Networking

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The company responsible for Australia’s National Broadband Network has once again revealed the amount of copper it has purchased in its existence. However this time, NBN decided it would add the amount of optical fibre as additional information. “As of 26 October 2021, NBN co has purchased 361,451.33 kilometres of optical fibre,” it said in Senate Estimate Questions on Notice. “The relatively small amount of copper purchased (61,102km) is largely used to connect the new optical fibre to existing legacy networks.” In October 2015, NBN kicked off with 1,800kms of copper, subsequently increased to 15,000kms and 16,600kms, and by February 2019 was sitting at almost 30,000kms. NBN has previously said the copper is used for links between existing pillars and new nodes, as well as for extensions on fibre-to-the-curb deployments (FttC) for lead-ins to reach the FttC distribution point unit. Last week, NBN revealed it replaced 21,000 FttC connection devices in the six weeks to mid-November, as lightning has continued to fry the boxes. On Monday, NBN released its second sustainability report and pledged to purchase 100% renewable energy by December 2025, as well as have 20% renewable energy, around 80GWh annually, by the end of fiscal year 2023. It also said it would reduce energy use by 25GWh annually in the next four years, and would use electric or hybrids vehicles where it could by 2030. Related Coverage More

Tarawa, Kiribati 
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The United States, Australia, and Japan have said they will provide funding for a new subsea cable to connect the Pacific island nations of Nauru, Kiribati, and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The new cable will connect the island containing the capital of Kiribati with Nauru and the island of Kosrae in FSM, before connecting with the Hantru-1 cable at the island of Pohnpei in FSM. A joint statement between the six nations said the cable would provide better connectivity to 100,000 people across the three Pacific nations. “We will continue to coordinate closely with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to ensure this project complements investments by these institutions to enhance digital connectivity in FSM, Kiribati, and Nauru,” the statement said. See also: Blaming China is handy when trying to keep telco infrastructure away from BeijingReuters has been reporting for the past year that the US has been warning Pacific nations about the risk of using Huawei equipment, with the previous process scuppered to avoid the former Huawei Marine Networks picking up the contract for the new cable. In 2018, Australia used around AU$200 million of its foreign aid budget to lock Huawei out of building a subsea cable to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

More recently, the Australian government ponied up AU$1.33 billion of the AU$1.6 billion cost for Australia’s biggest telco, Telstra, to take control of Digicel Pacific Digicel Pacific has 2.5 million customers and 1,700 employees, with $431 million in service revenue for the year to March 31, the majority of which location-wise comes from Papua New Guinea, with prepaid mobile being its best selling product. At the time, Telstra said the Commonwealth made the initial approach. Related Coverage More

What an NCD fears most
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When summer weather begins to hit the Australian east coast, those on fibre-to-the-curb (FttC) connections need to brace for some electronics frying thanks to lightning activity. In an update to the numbers it revealed to Senate Estimates in May, where it had replaced almost 48,000 FttC connection devices across November 2020 to March 2021, NBN said it has now replaced 99,226 NBN Co Connection Devices (NCD) from 1 December 2020 to 11 November 2021. “Between 1 October 2021 and 11 November 2021 NBN Co has replaced a total of 21,424 devices. This includes replacements as a result of multiple severe weather events across the eastern states of Australia during October,” it said. “FttC NCDs … can be replaced for a wide variety of reasons, including customers removing the device when they move house, new devices being automatically provided when a customer changes providers, and accidental damage in premises.” The company also said it had sought scientific advice on the lightning issue, and the NSW Blue Mountains had a higher than normal NCD failure rate. “The Blue Mountains area has high levels of electrical storm activity and a geological make-up that can affect earthing mechanisms,” it said. By contrast, the number of full fibre network termination devices that need replacing was 5616 from the start of the year to November 11.

