In preparation for its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) rollout, the Federal Labor government is resuming its campaign to change legislation to allow it to access the AU$2 billion regional and rural Communications Fund, which the government claims is needed to bankroll part of the network's construction.
Bruce Billson, the Liberal communications spokesperson, has taken aim at Labor's plans to draw on money from the previous government's communications fund to build its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network.
Opposition Communications spokesperson Bruce Billson has said the Coalition will attempt to block the Federal government's proposed use of the AU$2 billion Communications Fund to build its national FTTN network in the Senate.
With legislation obliging telcos to share their network infrastructure details passed by the House of Representatives last night, it has been revealed that the government may compensate carriers for sharing their intellectual property.
The Competitive Carriers Coalition (CCC) wants the new Labor government to confront Telstra over its monopolistic position in the telco market and introduce structural reform.
Say what you will about Senator Stephen Conroy, but he is clearly not a man afraid of confrontation. Well, he'd better not be, because by killing off the OPEL WiMax project he has just set himself up for a battle with Telstra of Biblical proportions or a big meal of crow washed down with a $4.7 billion gift to SingTel Optus.
The council rubbish truck didn't pick up my bin last week. Instead, the garbage contractor left a big yellow sticker highlighting exactly why my old egg shells, rancid fruit, microwave pizza boxes, an ancient and smelly pair of sneakers, and the odd brick had been left to rot on my property.
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).
Labor's fibre-to-the-premises NBN was meant to be an act of freedom, a breaking-free from 100 years of copper infrastructure legacy and the start of something new. So why in the world are we still discussing Telstra's copper network?
Shareholders got a rude awakening this week as Stephen Conroy made good on industry calls to break up Telstra. Some argue the government has been duplicitous and should be held to account, but those who sit tight may find the new Telstra offers a far better value proposition with better long-term opportunities.
Yesterday's report from the Australian Computer Society's Filtering and E-Security Task Force will be a handy weapon in Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy's battle over internet censorship.
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.
Opinion: Conroy should end this futile tender process. Call Telstra's McGauchie and his executives in and read them the riot act. Appoint someone with appropriate credentials and resources not some panel to then negotiate a commercial deal on behalf of taxpayers.
The Australian Labor Party's ICT shadow minister wants a national fibre broadband network and enough skilled people to exploit it.
Many would love to see the Pirate Party and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy face off in the Australian Senate, but the unorthodox political party doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the necessary votes.
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Can the Telco Reform Act be win-win?
Has New Zealand's smiling assassin delivered?
The long-awaited separation of Telstra
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