NBN Could deliver 10 Gbps in five years

Australians connected to the National Broadband Network could receive peak speeds of up to 10 Gbps within five years through upgrades to the gigabit passive optical network (GPON) network, according to NBN Co.

Gary McLaren, chief technology officer at the government-owned network builder said that new wave division multiplexing (WDM) technology would increase the network's GPON capacity from 2.5Gbps available today to 40 Gbps.

Users could feasibly receive peak speeds of 10 Gbps – 100 times those promised today – depending on the load on their shared 32-premise GPON link, he said.

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Scientists break data transfer record

A newly developed data decoding technique has allowed German scientists to transmit a record 26 terabits of data on a single laser beam in one second.

Although it was only a quarter the record 109Tbps demonstrated on multi-core fibre connections in March, the new, single-source technique was expected to deliver efficiency and capacity gains.

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The Web is a job creator, not killer

Consulting group McKinsey has released a study that attempts to dispel the notion that internet services have an adverse impact on employment levels.

McKinsey's Global Institute report was produced for release at the “e-G8” summit in Paris, where internet big wigs met with political leaders to discuss the future of the web on Wednesday.

According to a McKinsey, the internet today accounts for 3.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) across G8 member countries, but will account for 21 percent in five years.

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Google, Facebook warn on Internet rules at e-G8

Google chairman Eric Schmidt and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg warned governments to tread lightly on Internet regulation because moves to tame its rough edges risked hurting its virtues.

Despite a glittering guest list, the event dubbed the eG8 ended up with few concrete policy recommendations and mostly vague conclusions that the delegation of six technology chief executives, including Schmidt and Zuckerberg, will present to leaders in Deauville on Thursday.

The outcome highlights the difficulty of finding a way to regulate the Internet that is acceptable to both governments and industry.

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New, More Dangerous Mac Defender Variant Arises

Apple has finally responded to the Mac Defender malware that has infected a number of Mac users, but while Apple took considerable before it took any action, the malware writer did not: he already has a new variant available that is more dangerous than the original.

The new malware has a new name for its fake antivirus component: MacGuard. Previously, two variants of Mac Defender were dubbed Mac Security and Mac Protector.

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Netflix now the largest Single Source of Internet Traffic in the US

Netflix video streaming is now the single largest source of peak downstream Internet traffic in the U.S., according to a new report by Sandvine. The streaming video service now accounts for 29.7 percent of peak downstream traffic, up from 21 percent last fall.

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Report Details Continuing Foxconn Abuse

Foxconn, the company that builds both the iPhone and the iPad, came under fire last year after a string of suicides led to an investigation of the company's conditions. Both Apple and Foxconn promised to make certain that reforms were enacted to improve working conditions. A new report, released today, is the first detailed investigation on how things have changed at the company. Improvements, thus far, have been sporadic at the least.

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