In case you’re not up-to-date with this issue, I can tell you that the Bill fundamentally represents a form of legislation that could be introduced in the United States shortly to combat the infringement of copyrighted material (piracy).
 

Why would this Bill be a bad thing if its to counteract illegal Internet proceedings?
 

The force behind the push of this Bill are a handful of powerful multimedia companies (namely movie studios and record companies) who say they losing commercial revenue because of the lack of adequate online piracy laws. However many believe if a law that these companies wanted to see legislated was introduced, it could have monolithic consequences.
 

Those against the Bill are concerned that legislation of this nature would unleash widespread and unaccountable censorship involving non US websites that would block websites at the domain level and that it would greatly interfere with the domain name system (DNS) – the core of the Internet. More importantly, the believe this law could contain measures that would impede online freedom of speech, websites, and internet communities. There is also the argument that suggests a lack of inadequate safeguards mechanisms would not be effectuvely put in place to protect websites and user generated content.
 

The Attorney General stated that in Australia it should be up to content owners and ISP’s to work together to develop a suitable outcome to address online piracy and that discussions between ISPs and copyright owners were facilitated by the government. This was after ISP iiNet recently won a court battle against a copyright conglomerate of film studios called Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT). At present, an appeal has been lodged by AFACT in the high court of Australia which has yet to be concluded.
 

Australian Greens Party communications spokesperson ‘Scott Ludlam’ recently asked the government to oppose the Bill as it could not only jeopardise the NBN project, however, along with the negatives as already described, Mr Ludlam also went on to suggest that there should be more representation be in place other than the ISPs and rights holders who both hold commercial interests only as there’s many other parties who will be greatly affected with a potential dumbed-down version of the law in 12 months time.
 

“Isn’t it interesting that the people that they’ve invited into that forum are the rights holders and carriers, and they appear to have left out the creative people who make the content and the audience …The people who actually matter in that debate aren’t in the room. They’ve invited the intermediaries and the people with commercial interests,”- Scott Ludlam
 

“We should be in that room, in the copyright debate; otherwise, we are going to get some kind of dumbed-down Australian-flavoured SOPA — 12 months after it resolves itself in the United States, it’ll pop up here; you can absolutely guarantee it.”- Scott Ludlam
 

“Do they recognise that there will be little purpose in investing tens of billions of dollars in the NBN if the US copyright industry cripples the medium itself?” – Scott Ludlam
 

Read more at zdnet.com.au – No SOPA for Australia: AG

The forecast for EBITDA is believed to be around $250-270 million and TPG have also indicated that their debt would be reduced by $100 million for the 2012 financial year. If a transaction were to occur, the end result has the potential to take up about 20% of the market share. However it’s likely that any type of acquisition would take quite some time to undertake.

Read more at smartcompany.com.au – Speculation grows over iiNet takeover as TPG reaffirms guidance, renegotiates debt

Updated on: Nov 22, 2011 by Admin
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In October this year TPG stealthily purchased a 4.4% share of iiNet which now sits at a healthy 5.1%. TPG stated they had no intention other than to own shares in iiNet for strategic reasons. Then again, what other purpose would there be for a rival Telco to buy shares in a competitor other than having fundamental intentions to apply a takeover at some stage?

iiNet CEO Michael Malone said he has not met with TPG’s management in relation to an acquisition and further stated that the ACCC places a 20% market share threshold which would make it difficult for companies who have a greater share than this to buy iiNet. That would strike out Telstra and Optus, however TPG would probably sit on the borderline. In addition to ACCC conditions, a takeover such as this would also require a public inquiry and may need to be examined by the Federal Government.

Whether TPG are actually considering an acquisition or not, there’s certainly signs there that flag this possibility. TPG’s 5.1% stake is a fairly obvious sign and one that is probably enough to cause Michael Malone and iiNet some concern.

Read more at delimiter.com.au – TPG buyout to require public inquiry, says iiNet

It’s been no secret that iiNet was seeking to acquire further smaller ISP’s on the east coast in order to give the Telco a greater footprint in the eastern states while the purchase of TransACT is also expecting to further penetrate its reach into government and corporate sectors.

