Displaying items by tag: Michelle Rowland

The government has introduced a new bill to maintain wholesale broadband operator National Broadband Network (NBN) in public ownership.

The Minister for Communications will direct the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to legislate an enforceable industry standard to ensure appropriate support is provided to telco customers experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV).

The number of 4G handsets still in circulation that could lose access to Triple Zero when 3G networks have shut down has dwindled to 102,000, the government estimates.

The Federal Government has begun an audit of mobile coverage and capacity in the country, with a pilot audit having started and an initial tranche of data published on Wednesday.

The government will begin to implement a set of reforms and rules to improve the emergency call service including a real-time network information during outages and forming a new body in charge to monitor the Triple Zero system, as part of its official response to the review into last year's Optus outage, which affected millions of consumers, businesses, and emergency services.

The School Student Broadband Initiative, launched by the Albanese Government and backed by the Minns Government, is set to provide free broadband connection at the end of 2025 to thousands of families based in New South Wales.

Facebook parent Meta has decided to pull the plug on Australian media deals it did three years ago, with the company saying on Thursday it would deprecate Facebook News, a dedicated tab for news, in April.

More Australian properties are poised to have stronger mobile coverage as the Australian Government amended its Telecommunications in New Developments (TIND), which prescribes new housing developments of 50 lots or more should consider mobile coverage during planning.

The government will draw $50 million from its "Better Connectivity Plan" into improving coverage on roads and highways, which, it said, will benefit communities and commuters across regional and remote Australia.

Telecommunications company Optus has disclosed it has logged at least 2697 calls to Triple Zero during its major network outage failed to connect, 10 times more when it only previously reported that only 228 customers had failed to get through to the emergency line.

Google, Desarrollo País of Chile, and the Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia (OPT), have announced Humboldt, a subsea cable route linking Australia, French Polynesia, and Chile, strengthening the reliability and resilience of digital connectivity across the Pacific.

Millions of Australians have been hit hard by Optus' outage, which may be the longest and largest shutdown in recent history, but will the telecommunications company's subscribers be compensated by the inconvenience it caused?

Internet and mobile connectivity services may soon become a utility requirement for housing developers and the properties they sell to prospective homeowners must be receptive to connection, a government consultation paper revealed.

More over one billion scams have been blocked in the last year including 256 million scam calls and 85 million scam texts in the last quarter alone, according to a new data released by the ACMA.

Online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google could find themselves in hot water and pay millions of fines if they fail to clear disinformation and curb fake news—a combative stance that sees the Albanese Government holding these tech giants accountable for spreading harmful content.

Telco alliance fostering competition in digital communications Commpete has brought teams from Pivotel and BAI Communications to front the parliamentary inquiry into co-investment in multi-carrier regional mobile infrastructure. Australian legal firm Maddocks also appeared at the hearing as external counsel for Commpete.

The Regional Tech Hub, Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland MP, and the National Farmers’ Federation launched Connectivity Month to jumpstart awareness and inform people of the options available to help them get connected and stay connected to their mobile and internet services.

The Federal Government will conduct an audit of mobile coverage in the country with a view to identify blackspots and help guide it in areas of investment from next year onwards.

ACS, an association that represents the Australian technology sector, has welcomed the budget presented by the Federal Government on Tuesday, describing it as "a step towards boosting the diversity of the IT industry and the broader economy with its support for families in, or looking to enter, the workforce".

The Federal Government appears to be unwilling to say anything negative about the ABC's blanket collection of user data from its iview application, preferring instead to offer noncommittal replies.