Networking

The amount of bandwidth purchased from the company running the National Broadband Network dropped form 20.2Tbps down to 19.8Tbps over the quarter to December 31, according to numbers from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
In the latest edition of its NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report, the average amount of CVC per connection fell from 2.59Mbps to 2.44Mbps. The largest drop was in Victoria where capacity plummeted 11% from 5.6Tbps in the prior quarter to 4.98Tbps. The Australian Capital Territory saw a 7% drop in bandwidth, while Western Australia and the Northern Territory had 4% less capacity by the end of 2020, and Tasmania saw a 3% drop.
Heading in the other direction was New South Wales with a 4% increase to 6.4Tbps and South Australia with a 2% increase. Queensland was only slightly up from 4.05Tbps to 4.07Tbps.
The lower bandwidth was expected as NBN began tapering off its 40% free capacity boost to retailers due to the coronavirus pandemic during the quarter.
Compared to the same quarter a year prior, NBN was selling 12.7Tbps of capacity, which meant bandwidth increased by 56% over 2020.
Nevertheless, the ACCC said it was now up to retailers to cough up the difference.
“NBN’s temporary COVID-19 CVC boost offer has expired, so it’s important that retail service providers provide sufficient CVC capacity for consumers to continue to receive the speeds they are paying for, particularly during periods of high demand,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said.

Over the quarter, NBN saw almost over 590,000 premises take up its 100/20Mbps Home Fast plan as the total number now sits at nearly 742,000 connections. Also seeing increases in the number of premises connected were 25/10Mbps plans, which saw a 56,525 boost in numbers to 92,000, and the 25/5Mbps plan that gained 26,650 new additions to take its total to 1.28 million connections.
Plans with numbers headed in the other direction were the slowest 12/1Mbps plan, which now has 1.05 million connections thanks to a 41,600 drop; the most popular 50/20Mbps plan, which saw 298,000 premises drop off to result in only having 4.2 million connections in total; while 63,600 fewer premises were connected to 100/40Mbps plans, leaving it with 718,000 connections.
At the higher end of its speed offering, the 250/25Mbps Home Superfast plan recorded over 11,000 connections with 6,000 additions being made in the quarter, and 2,670 premises took up the 500-1,000/50Mbps Home Ultrafast with just shy of 10,000 premises around the country using it.
The vast majority of customers on plans above 250Mbps are with Aussie Broadband.
Earlier this week, Aussie Broadband reported a revenue spike of 89% to AU$157 million for the six months to December 31, thanks to the addition of 81,000 customers to its network.
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Data center switch giant Arista Networks this afternoon reported Q4 revenue and profit that topped analysts’ expectations, and an outlook for the current quarter higher as well. 
The report sent Arista shares surging by 12% in late trading. 
CEO Jayshree Ullal remarked that she was “pleased with Arista’s return to growth in Q4 2020,” adding that “with our laser focus on customer success, pristine financials and transformative innovations, Arista is well positioned to continue our momentum in the post pandemic era.”
CFO Ita Brennan commented that the company’s employees “showed great resilience and flexibility throughout 2020, maintaining operational excellence, while executing well on our market and product diversification initiatives.”
Revenue in the three months ended in December rose to $648.5 million, yielding EPS of $2.49, excluding some costs.
Analysts had been modeling $630 million and $2.39 a share. 
Arista said its gross profit margin as a percentage of revenue rose ever-so-slightly to 65% from 64.7% a year earlier. 

For the current quarter, the company sees revenue of $630 million to $650 million. That compares to consensus for $609 million and $2.27 per share.
The company’s gross profit margin is projected in a range of 63% to 65% for the quarter.

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Verizon Business said it will expand its managed networking services with Cisco with three new offerings.
The telecom giant said that it will offer three new SD WAN managed services offerings. For Verizon, the Cisco partnership bolsters its business services unit, which is seen as a growth area for the company. For Cisco, Verizon expands an existing enterprise partnership and gives it more throughput as its data center stack powers more services.
Verizon Business and Cisco are offering the following managed services.
Co-managed Cisco SD WAN powered by Viptela with an option to control and self-manage security and application policies. Verizon would include managed services for fault, performance and configuration.
Managed SD WAN powered by Viptela for Cisco’s ISR1100 Series platform. This managed service is for branch offices via an appliance.
Managed service tiers for Cisco SD WAN powered by Meraki. This service offers the Cisco Meraki platform as well as deployment support globally. Verizon will also manage Cisco Meraki MV smart cameras.
Cisco has been busy building out partnerships with key enterprise players. Cisco and Amazon Web Services (AWS) said they will integrate AWS IoT Core and Cisco Edge Intelligence software. The partnership aims to make it easier to manage IoT and industry 4.0 implementations.   More