In the July storms that hit Victoria and forced outages on the network, NBN said there were just over 200,000 services impacted, with 39.2% on cable, a further 39.2% on fibre to the node or fibre to the basement, 13.8% were on fixed wireless, 6.2% had full fibre, and 1.7% were on fibre to the curb. Elsewhere in its answers, NBN said it had 640,880 brownfields premises in its fibre-to-the-basement (FttB) footprint, and while full fibre was the default for new apartment blocks of more than 20 premises, FttB is sometimes deployed at a customer’s request and the total figure for FttB on new builds sits under the 2% mark. The company also said it had 83,356 Sky Muster customers, and 29.482 Sky Muster Plus customers at the end of September, with Plus customers averaging 159GB each in September, which includes uplink and downlink data. For the year to October 31, NBN said 9.3% of all scheduled appointments were missed. “In many of these cases, the technician turned up earlier or later than the stipulated time and still completed the job on the day. The number also includes some cases where bad weather restricted the ability to complete the job,” it said. “The number of missed appointments has decreased steadily month on month since May 21 despite adverse weather conditions in September/October, which can restrict the ability to reach site on time and complete the job.” In June, NBN called for expressions of interest from government agencies to take part in its AU$300 million regional co-investment fund. By October 21, it had AU$29 million of proposals in progress, with 250 requests from local councils and state governments for cost estimates, and 21 projects won. Related Coverage More

Credit: Microsoft
Last fall, Microsoft launched its Azure Space initiative, which was designed to position Azure as a key player in the space- and satellite-related connectivity/compute part of the cloud market. On December 9, Microsoft provided updates on Azure Space, plus a new partnership with Airbus that falls under the Azure Space banner. Microsoft officials said today that Azure Orbital is now in public preview. Azure Orbital allows customers to communicate with and control satellites from Microsoft’s own and its partners ground stations. Microsoft also is integrating more of its other services with Azure to serve users who are interested in Azure Space capabilities. Microsoft is touting SpaceEye, a Microsoft Research AI project focused on cloud-free optical and multispectral imagery, as helping users “see” through clouds, and is enhancing imagery with its Project Turing image-enhancement technology. Via its new partnership with Airbus, Microsoft is bringing Airbus’ high-resolution satellite imagery and elevation data into Azure Maps. By combining Airbus’ imagery and Azure Machine learning and other artificial intelligence services, customers can better handle tasks like anticipating supply-chain disruptions by analyzing shipping routes, traffic patterns and global buying trends, Microsoft officials said.Microsoft also is unveiling a new virtualization partnership with iDirect, which is a satellite provider, as well as additional goespatial and data analytics partnerships with ESRI, Blackshark and Orbital Insight as part of today’s milestone updates.  Azure Space isn’t just for companies in the space industry. It’s meant to appeal to companies in public and private industry customers in the agriculture, energy, telecommunications, and government markets. It’s also meant for any customer with remote-access and bandwidth needs.Microsoft’s main cloud rival, AWS, announced its own space-industry strategy and space unit called Aerospace and Satellite Solutions, in June 2020. It also has created its own satellite connection service, AWS Ground Station, and a satellite venture called Project Kuiper which competes with SpaceX’s Starlink and other satellite networking providers. Microsoft announced last year that Elon Musk’s Space X was one of its marquee Azure Space partners. Microsoft is working with SpaceX to provide satellite-powered Internet connectivity on Azure.   Last month, Microsoft created a new Strategic Missions and Technologies team as part of a reorg of its Cloud + AI business. This new team groups together Microsoft’s U.S Federal business, Azure Space & Mission Engineering, Azure for Operators (its telco-focused business); and Azure Quantum, and is designed to accelerate those businesses.  More

