Vodafone 3G network will reach 94% of the Australian population

Vodafone Australia expects to complete its $500 million upgrade of its 3G network by 31 August 2009. This follow numerous technical and legal issues which have delayed the project.

See the story from Australian IT here.

DBCDE wouldn’t agree to blind filter trial: iiNet

The politics of privacy and freedom of speech is inherently complex. Like many countries, it seems Net technology is finally disrupting the traditional approaches to public policy in Australia as Net capabilities spill over into areas of importance to the public interest.

So what is 'in the public interest? Privacy is important, but freedom of information is not? What's going on behind the Australian Firewall?

See the IT News report here.

Net filter: Faster to hack than download

On condition of anonymity, three IT security consultants have confirmed that it takes less time to hack the Australian Government's Net filter than it does to download it.

The politics of Net filtering are beginning to emerge. After pulling out from the ISP filtering trial, iiNet cited 'corporate social responsibility' and the government's 'ambiguity of "unwanted material"' as the reason for pulling out of the trial.

Meantime, Telstra is funding an education and support program to assist children to develop their online safety skills.