Image: Asha Barbaschow/ZDNet
Optus is currently experiencing a mobile outage along the east coast of Australia.
“Our network team is working to resolve a network issue on the Optus mobile network in NSW, QLD and VIC,” a notice on its network status page says.
The company said in a statement that as of 9am on Thursday, technical issues could lead to “intermittent disruptions” to using data, making calls, and sending SMS messages on its mobile network.
“We understand connectivity is important and are working to restore services ASAP. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” Optus social media managers were telling users that complained on Twitter.
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Aussie Broadband has seen its revenue spike by 89% to AU$157 million for the six months to December 31, thanks to the addition of 81,000 customers to its network.
Broken down, its residential base accounted for AU$138 million in revenue, an increase of AU$65 million compared to the same period last fiscal year, and contributed AU$5.75 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), which is more than double the AU$2 million reported last year.
From its business customers, Aussie Broadband received an AU$8.7 million jump in revenue to AU$19.7 million and EBTIDA increased from AU$1.9 million to AU$2.78 million.
Overall, the company reported a 87% increase in EBITDA from AU$3.9 million to AU$7.3 million, from its AU$157 million in revenue. Aussie Broadband reported a net loss of AU$10.5 million, with a AU$12 million hit coming from the line items related to its IPO completed during the half.
The company said before these items, it had AU$2.9 million in profit, compared to a loss of AU$1.6 million a year prior.
Aussie Broadband now has 331,353 unique customers, which have taken up 342,634 services, with 313,193 marked as residential and 29,441 as business. The residential customer number increased by 30% since June 2020, with business customers growing by 49%. The company added that its NBN market share jumped from 2.8% in December 2019 to 4.2% a year later.
In addressing the recent HFC pause on new customer connections, the company said it was also impacted.

“There have been some interruptions to the supply chain of customer routers, but the business has found alternative equipment where necessary and the impact on customers has been some modest delays in delivery times,” it said.
“The company holds significant forward inventory but will continue to work with its partners to ensure continuity of supply.”
Aussie Broadband added if the HFC pause had hit in January, 9% of its orders would have been affected.
The company also said on Wednesday it was in the process of getting ready to switch wholesalers for its 19,000 mobile services from Telstra to Optus.
Aussie Broadband added that the new deal would allow 4G failover to be available for its NBN customers, and the deal includes access to Optus 5G and fixed wireless products.
The company expects to have new plans and handsets ready in the final quarter of its fiscal year between April and June.
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Myanmar’s ruling military has drafted new cybersecurity laws that have been widely condemned as draconian, giving the government sweeping powers to access user data and block online sites. The legislation also can undermine the country’s location as an offshore hub for data services, since it will not be in compliance with international laws. 
News leaked days after the February 1 military coup that a draft copy of the bill was sent to telcos and online service providers for their feedback, due back on Monday. According to various organisations that had seen the 36-page document, the proposed legislation would require online platforms operating in the country to retain all user data, including IP address, home address, and ID number, for three years and in a system assigned by the government. 
In addition, Article 29 would enable the government to instruct a user account be intercepted, blocked, or removed when identified to incite hate or disrupt peace with “fake news”, “disinformation, or comments that violated existing laws. Local authorities also would have access to the data when requested, without the need for a warrant.

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The current military government, which had named itself State Administration Council, had pitched the proposed legislation as necessary to combat cybercrime and various online activities deemed detrimental to the country. 
Various organisations, though, stepped up to condemn the rules as repressive, comprising vague terms that would provide the government powers to outlaw content with which it objected and prosecute its author. It also marked a significant step back after years of economic and social progress in Myanmar. 
In its statement, the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) cautioned that such laws would not only impact civil society, but also risk driving away international investors and stymie local business growth, particularly in the ICT sector. 
MCRB singled out the legislation’s focus on data localisation, requiring data to be stored in sites designated by the government, which it said would leave local businesses vulnerable. This was especially true for banks and e-commerce companies that used significant volumes of data and would not be able to tap the security and features offered by global cloud services. 