The HPE-owned company Aruba on Tuesday is rolling out a new networking solution that promises to bring office-level networking capabilities to home offices via a single Wi-Fi access point (AP).  The new EdgeConnect Microbranch solution is designed for hybrid work operations that require robust connectivity for at-home workers — such as contact center operations, telehealth, and IT management. The new service adds capabilities delivered through Aruba’s existing Remote Access Points (RAPs). It adds SD-WAN and SASE services to the capabilities RAPs already deliver, such as connectivity, identity-based access control, management, and analytics. With EdgeConnect Microbranch services, customers can use policy-based routing, which enables IT to optimize how application traffic is routed to a destination, to complement existing services such as Air Slice, which dynamically allocates AP radio resources to specific applications. For example, video conferencing call quality can be improved by prioritizing that traffic over video entertainment, and then routing the video conferencing traffic directly to a trusted SaaS vendor, bypassing an unnecessary trip to the data center for inspection.”While some may believe that the only network service that can be extended to the home office AP/router is security — and even that requires an extra box — EdgeConnect Microbranch demonstrates that, with a cloud-based approach, all critical network services can be extended to the home office solely through an access point,” Larry Lunetta, VP of Solutions Portfolio Marketing at Aruba, said in a statement. In addition to policy-based routing, the service delivers capabilities including tunnel and route orchestration, SASE integration to directly leverage cloud security services like Zscaler, and enhanced WAN visibility. The Aruba EdgeConnect Microbranch service is available in Early Access and will be generally available in March 2022 for any AP running ArubaOS 10 with a Foundation AP License.

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The rise of remote work has made one fact glaringly clear: If you work from home, you need a reliable, affordable, and user-friendly video chat app. Video chat apps are an excellent form of communication, whether it’s used for a job interview, a work meeting, or simply a hangout with friends. Poor connections, subpar audio, and frozen video, however, can all wreak havoc on your video calls. It makes finding the best video chat app challenging.Here are our picks for the best video chat apps in 2021. 

Best for gamers

Discord

CompatibilityAndroid, iOS, Linux, WindowsPriceBasic: FreeUpgraded: $9.99/mo. or $99.99/yr.At a glanceFounded in 2015, Discord boasts 150 million active users each month spread across 19 million active servers. The app holds four billion server conversation minutes each day. One reason is its wide availability, servicing 11 countries including Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, and South Korea. It is especially popular with college students, and it’s used by over 200 colleges and universities. Discord offers a combination of communication services, including text and video chat. It has convenient features like screen-sharing and a way to see who in your network is available to chat in real-time. If you are looking for topic-specific resources, Discord organizes them neatly into a database, keeping everything you need readily available with just a touch of a button. With additional community management, you can moderate your space by assigning members specific roles or creating private channels just for leadership. Ever reliable, Discord also has excellent transparency, sharing real-time stats for all countries and third parties Cloudfare and Tax Calculation Service. When we checked, Discord’s servers showed the following: API: 99.5% uptimeMedia Proxy: 100% uptimePush Notifications:  100% uptimeSearch: 100% uptimeProsConsVery reliable servers with real-time reportingIndividual and team toolsTopic-specific channels and resourcesPaid plan required for extra featuresSet up can be trickyBusy interface can be difficult to navigate

Best for social media enthusiasts

Facebook

CompatibilityFacebook, Android, Instagram, iOS, Oculus, Portal, WhatsAppPriceFreeAt a glanceFacebook is the go-to social media app for millions of users across the globe, so its Messenger feature has become a regular way for users to interact with family, friends, and their local communities. Messenger offers text, voice, and video chat, plus the option to create or join exclusive Messenger Rooms. These Rooms offer a private space to have conversations, collaborate on projects, and hang out with friends. To personalize your experience, you can choose from fun filters and effects to bring some excitement to your chats. If you have guests to invite, you can share a link to your Messenger Room that allows them to join without a Messenger account. You do not need a Facebook account to use Messenger; you just need to sign up for a free Facebook Messenger account.ProsConsEasy social media integrationFree international callingCustomer service chatbot for business Well-publicized privacy concernsNotifications can be distractingDesktop app limits users in chat 

Best for Google devotees

Google

CompatibilityAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac, WindowsPriceThere are three plans available for Google Meet, depending on your specific needs.At a glanceWith enhanced security measures, such as encrypted video conversations, Google Meet uses the same security protocols as Gmail and other Google services. It also benefits from Google’s impressive reputation, attracting clients like Airbus, BBVA, Salesforce, Whirlpool, and even Twitter. For the free account, Google Meet offers up to 100 guests with 60 free minutes, but you will need to upgrade your account if you want to take advantage of the additional features. That gives you access to meetings with guest lists of up to 250 people, plus screen-sharing capabilities to simplify presentations. It also has the capability of broadcasting live streams to up to 100,000 viewers, making it perfect for businesses and schools that offer frequent webinars. Google Meet offers the option of live captions through speech recognition technology with AI enhancements for enhanced clarity. Guests have the option to use Google Nest Hub Max to join a meeting, or they can access the audio-only format using a convenient dial-in number offered in the invitation.ProsConsWorks easily with Google SuiteAvailable closed captioningUnlimited meetingsMust have Gmail for video chatFree plan limits meeting timeMust upgrade for more participants