As the Telco is already the second leading ADSL2 provider in Australia behind Telstra, this latest acquisition will simply further verify iiNet as the outright third largest Telecommunications provider by far.

The transaction will also witnesses approximately 300 TransACT employees and another 80,000 customers make the transition across to iiNet ever growing list of assets and resources.

Read more at crn.com.au – iiNet rumoured to be buying TransACT

The purchase was made earlier on in September with the migration of all Supernerd’s existing residential client base across to iiNet’s network well underway. Supernerd customers still have the option of retaining their existing email address and inbox services, although the respective website is already displaying iiNet’s acquisition information and brand along with relocating links to iiNet’s website.

The Supernerd ISP now joins Westnet, Netspace and AAPT’s residential customer base as iiNet’s other major purchases over the past several years. It’s expected that only Westnet will retain their brand whilst all other company brands will eventually be dissolved after the completion of migration stages.

Compare iiNet broadband plans here.

While some other providers have already released their NBN pricing models that consist of expensive plans upwards of $180-$200, iiNet have unveiled a simple cost effective model that significantly undercuts many of its rivals. In fact iiNet’s most expensive plan comes in at under $100 and will give consumers 1000GB (1TB) of data with speeds up to 100Mbps .

Although it’s not expected that Optus and Telstra will follow suit, however the NBN pricing move by iiNet will be seen as very aggressive and will give the other respective Telco’s something to seriously think about.

iiNet’s NBN offerings consist of three simple peak/off-peak plans – 1.$49.95 40GB (20GB + 20GB) 2.$59.95 200GB (100GB + 100GB) 3.$79.95 1000GB (500GB + 500GB) using the 12/1Mbps speeds option.

There are three other speeds options to choose from which all carry an incremental additional charge – 25/5Mbps, 50/20Mbps & 100/40Mbps. The highest you can pay is $99.95 per month for 1000GB data limit on the fastest NBN optical fibre speed available at 100/40Mbps.

These prices may not be necessarily cheaper than the current ADSL, Cable and Mobile Broadband products in the market today, but they are more or less comparable to such and certainly a step in the right direction.

Compare iiNet broadband plans here and start saving more on your broadband bills today!

The APPT customer base takeover should significantly strengthen iiNet as a serious competitor within the Australian Telecommunication industry. Originally well known among broadband enthusiasts for bringing ‘Naked DSL’ broadband services into the mainstream sector several years ago, iiNet has since grown from strength to strength.

Along with propelling Naked DSL products, iiNet are also strongly committed to offering ‘FetchTV’ (Internet Protocol TV) services over their ADSL2+ broadband products. Perhaps the only real shortcoming that iiNet has yet to capitalise on, or enter into, is the Mobile Network arena. However knowing their appetite for innovation, growth and competition, the Western Australian based ISP is sure to also have it’s sights set on a piece of that sector too.

Search and compare iiNet’s Naked DSL and ADSL2+ broadband products right here at Youcompare.

iiNet have now officially completed a $40 million transaction of Netspace thanks to an advanced 3 year extension on a $100 million cash injection supplied by the Westpac Bank.  The purchase of Netspace has now given the West Australian Telcommunication Provider a much stronger footprint on the East Coast of Australia, not too mention further concreting their position as Australia’s 3rd largest Internet Service Provider.

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iiNet share trading at the Australian Stock Exchange has been suspended among news that the Perth based ISP is in talks with Netspace for a possible $60-$75 million dollar acquisition deal that may catapult the Western Australian Broadband operator back into outright 3rd place as Australia’s largest Internet Service Provider.

 After being knocked off their perch by TPG after they announced their desire to buy Pipe Networks, who recently completed the PPC-1 Sydney to Guam submarine cable, iiNet stated soon thereafter that they had aspiration of acquiring a smaller East Coast ISP. So the Netspace announcement hasn’t really come as any surprise although that the 80,000 extra Internet subscribers they will obtain will still leave them short by some 400,000 of where iiNet CEO Michale Malone wants to be by the commencement of the National Broadband Network project.