Financial services institutions would not be able to mitigate security risks and ensure governance, and this would drive away foreign investors and harm local businesses already struggling to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. 
Myanmar’s ability to create jobs and be a hub for offshore data-based services, such as call centres and shared service centres, also would be undermined as the proposed law would not be in compliance with international data protection rules, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), said MCRB. 
It noted that the Myanmar Computer Federation, Myanmar Computer Industry Association, and Myanmar Computer Professionals Association already had voiced their objections to the draft law. 
Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor said in a statement Tuesday the legislation should be debated in parliament and consulted with industry stakeholders to ensure it was “fit for purpose” and in line with Myanmar’s constitution. 
Describing it as broad in scope, the company said the proposed laws provided extensive powers that could “significantly impact many”. The telco said its local operations, since 2013, were established on commitments from Myanmar’s government that its regulatory updates and framework would be in line with international best practices. These included the establishment of an independent telecommunications regulator. 
“We are concerned that the proposed bill does not progress relevant regulatory frameworks and law for a digital future, [neither does it] promote and safeguard digital safety and rights,” Telenor said, adding that it was “not appropriate” to pass a bill with such broad powers to a temporary administration during a state of emergency. 
It further called for the proposed bill to adopt transparency and “legal certainty” with regards to the exercise of powers, and to exclude provisions that could be used to order interception of user accounts. It noted that laws governing personal data protection, electronic transactions, and cybersecurity should be kept separate to ensure governance. 
In calling the proposed legislation “draconian”, Human Rights Watch urged for it to be withdrawn as it would “consolidate” the government’s ability to conduct pervasive surveillance and cut access to essential services. It also neither specified how authorities would determine what constituted as misinformation nor provide any options for those whose content was blocked or removed to appeal.
Human Rights Watch’s Asia legal advisor Linda Lakhdhir said: “The draft cybersecurity law would hand a military that just staged a coup and is notorious for jailing critics almost unlimited power to access user data, putting anyone who speaks out at risk.” 
Under the proposed rules, companies that failed to comply faced up to three years imprisonment or fines of 10 million kyats ($7,009). 
“The provisions of this cybersecurity law pose a clear threat to the right of Myanmar’s citizens to reliable information and to the confidentiality of journalists’ and bloggers’ data,” Daniel Bastard, Asia-Pacific head of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement. “We urge digital actors operating in Myanmar, starting with Facebook, to refuse to comply with this shocking attempt to bring them to heel. This junta has absolutely no democratic legitimacy and it would be highly damaging for platforms to submit to its tyrannical impositions.”
According to RSF, Facebook has almost 25 million users in the country or 45% of the local population. It added that access to the social media platform as well as others such as Twitter and Instagram was blocked soon after the February 1 coup. 
UNI Global Union also called for industry stakeholders to speak out against the law, singling out Japan’s KDDI, Qatar’s Ooredoo, and Telenor, as these three multinational corporations had strong presence in Myanmar. 
Representing some 3 million employees in the ICT services sector, UNI Global Union’s general secretary Christy Hoffman said: “This so-called cybersecurity bill only protects the government’s grasp on power and it will be a powerful weapon against trade unionists, students, teachers, and the broad swath of civil society speaking out. The international community must stand up to reject this law… Telecommunications companies must also push back against this law or risk becoming a weapon of this military junta against democracy.”
According to activist group Access Now, Myanmar’s junta on Tuesday ordered another internet shutdown amidst increased military presence and use of force against demonstrators. It described the military’s “weaponisation” of internet shutdowns to silence dissent as “unacceptable and a flagrant violation to human rights laws”. 
Access Now’s Asia-Pacific policy director and senior international counsel, Jit Singh Chima, said: “Myanmar’s draft cybersecurity bill is already instilling a fear of surveillance and being persecuted for what you say and do online. The gagging of telecom and ICT firms from being able to report on government orders concerning internet shutdowns, web censorship, or user surveillance is very concerning. Given the evolving situation and suppression of free media on the ground, the ability of telecom firms to provide information about the government directives they receive is key.”
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The company responsible for deploying the NBN on Monday said it wants to extend the duration of its wholesale discounts and data inclusions by an additional year.
NBN committed to providing the two-year bundle discount in its 2019 pricing review due to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and industry calling for price reductions on entry-level wholesale products.
Published as part of its third pricing review consultation paper, NBN said it wants to extend the two-year Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) discount bundle, from April 2022 to April 2023, as Australians have spent more time at home as a result of COVID-19, with total NBN internet usage having experienced a 32% increase year-on-year.
With this proposal, NBN has put forth two options regarding how it wants to go about extending these discounts. The first option would entail maintaining the bundles discount at the same charge rate of May 2021 while increasing CVC capacity inclusions by between 0.10 Mbps to 0.50 Mbps in May 2022 at no extra cost to retailers.
NBN’s second option, meanwhile, would rejig the CVC charges for the 50Mbps and faster bundles by increasing the access charge by AU$2. In doing so, NBN would provide up to an additional AU$2.80 worth of CVC inclusions over and above the inclusions when compared to the May 2021 levels, which NBN claimed would be a 17-29% discount for the additional CVC inclusions.
In addition, NBN wants to update the pricing of its original wholesale plans of 250/100Mbps, 500/200Mbps, and close to 1000/400Mbps so they are more appropriately priced for small and medium-sized businesses.
According to NBN, residential consumers that previously used these plans have primarily moved to lower-priced plans. As such, NBN has proposed pricing these plans, respectively, at AU$100 for 5.5Mbps of included CVC capacity, AU$160 with 6Mbps of CVC, and AU$230 with 6.75Mbps on the 1000Mbps plan.