Best for confidential meetings

GoToMeeting

CompatibilityiOS, Android, WindowsPriceGoToMeeting offers several plans that you can choose from based on your specific needs. At a glanceAvailable in over 190 countries, video chat app GoToMeeting hosts over 80 million meetings each year. It boasts features like HD video and screen sharing with additional keyboard and mouse sharing. Up to 250 people can join meetings, and GoToMeeting will prepare reports and analytics afterward to help you improve before the next one. It also offers unlimited cloud recording and an available transcription service. GoToMeeting integrates with LogMeIn for its communication and collaboration tools, giving account owners the option to assign roles and restrict access. Hosts have peace of mind with 99.95% service uptime and enhanced security measures with encrypted meetings. There is no reason to worry about accessibility because users do not need to download software to join a meeting. Commuter mode allows you to join meetings from the road due to its enhanced audio and background noise suppression that features VoIP and Toll. ProsCons99.95% service uptimeEncrypted meetingsNo account necessary Minimal integrationsSome lagging connection issuesLong-distance calls subject to restrictions

Best for corporate groups

Microsoft

CompatibilityAndroid, iOS, WindowsPrice Microsoft Teams is available in a free version for individual use with the option for paid personal and business plans.At a glanceMicrosoft Teams is known as one of the best video conferencing apps for both businesses and schools, and it has over 250 million users. You still have text, voice, and video chat, but it goes one step further to offer advanced tools that encourage collaboration, file-sharing, and integrations with popular apps. Cloud storage keeps all of your information safe and easily organized.In addition to its business tools, Microsoft Teams has tools for personal and home use. Lounge mode is available for more casual hangouts; you can join family and friends at a virtual cafe. You can also have fun and add a splash of personalization with features like emojis, memes, and GIFs. Under the free account, you can meet for up to 60 minutes.NOTE: In light of COVID-19, Microsoft Teams has temporarily extended meeting times to 30 hours each. You can either use Microsoft Teams as part of Microsoft 365, or you can create a free Teams account. There’s also an option to invite people without a Teams account to join Microsoft Teams video chats.  ProsConsIntegrates with Microsoft OfficeIncludes presentation modeCloud transcription storageLimited minutes with free plan Better suited toward teamsHigh system requirements

Best for families

Skype

CompatibilityAlexa, Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, XboxPriceWhen you use the Skype-to-Skype calling feature, calls are free. You will need a subscription, however, if you want to call a mobile phone or landline. Skype offers several plans based on where in the world you want to call, and they all have a free one-month trial.At a glanceSkype has long been the go-to for video chat, and it still continues to improve upon its model. It recently revamped its messaging, featuring improved speed and reliability with a more modern interface. It’s available as an app and as a fully-powered browser version.Skype offers features like call recording, live subtitles, and end-to-end encryption to secure your conversations. If you need to find media you shared, there is a helpful Media Gallery with a search function for your previous conversations. Skype assigns you a personal invitation link that will never expire, making it significantly easier to meet with the same people over and over. It’s free to call other Skype users, with calls available for up to 24 hours each. However, rates will apply when calling landlines or mobile numbers. You can also add a local phone number in your choice of area code or country, so you can get your calls on Skype. ProsConsMultiple video and text chat optionsEasily connect with Skype communityQ&A session capabilityLong-distance and international calls extraCalls can blur and dropTechnical glitches fairly common

