Australian Technology News

BROADBAND prices are a bigger factor for most people than super-fast connection speeds.

in brief NBN Tasmania Limited, the state's last mile fibre operator, has appointed Adrian Inch as its general manager.

Inch will report to executive chairman and fellow former Acacia executive, Doug Campbell, and will be responsible for the roll-out and operation of the fibre network.

Inch, who will be based in Hobart, has been transferred to the Tasmania NBN Co from its parent company, the NBN Co, where he has served as a senior architect, according to a statement by the company.

"Adrian brings to NBN Tasmania deep experience in telecommunications particularly in managing large scale infrastructure projects," said Campbell.

Inch had also served as a senior project manager at Telstra, where he worked for 18 years, and has been a general manager for an IBM-Telstra joint venture. Like Campbell, he was also involved in the Acacia bid for the NBN.

The state has forged ahead with its roll-out in spite of current uncertainties over the telecommunications legislation that would pave the way for Telstra's separation and kick start the mainland's deployment.

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Reversing an earlier decision, Microsoft has today decided to release the Windows 7 Family Pack in Australia, which bundles three upgrade licences for its Windows 7 operating system for $249.

Whilst US consumers were able to purchase the three-licence bundle at launch, the pack was unavailable to Australian customers. Prior to the release of the bundle, Australian users would have needed to pay a total of nearly $600 for three upgrade licences of Windows 7 Home Premium edition.

However, stock of the Family Pack is limited and will only be available at participating Australian retailers.

According to a spokesperson for Microsoft, the change in this decision was due to negative feedback by stakeholders and media at the Windows 7 Launch earlier this year.

For users who purchased three copies of Windows 7 before 30 November, Microsoft is offering three complimentary Wireless Comfort Desktop mouse and keyboard packages. Customers should call Microsoft Customer Service on 13 20 58 to check their eligibility for this offer.

At the time of publication Microsoft was unable to comment on why it did not initially release the Family Pack at launch in Australia.

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The Australian Federal Police has said that it doesn't intend to take any action against the Melbourne man whose home was the subject of a raid televised on Four Corners earlier this year.

"As a result of the search warrant no further action against the person of interest is anticipated at this time," a spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police told ZDNet.com.au.

The Federal Police said that it along with the South Australian Police had identified a number of people as "persons of interest" after an investigation into an Adelaide man who had been administering a forum which facilitated computer offences. This had led to further investigations and a search warrant.

The pre-dawn raid, where several computers and storage devices were seized, was broadcast on 17 August on ABC's Four Corners program, five days after the raid occurred. According to Four Corners, the man had allegedly been seeking to gain stolen credit card details and attempting to purchase his own botnet on the r00t-y0u.org forum which was under police control.

Following the airing of the program, computer forensics professionals voiced concerns about the handling of the evidence, saying that accessing the suspect's computers and entering search queries would damage the computer's value as evidence.

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Internet service provider Internode this morning announced new symmetrical broadband (SHDSL) pricing as it revealed plans to double the reach of the services for 2010.

SHDSL or Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line, is targeted towards small to medium enterprises or corporate users, and increases the speed and digital capacity of conventional phone lines. SHDSL provides higher-speed two-way internet access, allowing businesses to utilise applications like video-conferencing, IP telephony and virtual private networks more efficiently.

Internode product manager Jim Kellert said that a significant portion of demand for SHDSL services came from outside the IT sector, with businesses turning to SHDSL because of the need for large amounts of bandwidth for data transfer.

"For example ... we have construction firms who need to move large CAD files and medical practices using high-speed symmetrical broadband for diagnostic imaging," he said.

With less cost and performance than optical Ethernet alternatives, SHDSL is a mid-range solution for businesses that require speeds higher than ADSL2+ capacity.

Internode's Extreme SHDSL plan has speeds of 10Mbps with a 100GB download quota. Usually costing $2000 per month, the price has been halved to $1000, providing more speed and download quota than a 5Mbps service but less than Internode's 20Mbps and 40Mbps plans. These higher-tier plans cost $2500 and $3500 respectively.