NBN will also look to provide an additional 0.25Mbps of CVC inclusion for the 25/5-10 Mbps, 50/20Mbps, and Wireless Plus plans and reduce the entry-level bundle additional charge to AU$0 from May onwards.
In addition, NBN said in the consultation paper that it is exploring various longer-term strategic options to continue to “evolve its wholesale pricing”.
None of these longer-term proposals were released in this latest consultation paper as NBN said it is seeking feedback for these options across two rounds.
These longer-term proposals will be published during the middle of Q2 2021 after it receives the first round of industry feedback from this latest consultation paper, it said.
Over 50 internet retailers and consumer advocacy groups have been invited by NBN to provide feedback on these proposed changes to pricing, with NBN to finalise its decisions from the latest consultation by the end of April.
Last week, NBN reported positive earnings at year-end after a solid first half. For the six months to the end of 2020, NBN reported a 25% increase in revenue to AU$2.26 billion, which it said was thanks to 660,000 premises joining the network and increased demand for higher speed plans.
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The Australian space and satellite sector has urged for the Australian government to introduce policies and regulations to ensure there is compliance within the industry, without hindering potential growth opportunities.
These calls have been vocalised by the likes of Optus, Nova Systems, and Vocus, with each making submissions as part of a Standing Committee inquiry into developing Australia’s space industry.
Vocus noted in its submission [PDF] that the Australian government should pursue policy and regulatory settings for the space and satellite sector that develop and maintain sovereign capability for both civil and defence space applications, while also incentivising private sector investment and local industry development.
“Government policy settings should be set in such a way as to promote and maximise private investment and develop private industry. Private sector investment is fundamental to enabling competition, building scale, and developing capability which will deliver the best outcomes for consumers, businesses, and government agencies,” Vocus stated.
Similar recommendations [PDF] were made by Optus, which highlighted it was “important that Australia maintains an Australian-based and operated satellite capacity, particularly with regards to national security capabilities”, and urged for the Commonwealth to make it a priority while also ensuring that administrative and regulatory frameworks are “fit-for-purpose and not burdensome on the space and satellite sector”.
For Nova Systems, an Adelaide-based engineering and management services company, it believes introducing regulation would provide “certainty” as the local space sector continues to develop. 
“Australia’s legislation should be supported with tools and resources which enable industry to efficiently meet their legal obligations,” the company wrote in its submission [PDF].