Netspace appeared to be a very strategic and likely acquisition for iiNet due to their location, size and infrastructure assets. Only last year did Netspace update their Network by installing 10 additional DSLAM units for further ADSL2+ capacity. Starting shop back in the early 1990′s with dial-up Internet access, Netspace is one of the oldest Australian based ISPs still up and running, and similar to the likes of Internode and iiNet, they’re one of the more successful smaller Australian ISPs as well.

Search and Compare iiNet and Netspace Broadband Plans right here.

The ongoing Federal Court saga of AFACT vs. the peoples ISP republic of iiNet, is gaining momentum as accusations of ‘on a fishing exercise’ and ‘an attempt to gain political mileage’ are being thrown back and fourth across the courtroom.

It appears that AFACT, Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft who attempting to prove that iiNet was involved in copyright breach, need to get their facts straight, or so iiNet are suggesting. 

In the latest development, iiNet has requested AFACT to surrender various documentation that includes similar copyright action taken against other ISPs. It’s thought that this information could assist iiNet in understanding what were appropriate measures to stop iiNet’s customers who committed online piracy.

AFACT appears to have back peddled by dismissing this action as nothing more than an attempt to obtain ‘political mileage’, while iiNet stated that AFACT is was on a ‘fishing exercise’ that would ultimately fail and were struggling to get a reasonable case together.

The fact is, iiNet are in real trouble and if proven guilty, ramifications could have dire consequences.  The whole P2P and file sharing network is at stake here, especially if iiNet is found guilty and a precedent is set.

The hearing continues next week with a ruling on the request anticipated.

Compare Broadband Plans with huge download limits right here at Broadbandguide.com.au

Australia’s 3rd largest telecommunication provider iiNet has successfully trialled VDSL2 broadband technology with broadband download speeds reaching 85Mbps and uploads hitting the the 47 megabits per second mark.

In readiness for VDSL2 ratification in Australia, iiNet has been testing VDSL2 technology in Perth whilst in preparation to roll out VDSL2 equipment in mini exchanges across the country. Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line 2 has been extensively trialled by many of Australia’s leading telecommunication providers over the course of the past 12 – 18 months. The likes of Telstra BigPond and EFTel are just two of the Internet Service Providers to have researched and trialled the high speed Internet technology.

VDSL2 has been touted to have the capacity to deliver broadband access up to 250 Mbit/s (at source), although speeds significantly decline after several hundred meters to 100 Mbit/s at 0.5 km, followed by 50 Mbit/s at 1 km after which it degrades much slower until it equals speeds of ADSL2+ at 1.6 kms. Still, most Telephone Exchanges housing VDSL2 should support broadband speeds of at least 12 Mbit/s (NBN defined minimum) that will deliver triple play services (Broadband, Phone, Digital TV) to the majority of households within a 4 – 5 km radius.

Check out iiNet’s current Naked DSL Plans right here. http://broadbandguide.com.au/iinet/naked-dsl/plans 

Australia’s third biggest Broadband Internet Service Provider, iiNet, is certainly going through some arduous times at present, and despite facing a massive lawsuit from leading national and International Movie/TV production companies, they’ve just announced a soon to launch IPTV service.

iiNet’s managing director ‘Michael Malone’ said the company was experiencing rapid growth with their Naked DSL services from disgruntled users who are fed up with paying exorbitant line rental fees. Now with more than 307 DSLAMs across Australia offering broadband speeds fast enough to support IPTV, it’s no wonder that many subscribers are leaving their ISPs in droves for iiNet.

Once iiNet’s Internet Protocol TV services are launched, users can expect content such as the latest TV Shows and Movies on Demand, live and interactive TV, news, weather and a host of other channels and features. This is not to mention the fact that iiNet IPTV will go head-to-head with Channel 7′s Tivo as iiNet’s IPTV service will come with a dual tuner free-to-air personal video recorder which is similar to 7′s set top box.

See what all the commotion is about and check out iiNet’s Naked DSL Plans right here at youcompare Broadband  

Naked DSL Broadband Internet is a rapidly growing broadband alternative as it gives a user the ability to save extra money by ditching the traditional home phone service. It’s popularity is growing so much that it’s caused an unexpected profit for iiNet. Subscribers are now ridding themselves of a Telstra landline in favour of their mobile phone, or for those who used their home phone more frequently, a VoIP (Voice of Internet Protocol) Broadband Phone service.

iiNet’s Managing Director ‘Michael Malone’ recently stated that the company is signing up around 1,000 Naked DSL subscribers per week. He also added that iiNet has been very surprised with the Naked DSL uptake as they thought the new service would only appeal to the tech savvy broadband enthusiast therefor remaining a niche product.

