The cost of connecting to Australia's forthcoming WiMax bush broadband will not be as expensive as some have suggested, according to OPEL, a joint venture between Elders and Optus, the company building the network.
The federal government has cancelled the contract for Optus and Elders to build a WiMAX broadband network, the companies say.
An overlap between the OPEL network and existing wireless networks need not be a bad thing, according to analyst house Market Clarity.
The national carrier has said the federal government's decision to cancel the Optus-Elders (OPEL) consortium's rural WiMax network contract was a matter of "common sense", after Communications Minister Stephen Conroy gave indications as late as yesterday that he was still considering the proposal.
Elders this week announced it would make 80 per cent of its telecommunications staff redundant as it closed its internet service provider division.
Post-election adrenaline surging through his veins, one of the first acts performed by new Communications Minister Stephen Conroy was to disband the expert panel that his predecessor Helen Coonan had appointed last June to evaluate tenders for fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) construction.
As expected, Senator Stephen Conroy -- who made a career out of picking holes in the actions of his predecessor Helen Coonan -- was named to Kevin Rudd's front bench, bearing the interesting new title of Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (BCDE).
Much has been made of Telstra's decision to finally stop holding Australia to ransom, and to actually turn on the ADSL2+ equipment it has installed in what is apparently over 900 of its exchanges around the country.
For no particular reason that I can discern, a 1979 Kenny Rogers song popped into my head as I was considering the ever more complex morass that is the national broadband network tender which Senator Stephen Conroy defended in his CeBIT keynote speech.
Hopefully, you've been spending your end-of-year break better than the executives at Optus, who seem to have taken advantage of the annual industry-wide lull to get onetime WiMax aspirant Austar United Telecommunications to the negotiating table.
WiMax, the controversial long range wireless broadband technology, is set to spread across rural Australia from next year -- but despite the outgoing Howard government's ambitious project, both fixed and mobile variants of the technology are already being deployed around the world.
When the government announced that Optus and Elders had won the bid to build Australia's bush broadband network, it provoked jeers and plaudits alike, but it was the ISPs' choice of WiMax as the bearer technology that has provoked the most furious storm of argument. Just how will the technology stand up to life in the bush?
An analysis by representatives of Australia's two largest IT industry groups shows that neither political party in the federal election has come up with a comprehensive policy around technology.
Telstra's bombastic public policy chief Phil Burgess has peppered the Australian public with vitriolic and memorable quotes since his ascension to the role in July 2005. From whether his mother should buy Telstra shares to Darryl Kerrigan in the castle, Dr Phil had it all. We've collated some of the best.
With only weeks to go to the election, how are the main parties shaping up on their tech promises?
Ben Forta: All about Adobe
Take one ColdFusion veteran and mix in a healthy dose of prolific book writing, and chances are you will end u… Watch it now
Google CEO Eric Schmidt
Google's chief sits down for an extremely rare, wide-ranging interview and discusses Google's two operating sy… Watch it now
Telstra shareholders fear break up
What do Telstra shareholders think of the telco's new CEO David Thodey? And would they support the government'… Watch it now
Having problems with complex data center? Simplify your data center now.
Can not-so-smart meters help the NBN?
Can the Telco Reform Act be win-win?
Has New Zealand's smiling assassin delivered?
What makes you click?
Tell us for a chance to win a $1,000 GAME gift voucher.
Click here for more.
Win an iPhone 3GS!
Sign up as a ZDNet Australia member during November and you'll go in a draw to win an iPhone 3GS!
Click here to sign up!
Best Laptops
Check out the best laptops here!
Click here for more.