Nova Systems highlighted that regulation is particularly necessary around requirements for launch facility licence and launch permit applications as, in their current state, they “provide minimal guidance on expected content and intent” and could result in “significant differences in expectations between stakeholders” and “significant uncertainty of cost and schedule” for applicants.
Companies that wish to conduct launches in Australia are currently required to apply for these licences under the Space Activities Act 1998. However, the onus remains on the applicant to provide the information required under the Act. Since the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018, there have been 16 applications made for launch facility licences and Australian launch permits, a significant jump from the one launch and one return approved during the period 2001-2014.
Nova Systems suggested a possible way around this could be tailoring the process. 
“Inherently low risk to public safety or the space environment undertaken with small investments need not be subjected to the same process as large commercial endeavours with higher levels of risk. If possible, tailoring of the process could apply to the level of independent assessment industry is required to obtain, the size, detail and type of documentation required and the processing timeframes,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Optus recommended that the amount of documentation required to apply for these licences be reduced to encourage greater commercialisation in the industry.
One of the other key priorities that need to be considered by the committee, according to ViaSat’s submission [PDF], is the role that policies and regulations could play to ensure there is equal access to spectrum.
“The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) created rules 20 years ago that were based on the existence of only 3.5 NGSO (non-geostationary) systems and were based on very different technology than is being employed today. These rules are critically out of date and the associated rules on the national level are not in place to protect against this NGSO interference threat,” it said.
“These … must be strengthened. Otherwise, the operation of NGSOs threatens to unduly constrain the capacity and throughput of the GSO (geostationary) systems that provide critical commercial and Defence capabilities throughout Australia.”
Viasat cautioned that if this was not handled promptly, “Australia may find its ability to implement or authorise satellite systems restricted by the actions of other jurisdictions and administrations, and its ability to control its own natural environment compromised”.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) also made a submission [PDF] to the committee. It said that for Australia’s space sector to maintain long-term competitiveness, ongoing support is necessary for the space science sector, something which it believes is lacking. CSIRO highlighted, for instance, that the Australian Space Agency does not have a science-specific program but believe it is necessary to drive the long-term success of the sector.
It added that Australia’s space sector could do with more than one space mission. 
“A single space mission is not sufficient to catalyse and sustain such an industry; instead, a long-term pipeline of opportunities is required,” CSIRO recommended.
SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) echoed similar remarks, pointing out that government-endorsed national space research is “essential for this discussion” but does not currently exist. The consortium of universities and other research organisations argued that the industry would function more efficiently if there was an agreement on national space research priorities, instead of numerous public-funded programs at national and state levels.
“It must be recognised that funding organisations need to meet their own objectives, however coordinating priorities at the national level also has clear advantages in helping focus the application of resources on areas delivering the greatest national benefit,” SmartSat CRC noted in its submission [PDF].
“Given a number of space research strategies and roadmaps already exist, and more are under development, this is largely a consolidation activity but identifying common interests and priorities may also help identify critical areas worthy of additional funding.”
On the point of developing space satellites, technology, and equipment, SmartSat CRC warned that funding and other necessary support needed to be consistent to avoid a stop-start notion and sporadic funding. It pointed to the Defence shipbuilding coming across an issue where there were long gaps between orders, which led to “dangerous loss of skills and capabilities and impaired international competitiveness”.
Airbus also wants to see a national approach to Australia’s space strategy be developed so that direct lines of departmental responsibility are clearly outlined and cooperation can occur between civil and defence programs.
Alongside this, Airbus wrote in its submission [PDF] that it wants to see an official definition of “sovereignty” be established in order to ensure commercialisation is central to the Australian Space Agency’s mission with strong links to international partners established, among other recommendations.
The company said it is looking to “substantially increase sovereign industrial space and defence capability in Australia”, and believes that this can be achieved through a combination of prime contractors working with SMEs.
In Geoscience Australia’s submission [PDF], it took the opportunity to identify potential barriers of growth that could hurt Australia’s space industry. These included risks to ongoing access to critical satellite data, ability to assure customers of product quality, support for export of space applications, shortage of local skills, and access to space data tailored to local and regional needs.
Taking these potential barriers into consideration, Geoscience Australia said the nation could overcome them by maintaining an open data policy for any satellites Australia supports by using public funds; establishing an ongoing national capability to coordinate and drive the development of a national network of quality assurance facilities for space applications; establishing an ongoing program that supports Australian innovators to tailor products and services developed for local markets to meet the needs of export markets, while also working with international partners; encouraging more individuals to seek a career in STEM; and establishing satellite ground stations in Australia’s Antarctic territory.
The Australian Space Agency, which is responsible for whole-of-government coordination of civil space matters, emphasised in its submission [PDF] the opportunity to grow in Australia’s space sector would have spill-over benefits to other industries, such as agriculture or assisting with bushfires.
“Space 2.0 is an enabler and part of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ … this rapid transformation of industry and the space sector is one of the many reasons why Australia can harness a greater share of the global space economy,” the agency said.
“There are a growing number of business opportunities and Australian businesses have a range of capabilities that can diversify into the space sector. This means that, unlike traditional systems and structures for involvement in space, government’s role can be one of a partner and facilitator.”
The Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources adopted the inquiry in November after it was referred to by the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews to see how the Australian Space Agency could achieve its goal of tripling the size of the sector to AU$12 billion and create an additional 20,000 jobs over the next decade.
Chaired by Liberal MP Barnaby Joyce, the committee will specifically examine the opportunities presented by Australia’s space industry, and what is required to strengthen support for domestic and international space-related activities, including the development of space technology and equipment, commercialisation of research and development, future workforce requirements, and international collaboration.
Deadline for submissions to the committed closed on January 29. 
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