The company is currently offering free installation on the 10Mbps Extreme SHDSL plan for customers who sign up for a 24-month term.

Internode is also extending the reach of its Extreme SHDSL service, planning seven new exchanges in Adelaide, six more in Melbourne and four more in Sydney.

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The Queensland Government has advertised for an executive to head up a new office which takes a whole-of-government approach to the state's communications needs.

The new team is called the Office of Telecommunications, Broadband and Digital Economy Coordination and will be based inside the Department of Public Works. It has been formed from existing telecommunications and broadband teams to create a more integrated approach to future telecommunications and broadband development, according to a spokesperson for Queensland ICT Minister Robert Schwarten.

The new team will optimise benefits from statewide broadband delivery. It is also expected to improve telco project outcomes within agencies as well as aid in agency decisions on telecommunications and broadband.

Other parts of the office's role are identifying and responding effectively to the government's future needs and fostering relationships with industry, which could be intended to make the best of the opportunities arising from the Federal Government's National Broadband Network.

There had been fierce competition between Victoria, Queensland and NSW as to which state would host the headquarters of the National Broadband Network Company until the new CEO of the company Mike Quigley dampened hopes by saying the headquarters might be spread across states.

The executive director of the new office will report to the Department of Public Works' Associate Director-General Natalie MacDonald.

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Alcatel-Lucent's lead engagement officer for its dealings with the NBN Co, John Turner, has decided to leave after just six months in the role.

Replacing Turner will be Sean O'Halloran, the vendor's former vice president of its local enterprise operation. O'Halloran has been in the new role for at least a month, while Turner will stay with the company until the end of the year.

Turner, who has been with Alcatel-Lucent for the past 13 years, is leaving to pursue a private business venture.

Despite leaving the company as the industry gears up to bid for work on the government's $28 billion to $43 billion fibre roll out, Turner told ZDNet.com.au his decision to leave now was because "the timing was right". He said his new business venture would rely on the internet but would not disclose specifics. He said Alcatel-Lucent was "extremely well positioned" to play a role in the NBN.

Despite NBN Co chief Mike Quigley's former roles with Alcatel-Lucent, Turner said he had only approached Quigley through "official channels", such as via the government and industry group, the Communications Alliance.

The French networking giant recently hired Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy's media advisor, Tim Marshall, who is expected to take up a role within its ranks in January 2010.

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RESEARCHERS say they've developed a chip to treat backpain that is powered by mobile phone.

Telstra executive Holly Kramer has resigned as her product management function is split into wireless and fixed line portfolios, as part of a larger overhaul revealed by chief executive David Thodey this morning.

Philip Jones has been appointed acting head of Telstra's newly formed wireless, data, applications and services unit, while fixed line products will be headed up by Justin Milne, Telstra's current managing director of online media products under BigPond.

Holly Kramer, who had headed up Telstra's overall product strategy after rising to prominence during Sol Trujillo's reign, has decided to leave following her function's split.

"These new groups will help us focus on opportunities in markets that are most important for Telstra's future, like the 'digital home'," Thodey said in a statement today.

Group managing director of Telstra's networks and services Michael Rocca has also been appointed as acting chief operations officer — a role left vacant since the departure of Sol Trujillo American ring-in, Greg Winn, in January — and will be responsible for networks, technology and IT.

Rocca had been responsible for the finishing touches to Telstra's $5 billion transformation program, which included Next IP and Next G, after Winn's departure.

The restructure has created four distinct units: customer-facing, product, operations and corporate support.

Telstra has also created a new International unit, led by Tarek Robbiati, who will focus on Telstra's Asian businesses. "Asia is a very important market for Telstra and the creation of this new unit enables us to take a coordinated approach to our performance in one of the world's fast-growing markets," Thodey said.

And in support of Thodey's push to improve Telstra's service culture, it has nabbed former TabCorp executive, Robert Nason, who will head up the telco's Customer Satisfaction, Simplification & Productivity group.

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A MAN who was shot in the back is suing Google, alleging it branded him a crook.