Best for international communication

WhatsApp

CompatibilityAndroid, iOS, Mac, WindowsPriceFreeAt a glanceWhatsApp has made a name for itself in the international arena with its worldwide calling and video chat. Today, it has more than two million users across more than 180 countries. Created as an SMS alternative, WhatsApp far exceeds the capabilities of the standard text messaging service. It offers enormous chats with up to 256 people, which is far more than the average competitor. Security concerns are soothed by the built-in end-to-end encryption for secure messaging and video chats. If you prefer to move your data to your personal computer or phone, WhatsApp makes it easy to make transfers with its sync option, allowing PDFs, slideshows, and spreadsheets up to 100 MB. A convenient extra feature is the optional Disappearing Messages mode that will automatically delete messages after your choice of either 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.Also available is WhatsApp Business, which is free to download and offers an excellent forum to advertise your products. It integrates with your Facebook storefront for easy maintenance, and you have the option to create an exclusive WhatsApp QR code for customer and staff communication. Plus, added tools make it easy to respond to customers instantly and sort previous messages.WhatsApp is free when you message family and friends, even for international calls. It is also free for businesses. ProsConsUser-friendly formatLive location trackingEnd-to-end encryptionNo secret messagingLimited file sizes for sharingNot available in all countries

How did we choose these products?Video chat apps pop up all the time, but they do not always deliver the reliability, performance, and consistency users need. When choosing the best video chat apps, we considered these factors:Cost: While some video chat apps are free, others may require a paid plan or charge on a per-minute basis. Compatibility: We focused on video chat apps that work with most popular devices.Features: User favorites, like fun GIFs, automatic syncing, and closed captioning, helped us narrow down the options.Security: Private information is exchanged over these apps, so we took security protocols, such as end-to-end encryption, into consideration.Which video chat app is the right one for you?It can be hard to differentiate between all of the video chat apps available, so consider our expert recommendations to help you decide. You should also look at the factors listed above and decide which ones are important to you.
What is a video chat app?

A video chat app is an internet-based service that offers text messaging and video chatting options, either in one-on-one or group formats.

Why should I use a video chat app?

A video chat app helps you spend face-to-face time with your loved ones. Many companies also use video chat apps for employee interviews and meetings, while schools use them for webinars and lectures.

What is the best video chat app?

The best video chat app depends on your specific needs. For example, if you have a lot of family abroad, it’s important to find a video chat app with free or cheap international calls. This list of 2021’s best video chat apps is a great place to start.

Are there alternatives worth considering?In our search for the best video chat apps, we came across several options that may also be worth your consideration.For more tools to equip your home or office, consider our picks for the best video conferencing apps, best smart displays, and the best webcams!

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Just as The International School of Yangon (ISY) in Myanmar was preparing to reopen and return to face-to-face learning following COVID-19 lockdowns, the country was forced to grapple with widespread political unrest after military forces seized control in a coup d’état on February 1.For an initial period, it was relatively peaceful, but that all changed when the army was deployed, John Whalen, director of health, safety and security at ISY, told ZDNet, describing how he periodically heard gunfire and explosions from his house in Yangon.”It was almost like the gloves were off and that’s when there were nighttime raids, shootings at checkpoints, lots of arrests … it was bad. [The military] was cracking down on the actual protests, so you had an armed army going after unarmed civilians,” he said.In the wake of the military coup, the ISY was forced to reconsider the way its 200-plus faculty and staff would communicate during such emergencies.”For the past couple of years, we have been, as a school, discussing various mechanisms to communicate in case of emergency and had never really come up with [one]. We’ve come up with a lot of solutions, but not really the ideal solution,” said Whalen, who was formerly head of the Office for the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Yangon.”At the time, and up until the coup happened, our solution was a WhatsApp group. It’s very simple and the level of security on it is not great … of course, we also have school emails and we put out email blasts. “But what we were really looking for was something that we could get something out and not only be able to broadcast out, but also have some sort of accountability as well. Knowing where people are was important and knowing whether or not people are in trouble was important.”

