Optus has heavily promoted over-the-top services such as Netflix. Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET Optus has hinted that it may begin charging over-the-top services such as Netflix and other streaming providers for “premium” access to its networks — seemingly contradicting the telco’s stated support of net neutrality — the idea that service providers and governments should …
Read More »
HBO Now was announced as an Apple TV exclusive in March. CNET As Australian internet users flock to virtual private networks in droves to access geoblocked content, HBO Now is warning non-US users that they will be locked out of the content streaming service this week. The service launched in the United States just in time for the fifth season …
Read More »
Image by Claire Reilly/CNET After locking down a deal to give its customers unlimited and unmetered access to the US-based streaming service, iiNet now says that one quarter of its total traffic comes from users accessing Netflix. Speaking at the CommsDay Summit in Sydney, iiNet chief technology officer Mark Dioguardi said households across Australia were now all saying the same …
Read More »
Paul Sakuma A leaked email from Sony Pictures Entertainment has revealed the company lobbied Netflix to block overseas users from accessing the content streaming service “illegally” by circumventing geoblocks with VPNs. The internal email from Sony Pictures Entertainment President of International Distribution Keith Le Goy was published on WikiLeaks as part of a cache of confidential information, which includes a …
Read More »
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at the company’s Australian launch. Image by Claire Reilly/CNET Netflix has had a change of heart about controversial deals it struck with Internet service providers as part of its launch last month in Australia and New Zealand. As part of the March launch, the video-on-demand streaming service partnered with one of Australia’s largest ISPs, iiNet, to …
Read More »
“Dallas Buyers Club” Pinnacle Films The two major ISPs involved in legal action against the rights holders of “Dallas Buyers Club” have confirmed that they will not be appealing the ruling against them. Last week, the Federal Court ruled that a number of ISPs, including iiNet, Dodo, Adam Internet and Internode, would be required to hand over customer details corresponding …
Read More »
A Telstra public Wi-Fi hotspot, built into a public phone in Sydney. Claire Reilly/CNET Telstra has extended the timeline for the free trial of its public Wi-Fi network and announced that it will more than double the number of hotspots around the country, with customers offered the chance to vote on where new Wi-Fi hotspots should be rolled out. Trials …
Read More »
Image by Dennis Skley, CC BY-ND 2.0 Australian internet users are flocking to VPNs in droves, with one major provider seeing a 500 percent increase in VPN subscriptions for the Australian market. The massive uptick in VPN usage comes off the back of a number of major changes in the way Australians are tracked online, including the passage of mandatory …
Read More »
Paul Sakuma After calling on ISPs and rights holders to crack down on piracy and make it harder for Australians to torrent content online, the Federal Government has announced plans to tax online services that offer legitimate content in Australia. Dubbed the ‘Netflix Tax,’ the measure would see the introduction of the 10 percent GST on “intangible” products such as …
Read More »
The CommBank app is coming to wearables. Commonwealth Bank As Australia gears up for the launch of the Apple Watch, Commonwealth Bank is jumping on the wearables trend with a new CommBank app for Android and iOS. Launching “in a matter of weeks” for smartwatches running Android 4.3 or later, the app will also be coming to the Apple Watch, …
Read More »
