Stories by Rohan Pearce

Fibre Internet operator fined for network inadequacies

CNT Corp, which provides fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networking for greenfields estates, has been fined $19,800 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for having inadequate backhaul to deliver advertised broadband speeds.

Google brings magazines to Australian Android users

From today, Australian users of Android devices are able to purchase magazines on their smartphone or tablet, Google has announced. Magazines from publishers ACP Magazines, NewsLifeMedia and Pacific Magazines are now available to Australians through Google Play, the Android app store.

How Yahoo!7 kick starts innovation with hack days

Achieving 540,000 downloads for a mobile app in Australia is certainly nothing to sneeze at. But what's interesting about Yahoo!7's social TV mobile app, Fango is that the original impetus for its creation came not from some corporate committee, but from a prototype cobbled together in a mad 24-hour scramble.

Australia's shrinking ISP competition

New statistics published today as part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Internet Activity Survey (IAS) have revealed that the number of players in the ISP market is continuing to shrink.

Contiki: An operating system for the 'Internet of Things'

The 'Internet of Things' (IoT) is a phrase generally considered to have been coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999. Ashton, who is now general manager of Belkin, came up with the phrase while working at Proctor & Gamble. In his words it combined "the new idea of RFID in P&G's supply chain" with the "then-red-hot topic of the Internet".

US FTC, ACMA take on Event Viewer telemarketing scammers

A US district court judge has frozen the assets of organisations and individuals associated with the long-running "Event Viewer" tech support scam, which included Australians among its victims. The FTC credited overseas organisations, including the Australian Communications and Media Authority, for aiding in the action against the alleged scammers.

Exetel offers 4G mobile broadband

Cut-price internet service provider Exetel will begin offering access to Optus' 4G LTE mobile network in approximately two weeks, according to the ISP's sales staff.

Study reveals 10% pay gap between men and women in IT

Results from a study by the Australian Computer Society released today reveal that almost a third of ICT job seekers believe they have been discriminated against, based on gender, age, ethnicity or other factors, when applying for positions in the sector. An ACS salary survey also found that men working in the sector were on average earned 9.8 per cent more than women.

Exploring the intersection of IT and the law

In the 30 years since the founding of the NSW Society for Computers and the Law, the technology landscape has undergone dramatic changes: Near ubiquitous use of computers, the central role of the Internet in many people's professional and personal lives and the growth of mobile computing.

NBN Co uses moon man to spruik satellite stations

NBN Co has announced locations for three satellite ground stations in Western Australia, to deliver access to the National Broadband Network for Australian's outside the NBN's fibre footprint and the reach of its fixed wireless service.

Corporate watchdog eyes telecommunications interception powers

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission would like reforms to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to make it possible for the corporate regulator to obtain telecommunications intercepts and gain access to information that other law enforcement agencies have obtained through such means.

Vodafone calls for clarity on metadata retention, warns of costs

Vodafone has warned the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security's inquiry on data retention that retaining detailed information on mobile data usage by customers could involve a significant cost for operators. Matthew Lobb, the telco's general manager industry strategy and public policy, also called for clarity on the retention of so-called metadata about customer usage of mobile networks.

Aussie ex-pats find success with B2B startup

Handshake, a New York-based startup founded by two Aussie ex-pats that offers an iOS and Web based sales and order management tool for B2B commerce, has notched up a significant milestone. Its eponymous app has been used to write over $100 million worth of orders since its open beta period ended in mid-2011.

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