The other consideration as part of this upgrade, according to Whalen, was to look for an alternative that was not dependent on the internet. Following the military coup, the country suffered internet and phone disruptions. The country’s telco giant Telenor Myanmar then confirmed it was ordered by the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications to temporarily shut down its data network in Myanmar, while voice and SMS services remained open. “Initially, when the coup happened, the internet was up and running … but at some point, they took mobile data down because the military realised everybody was communicating on Facebook, WhatsApp … but [the faculty] still had access to the internet using foreign SIM cards … and our school still had fixed fibre,” Whalen said.While leveraging mesh networking could have been an option, Whalen said getting the right equipment would have been “almost impossible”. The other solution, which was what ISY opted for, was Blackberry’s AtHoc critical event management platform that coincidentally was also a system that was used by his former workplace, the US Embassy, in Yangon. “I’m sitting having lunch with a friend of mine from the US Embassy and he starts getting an alert on his phone and the US Embassy was using that system, so he showed it to me and so that kind of sold me on the demonstration,” he said. ISY rolled out the system just as ISY staff were being evacuated out of the country in March. “We didn’t have a chance to really use it that much, but it did give me an opportunity to test it with our local staff, which we continue to do,” Whalen said. “Even though I’m [in the US] at the moment, we’re using it now for … informational news segments of what’s actually happening within the country, so that when our local staff returns there, they have some situational awareness of what’s going on.”Using the AtHoc system, the messages are being delivered in various formats, including email, SMS, through the AtHoc app, and as phone calls. These messages are also being sent in Burmese, Whalen added. With hopes that ISY will see all faculty return to Yangon and in-person learning resume by January, Whalen wants to incorporate the AtHoc system to be able to track student school buses.”When everybody is back, and with everything that’s going on, we’re going to be very attentive to making sure that we can account for everybody all the time,” he said.Related Coverage  More

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The AU$79.7 million in net profit that Cisco Australia claimed last year has been shown in its most recent financials to have had no basis in reality, with the local arm of the networking giant actually posting a AU$16.7 million loss. On 31 January 2020, Cisco Australia purchased Zomojo, which traded under the Exablaze label and designed and built field programmable gate array network devices, for AU$118 million. It included four entities — Zomojo, Zomojo Services, Exablaze, and Zomojo Staff Holdings — which became subsidiaries of Cisco Australia. On 18 November 2020, Zomojo Staff Holdings was deregistered from Australian Securities and Investment Commission, and Zomojo Services followed on 25 March 2021. In stating its latest earnings, Cisco said it needed to restate the carrying value of Zomojo as of its 2020 year end. “During the period it was discovered that impairment charges over the carrying value of the investment in subsidiaries had not been recorded appropriately and accordingly the carrying value of investment in Zomojo of has been restated from AU$116,206,000 to AU$28,037,000 as at 25 July 2020,” it said. “Additional impairment charges of AU$88,168,000 recognised in the comparative period have resulted in the net profit for the period ended 25 July 2020 of the Parent entity being restarted from AU$68,467,000 to a net loss for the period of AU$19,701,000.” That was not the only restating Cisco Australia needed to make for 2020, as a review of its transfer pricing policies found incorrectly values there as well. Consequently, Cisco Australia restated its 2020 revenue was AU$5.7 million lower, had AU$39.6 million increase in cost of sales, and paid AU$13.6 million less in income tax. For its 2021 fiscal year that ended on July 31, Cisco Australia reported revenue was down by AU$121 million to AU$1.87 billion, consisting of AU$1.08 billion in product revenue, which was down from AU$1.21 billion, and service revenue of AU$466 million which represents a AU$31 million increase on 2020.

With much lower impairment expenses in 2021, pre-tax profit was reported as AU$55 million and after a AU$17 million income tax charge, gave net profit of AU$37.8 million. Cisco Systems Australia has an immediate parent of Cisco Systems Netherlands Holding B.V. before reaching its ultimate parent Cisco Systems Inc in the United States. In 2021, Cisco Australia paid a AU$70 million dividend to its owners, compared to AU$43.4 million paid out last year. Over the course of the year, Cisco Australia was charged a total of AU$1 billion in service fees and cost of sales expenses by its parents and related parties, with AU$299 million flowing in the opposite direction to the Australian arm, both numbers are down on last year. The company said it also purchased over AU$45 million in “various goods and services” from its ultimate parent and related entities throughout the fiscal year. As of July 25, Cisco Systems Australia had 1,392 employees, a mild increase on last year’s 1,378, however its wages and salaries line item grew from AU$395 million to AU$410 million. Related Coverage More