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News

• ISP moments in 2009

  2009 was a blockbuster year for the telecommunications and Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry by anyone's standards. As the year draws to a close we take a look at some (but not all) of the big events that shaped the year.

• Study: US among world's leaders in broadband use

  U.S. residents rank among the world's top in broadband use per month, meaning the broadband picture in the country isn't as bad as some critics might make it, a telecom trade group said Wednesday.

• Household broadband connections rise 18 per cent

  The number of households with access to broadband internet shot up 18 per cent to 5 million in the 2008-09 financial year according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

• Optus chief outlines telco "megatrends"

  Optus chief executive, Paul O’Sullivan, has flagged Optus’ vision of the "megatrends" that will drive the elecommunications industry. Detailing his view in a speech to the Committee for Economic Development Australia (CEDA), O’Sullivan said there was an explosion in bandwidth happening across all the major communications technologies.

• Telstra unveils Australia’s fastest cable broadband

  Telstra will launch Australia’s fastest cable broadband network in Melbourne on December 1 in a move to increase speed and bandwidth for multiple users within households.

• Delay to broadband investment provokes outrage in Italy

  The announcement at the beginning of the month that the government was postponing a Euros 800 million (US$1.2 billion) investment in modernizing Italy's broadband infrastructure has provoked indignation among government critics and embarrassment among ministers.

• Telstra copper powers 1.3 million services: ACCC

  The number of Australian broadband services powered by Telstra’s wholesale network has reached 1.3 million, according to data released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

• US agencies streamline broadband funding process

  Two U.S. agencies responsible for distributing US$7.2 billion in broadband deployment grants by the end of 2010 have streamlined the process by cutting one of three rounds of funding.

• US smart-grid money could assist broadband

  U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled US$3.4 billion in grants to update the nation's electrical grid, but the benefits could reach to the broadband sector as well, one community broadband adviser said.

• University of New England gets $5 million for AREN fibre connection

  The University of New England will receive $5 million in Federal Government funding over the next two years to create a fibre optic connection to the Australian Research and Education Network (AREN).

• 75 per cent of mobile broadband users in the UK unhappy with speed

  More than three quarters of mobile broadband users in the UK are not satisfied with the speeds provided by their service providers, says <a href="http://www.thinkbroadband.com">Thinkbroadband.com</a>.

• First LTE networks will deliver 20 Mbps of download speed

  When the first LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks and devices are launched next year, users can expect to see a download speed of about 20Mbps, according to Motorola and ZTE.

• NBN Co appoints two more executives

  NBN Co Limited, the company established to deliver the National Broadband Network (NBN) has announced two more members to its executive team.

• Broadband will connect 20% of households worldwide this year, Gartner projects

  Research firm Gartner is projecting that 20% of households worldwide will be connected to the Internet through a broadband connection by year-end.

• Australia to hit 69% household broadband penetration by 2013:Gartner

  Australia is expected to add about 1.7 million household broadband connections between 2008 and 2013, lifting its penetration rate from about 55 per cent in 2008 to 69 per cent, according to new research from Gartner.