If you’re interested in Naked DSL and considering an iiNet Naked DSL plan, click on the link below and compare iiNet Naked DSL Internet against other Naked DSL Providers right here at Broadband Guide.

http://iinet.broadbandguide.com.au/adsl/plans

Iinet is claiming Naked DSL subscriber numbers of “over 23,000″ customers, from a total customer pool on iiNet DSLAMs of 170,209 customers. So, roughly thirteen percent of iiNet’s customers are now living without a PSTN phone line.

“We initially saw Naked DSL as a very niche product”, he said. “We expected that the tech geek crowd who loves broadband would go for it, along with Generation Y and their mobile phones. Instead, it’s appealed to a much broader audience who don’t want to pay line rentals. They see it as dead money. It’s not so much to do with saving money as it is not wasting it.”

source: iiNet profits bulge from unexpected naked growth

iiNet is on the verge of purchasing neighboring W.A. based Internet Service Provider ‘Westnet’ for $81 million. Australia’s 3rd largest telecommunications company is expected to finalise the deal at the end of this month when it will secure an additional 215,000 active subscribers bringing their total number of active services to in excess of 680,000.

The acquisition is believed to add an extra $135 million per year to iiNet’s annual revenue earnings bringing its total revenue to approximately $375 million p.a.. According to iiNet managing director ‘Michael Malone’, Westnet will become a subsidiary of iiNet and will operate as per usual with the only foreseeable change being Westnet’s current wholesale network supplier.

“Westnet is a well run and growing business that has regularly been spinning off profits. The last thing we want to do is mess it up,”

In a presentation to iiNet shareholders, the ISP said there would be opportunity for both brands to cross-sell each other’s products, allowing Westnet to sell iiNet’s naked DSL products and iiNet to sell Westnet’s satellite services to regional customers.

“Westnet has quite a different market to iiNet. We both compete in Perth, but outside that, iiNet is primarily a metro player and Westnet is primarily a regional player. Westnet also has an incredible dealer network that is loyal to Westnet. I’m very reluctant to consider changing that. And of course there is a very competent management and staff team over at Westnet too,”

Source: itnews.com.au

Compare Naked DSL Broadband Internet Plans & VoIP Bundles by iiNet against other leading Australian Broadband Providers. iiNet is one of the first ISP’s in Australia to offer Broadband Plans that don’t require separate Phone Line rental.

Yes, that’s right if you’re new to Broadband and are sick and tired of paying for a phone line and rental that you don’t hardly use but want ADSL2+ Broadband speeds and a respective Plan to match, then try out iiNet’s Naked DSL Plans for size. For as little as $49.95 per month, you can have access to a Broadband ADSL2+ Plan, 2GB peak & 2GB offpeak (4GB) Usage Limit, Phone Line Rental Included, iiNet’s iiTalk VoIP Broadband Phone Service, Free Local and National calls and Free Spam and Virus Protection!

iiNet Naked DSL Broadband Plans & Services are available in most capital cities, however if you’re interested in taking up a Naked DSL service, it’s wise to make an enquiry about Naked DSL Availability and Naked DSL Connection turn around times first, as iiNet’s Naked DSL Plans are an extremely popular product.

Check out and compare iiNet Naked DSL Plans here!

Broadband Guide is pleased to announce the inclusion of iiNet into our Broadband comparison website. iiNet is currently Australia’s 3rd largest Internet Service Provider with widespread Broadband coverage across Australia. Search and compare iiNet’s competitive range of ADSL2+ and Naked DSL Plans at Broadband Guide by clicking here.

“Having a Telecommunication Supplier like iiNet on Broadband Guide is huge benefit for those seeking to compare Australia’s leading Internet Service Providers on the one website” said Peter Bennett Commercial Manager of Broadband Guide.

http://iinet.broadbandguide.com.au/