Archived News for IT Professionals - December, 2011
Successful round one applicants under the Digital Hubs and Digital Enterprise programs have been announced by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.
The programs, which provide $13.6 million and $10 million in funding respectively, will enable local communities to take advantage of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
The programs will deliver digital economy services in the five NBN mainland first-release sites and three stage one communities in Tasmania.
Local councils representing the first-release communities are developing project business cases for funding under round one of the $17.1 million Digital Local Government program, which will support councils to use the NBN to deliver enhanced online council services to residents and businesses.
Senator Conroy also called for applications from local organisations for round two of the Digital Hubs, Digital Enterprise and Digital Local Government programs to deliver services under these programs in the next 19 communities to benefit from the NBN.
The Digital Hubs program provides funding of $13.6 million to help communities gain skills needed to maximise the benefits provided by the NBN. It will provide training in digital literacy and the opportunity to experience NBN-enabled services and technology.
The Digital Enterprise program provides funding of $10 million to local service providers to assist small-to-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations to provide group training seminars as well as one-on-one advice on how participants can use the NBN.
Guidelines and eligibility for making submissions are available at www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalhubs and www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalenterprise and www.dbcde.gov.au/digitallocalgov
Applications under round two for the Digital Hubs and Digital Enterprise programs close on 3 February 2012.
Councils eligible to apply under round two of the Digital Local Government program are required to confirm their interest in participating in the program by the end of January 2012, and to submit their project business cases for funding by the end of March 2012.
The three programs target the first 40 communities to benefit from the NBN, with funding being made available to these communities in line with the NBN rollout schedule.
Additional information on projects funded under round one, and also the communities for which round two funding has been made available, are available here.
ACCC invites submissions on NBN Special Access Undertaking
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released a consultation paper inviting comment on the Special Access Undertaking (SAU) lodged by NBN Co on 5 December 2011.
iiNet to acquire Internode
iiNet Limited is to acquire Internode Pty Ltd and associated companies, Australia’s largest privately owned broadband services company, for $105 million. Based in South Australia, Internode has approximately 260,000 active Internet and phone services, including approximately 190,000 broadband subscribers.
Three-quarters of Australian homes have broadband: ABS
A report issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that almost three quarters (73%) of all Australian households now have broadband
UNSW to incubate student innovations
Computer science students at UNSW will soon gain rent-free access to an on-campus business incubator space for up to six months.
New application smooths the way to supercomputing
A new open source application developed at Murdoch University is giving researchers a revolutionary new way of accessing supercomputers.
Commonwealth IT services panels to be halved
Special Minister of State Gary Gray has announced plans to halve the number of IT services panels currently operating across the Australian Government.
Logistics software wins Innovation award
Software that stands to save billions of dollars and significantly cut greenhouse emissions has won the Australian Innovation Challenge ICT category award.
Research shows broadband adoption factors
New research conducted by Charles Sturt University has highlighted four key factors that determine the uptake of high-speed broadband in Australian households.
Federal Government announces healthy Internet CRC
The Federal Government has announced the formation of a new Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) that will conduct research into new ways of using the Internet, social media and other applications.
Telstra wins wireless dispute
Telstra will be able to market its wireless services as an alternative to the National Broadband Network Co's (NBN Co) services after a ruling by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.
PC hands down NBN competition report
The Productivity Commission has released the results of a six month investigation into the National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co), finding that the company is dangerously close to breaching competitive neutrality rules.
NSW holds mobile pitching event
The New South Wales Government has held an industry networking and pitching event for its Collaborative Solutions - Mobile Government Program.
NBN Co to freeze prices
The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has announced it will freeze wholesale prices for key products for the next five years and to limit later increases to less than inflation.
December SSU resolution still on the cards
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced its confidence that a resolution to Telstra’s Structural Separation Undertaking by the December 20 timeline is a possibility.
ACS releases ICT survey
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has released its What is the Future of ICT Industry in Australia report based on its recent survey of the group’s Victoria members.
NBN Co releases final executable contract
The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) has released its final executable version of its contract with service providers.
Government calls for last submissions to regional telecommunications review
The Federal Government is encouraging community members to make final submissions to the 2011-12 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee before the public consultation period closes on December 11.
Applications open for NBN education program
The Federal Government has called for proposals for the NBN-Enabled Education and Skills Services program, with organisations encouraged to develop ideas or trial projects that can be delivered across the Australian education sector.