Archive for July, 2011

Kiwi businesses do better online

Friday, July 29th, 2011

A year long MYOB report into New Zealand’s e-commerce economy has shown that the economy could grow by 5 percent if every Kiwi business had a website.

The report of more than 100 businesses found less than a third of local businesses have their own website, and only 9 percent of those sell online.

MYOB’s general manager Julian Smith said,

“Much of the developed world is looking for and buying from businesses online. Even locally 66 per cent of customers research a business online before making a purchase.”

“Unfortunately, despite that massive demand, the majority of local businesses are nowhere to be found in the global online economy.”

You can read more over at the nzherald

International cable deal struck with Pacific Fibre

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

New Zealand will now have a second international internet link after Pacific Fibre struck a deal with US based cable company, TE SubCom.

Mark Rushworth, chief executive of Pacific Fibre said,

“Demand for international capacity in Australia and New Zealand is sharply increasing and is on track to continue growing for years to come,”

“The Pacific Fibre cable will not only provide unsurpassed high speed international connectivity to satisfy the growth in broadband demand, but it will also help Australia and New Zealand realize the potential of both countries’ multi-billion dollar broadband initiatives.”

If the plans stay to schedule, the cable is due to be operational by the first quarter of 2014.

You can read more over at the nzherald

ISPs to charge for notices under ‘Skynet’ law

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

The Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act – nicknamed ‘Skynet‘ by opponents will come in to effect on the 1st of September. The Act aims to stamp out illegal file sharing using a 3 strikes system. ISPs will have the right to send notices to users warning them to stop or their internet access can be suspended, pending a decision from the courts.

News today has revealed ISPs will charge $25 to rights holder who suspect their copyright is being breached. The charge is then used by the ISP to investigate the claim and send an infringement notice if required.

You can read more over at stuff.co.nz

Telecom and Crown Fibre ultra fast broadband hold up

Monday, July 4th, 2011

A deadline to agree where the fibre for the new Ultra Fast Broadband network will be layed down has been missed. The plan was meant to be agreed on within 30 days of Telecom securing its $929 million contract with the Crown, which happened on May 24.

Telecom spokesman Ian Bonnar has said the delay is because they are working through settling on the final stages of the agreement.

“We want to make sure that we have a plan that meets the Crown’s objectives to target high-priority customers and will be delivered on time, ” said Bonnar, going on to say,

“We believe a fundamental key to successful projects is that a little more time spent up front planning significantly increases the likelihood that outcomes will be delivered on time and in full.”

You can read more over at stuff.co.nz