CANBERRA – In a bid to help build Malcolm Turnbull’s version of the National Broadband Network, NBN Co has bought 1800 kilometres of copper cable at a cost of $14 million. The copper cable is being used as part of the fibre-to-the-node component of the Coalition’s NBN rollout – but it will only be enough for the next five months of the build. The entire build is due to be completed by the end of 2020.CEO Bill Morrow told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra that the company supplying its new copper would need to ramp up production to meet future rollout needs. He said that so far NBN has not replaced any Telstra copper between the node and home while deploying the technology and that the condition of the existing copper is “good”.
But the NBN company needs additional copper to connect Telstra’s existing distribution pillars with the NBN’s new nodes that power faster broadband speeds over the copper network.
While the NBN company is hoping to place the nodes as close as possible to the Telstra pillars in order to avoid high copper costs, he said this is not always possible. He said the average amount of copper needed for each node to connect to a pillar is 350 metres.
Fibre-to-the-node technology was launched last month, with more than 2000 premises now ready in Belmont, NSW.
Writing from Turkey, telecommunications commentator Paul Budde told CDN such “bandage solutions” need to be implemented to make the MtM work. He added: “In the end the bandages will need be replaced by a ‘final solution’. I remain concerned that NBN Co treats these developments as if they are the end goal.
“They never indicate how they envisage to address the final solution or if they take that final solution into account when applying these bandages. The last thing that we want is that, if they finally move into full FttH, we don’t have to start all over again.”
Computer Daily News
Health System To Benefit From After Hours Video Conferencing
The Federal Government has released a new blueprint for the deployment of its e-health project. The blueprint includes a timeline for the rollout of its e-health program, as well as development of personally controlled e-health records (PCEHR in Canberra-speak) and telehealth initiatives.
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It plans to have the national infrastructure for the PCEHR in place in the first quarter of 2012, with further enabling legislation ideally set to pass in March or April.
The Government’s telehealth push is also now under way, with telehealth rebates from Medicare already available. The plan will see the Government set up its after-hours, e-health video-conferencing facility in July next year.
The Federal Government’s first e-health record sites have also become operational, according to the progress report. The Government announced last year that Brisbane, Melbourne and Hunter Valley patients would be the first in Australia to get access to PCEHR records.
First lead sites became operational in the first quarter of this year, and evaluations were done by June. But draft technical specifications are scheduled for release in the October-December quarter and the final specs will not be available until January-March next year.
Health Department records show NEHTA has received more than half of $400 million in total funding allocated to the PCEHR project in the 18 month run-up to next July, with just under $200 million paying for four outsourced industry partnerships, including the actual build, the lead site implementations and nine small e-health pilots.
LiveTiles Raises $57M In Float
Microsoft partner LiveTiles has listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with an initial market capitalisation of A$57 million.
The company’s flagship product is a user interface tool for creating tiled interfaces for SharePoint and Azure implementations which had more than 3.7 million users as of 2014.
LiveTiles said it now has 86 reseller partners globally, and has signed on customers including Pepsico, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Europe’s governing body for soccer UEFA.
LiveTiles took a backdoor listing via a buyout by ASX-listed West Australian mining company Modun Resources in April, which valued LiveTiles at $33.75 million.
Aussie Atlassian Tipped To Raise $350m On Wall St
Australian business software maker Atlassian has revealed it is looking to sell US$350 million of new shares in its planned sharemarket float – giving the Aussie company a possible valuation of close to A$5 billion.
However some Wall Street commentators have raised their eyebrows at the potential valuation at a time for decidedly gloomy market for technology floats
Others say Atlassian’s stunning record in the US market should see would-be investors scrambling to grab a share of the action.
Co-chief executives Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar will control a combined stake of about US$2.4 billion, leaving potential investors to snap up 20 million new shares at the estimated IPO price of between US$16.50 and $18.50.
Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar are already the wealthiest Australians under 40 and a successful IPO would catapult them into the top 20 of the BRW Rich List, according to an Australian Financial Review filing. (Only the AFR seems to find this deeply significant.)
Atlassian, founded in 2002, is on track to be trading under the ticker code TEAM on the Nasdaq index. CDN will be covering it in our page 4 listings.
Bards Take Pen and Pad Digital
Pencil pusher Moleskine faces a mounting threat from electronic-tablet makers such as Apple as it targets artists, architects, and writers in an effort to halt a sales decline.In the past seven months, Apple has introduced two
models of the iPad Pro, a more expensive version of its tablet. Now users can
attach a keyboard and pair it with the Apple Pencil stylus.
Moleskine has responded by launching Smart Writing Set, which uses an infrared
camera in a pen to track its movement on a pad covered in microscopic markings.
The content can be uploaded to a smartphone or tablet. The pen-and-notebook set
costsUS$199, while the special notebook alone goes for just $29.95.
While that’s cheaper than the US$599 iPad Pro, users still need a device
running iOS or Android to upload the content created.
Facebook Delivers Big Surprise: $646m Payoff By Mobile Biz
SAN FRANCISCO – To the surprise of many critics, Facebook’s mobile business appears to be booming. Delivering its Q2 report, the social network said that it made 41 percent of its US$1.6 billion advertising revenue, or roughly $656 million, from mobile connections.Overall the company posted results that exceeded
estimates, sending Facebook shares up as much as 21 percent.
Second-quarter revenue rose 53 percent to $1.81 billion and net profit,
excluding certain items, was $488 million. Analysts had predicted sales of
$1.62 billion on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Concern about Facebook’s ability to capitalise on the shift from personal
computers to mobile devices has weighed on the company’s shares since its $16
billion initial public offering last May, the largest technology IPO on record.
But CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to focus the company on ads for tablets and
smartphones is starting to pay off, according to Paul Sweeney, an analyst at
Bloomberg.
“Finally, the blowout quarter that Facebook bulls have been waiting
for,” Sweeney said. “Among many impressive data points, I think
investors will focus on the percentage of revenue from mobile of 41 percent,
which was well above consensus.”
Mobile will soon account for more than half of Facebook’s advertising dollars,
Zuckerberg said on a conference call. Mobile user numbers expanded 51 percent
to 819 million during the quarter. The total number of Facebook members was
1.15 billion, compared with 1.11 billion in the earlier period.
Facebook aims to take 13 percent of the global mobile-advertising market this
year, up from 5.4 percent last year, according to EMarketer. It would still
remain a distant No. 2 to Google, which is expected to grab 56 percent.
Sales Of IT Devices Set To Fall For The First Time Since 2010
BOSTON – Shoppers worldwide will spend less on IT gadgets in 2015 than they did in 2014, marking the first drop since 2010, according to a new forecast from market research firm Gartner.Gartner predicts spending to hit US$606 billion
in 2015. But that is still a decline of 5.7 percent on 2014 – and lower than
Gartner had forecast just three months ago.
Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile
phones) are expected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2015, a 1.5 percent increase
from 2014, but down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 2.8 percent growth.
The only sector that continues to show growth is the mobile phone market, where
prices continue to fall, and growth is led by emerging markets and China,
Gartner says. However growth is expected to slow to 3.3 percent in 2015.
The global PC shipment market is expected to total 300 million units in 2015, a
decline of 4.5 percent year on year.
The market for tablets and clamshells is also on pace to contract. Ultramobile
shipments are estimated to total 214 million units in 2015, a decline of 5.3
percent year on year.
Tablets will account for 207 million units, down 5.9 percent from 2014.
As for overall spending, Gartner does predict gadget sales will resume
growth after this year’s dip, though gradually. Shoppers will spend $627
billion on devices in 2017, which is still lower than the $642 billion spent in
2014.
Apple Set To Break Fundraising Record With Kanga Bonds
Australian and Asian investors on Friday rushed Apple’s entry to the Down Under bond market, snapping up A$2.25 billion worth of the bonds in several hours. Some $5 billion worth of the so-called “Kangaroo” bonds are on offer by the US-based computer giant. It is offering a two-tranche bond sale of four- and seven-year notes in both fixed and floating formats.
The iPhone maker sold A$1.15 billion of seven-year notes and $1.1 billion of four-year securities.
Analysts are forecasting Apple could break the record for the largest international corporate bond issue ever sold in Australian dollars.
The record is currently held by BHP which issued $1 billion worth of five-year bonds in October 2012.
Apple enlisted the Commonwealth Bank, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to help promote sales of it its debut “Kangaroos”.
Until November the company had only sold US
Aussie Beam Comms To Resell Global Satellite Push-To-Talk
MELBOURNE – Satellite operator Iridium has named Melbourne-based Beam Communications, a subsidiary of ASX-listed World Reach, as one of the first service providers for its new push-to-talk satellite communications service, claimed to be the world’s first.Beam will sell the service direct and through
resellers to customers in Australia.
Iridium PTT functions the same as terrestrial radio PTT services: every member
of the group hears a message when the speaker presses a button on their phone
to transmit – except that members of that group can be anywhere in the world.
Users of the service will need an Iridium satphone with PTT capability.
Although the commercial service is new, Iridium says the technology is
well-established. Raymond Tan, Iridium vice president and general manager,
Asia, told this writer in mid 2014: “We’ve had PTT for the last four years but
only for US defence forces. It is now a mature product so we have decided to
bring it to market.”
The heart of the services is the Iridium Command Centre, which gives
organisations the ability to define and manage the geographic coverage for each
talk group: coverage areas are created using a graphical map interface based on
Google Maps. – Stuart Corner
Virginia-based Iridium operates a fleet of 66 satellites used for
worldwide voice and data communication from hand-held satellite phones and
other transceiver units.
Telstra To Set Up Wireless Venture With Filipino Giant
Telstra has confirmed it is mulling an investment in the Philippines, following media speculation that it is eyeing an investment in the Asian nation.
At stake is a possible investment in a wireless joint venture in the Asian nation with San Miguel Corporation – best kno wn for its beer-making, though in fact it is a huge conglomerate with many interests. Financing is being sought for the venture, Telstra said.
“We are in discussions in relation to these matters,” Telstra said in a short statement. “However, no agreements have been reached in relation to these matters and there is no certainty that this will occur.”
However both companies are known to have been gearing up for the move, with San Miguel hiring key telecommunications staff, while Telstra has been hiring local staff who understand the Philippines’ markets and languages.
“We note recent speculation concerning Telstra considering an investment in a wireless joint venture in the Philippines with San Miguel, and that financing is being sought in relation to that joint venture,” Telstra told the Australian Securities Exchange. “We are in discussions in relation to these matters.”
Under Andy Penn’s new leadership, Telstra has continued pushing deeper into the Asian market through partnerships with local carriers. A joint venture with Indonesian telecoms giant Telkom Indonesia started selling products this year and is understood to be performing well.
Telstra also bought Asian telecommunications service provider Pacnet for US$697 million late last year.
– Telecommunications commentator Paul Budde last night told CDN: “Telstra is flush with money and there is only so much it can invest in the limited size of the Australian market (where it is already dominant).
“So in order to maximise the results for its shareholders there is no other way than to look outside the country if it want to stick to the market its knows well: telecoms.
“It is in this context that the investments in the Philippines and other overseas investments need to be looked at.”