speeds of up to 100Mbps.

• New 1Gbps NBN opens for business in Tassie

  NBN Tasmania officially launched Australia's first national broadband network rollout today at Midway Point, northeast of Hobart, and in doing so the government also committed to a maximum access speed to one gigabit per second.

• Coalition policy "a blast from the past": Conroy

  Labor and the Greens have opened fire on the Coalition's rival broadband policy revealed this morning, in an ICT sector election debate that at times saw Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and his shadow Tony Smith at each others' throats.

• Coalition issues $6bn broadband policy

  The Coalition has unveiled its $6 billion rival broadband policy to Labor's National Broadband Network (NBN) project, with the central planks being a competitive backhaul network, regional and metropolitan wireless networks and an ADSL enrichment program that will target telephone exchanges without ADSL2+ broadband.

• Google, Verizon make net neutrality proposal

  Google and Verizon Communications have released a proposal that would give the U.S. Federal Communications Commission limited power to enforce network neutrality rules, including levying fines up to US$2 million for violations by broadband providers.

• Net neutrality deal may not see wider support

  A potential deal between Google and Verizon Communications on network neutrality may not carry much weight with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which has been trying to broker its own deal in recent weeks.

• US FCC calls off net neutrality negotiations

  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has called off negotiations on a network neutrality compromise scheduled for the coming days, saying the talks have not been fruitful enough.

• Local network industry 'missing out' with NBN

  Construction of the $43 billion National Broadband Network may be a boon for the services economy, but local networking providers feel left out with two companies saying the government-owned business isn’t doing enough for industry development.

• Mobile spending to pass wired broadband by 2015

  By 2015, the U.S. will spend more money annually on mobile than on all fixed-line communications, not counting enterprise services, Pyramid Research said Tuesday.

• Optus quadruples HFC cable speeds with DOCSIS 3

  Optus has completed a substantial upgrade of its HFC cable network in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney that will allow residents in supported areas access to speeds ranging up to around 80Mbps or more, using the improved DOCSIS 3 standard.