This week: The NBN goes electric, Telstra keeps on trying to split up with itself and Townsville gets connected.
• NBN executives began preliminary talks with a NSW-based electricity supplier about the production of smart grids for electricity monitoring, as well as the potential for smart charging stations for electric cars [ITNews]
• WikiLeaks stepped front and centre of the NBN debate with leaked cables suggesting that the US is highly concerned about the superfast broadband network’s capability when it comes to pirating copyrighted content. [Gizmodo]
• Independent MP Rob Oakeshott stated that the NBN needs a “new sales pitch” as too many Australians saw it as “ a big spend by government with no return at the end of it, When in truth this is no different from building a home, building a business, which if it is done right and done efficiently we will get a significant rate of return later down the line.” [AustralianIT]
• The ongoing sage of Telstra’s separation status — seen as a vital component of the NBN rollout — continued. Telstra released its explanatory memorandum to the stock exchange. The ACCC still isn’t convinced that the separation strategy will be good for competition, however. [ZDNet and ITWire]
• Internode CEO Simon Hackett released a feedback proposal to the NBN relating to multicast issues — essentially, the wasted bandwidth if multiple users are downloading the exact same streams along the fibre. [ZDNet]
• The NBN added another mainland site to its growing array of test sites, with Townsville in Queensland going live. [ITWire]