Member Portal
Categories

Tech News – August 2024

100G-LR optics offer for NSW-IX Members

We’re pleased to introduce single-lambda 100G-LR interfaces in select NSW-IX points of presence. This upgrade offers our Members a cost-optimised solution for 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) connectivity.

Here’s what you can expect:

Simplified Design, Lower Cost: 100G-LR uses a single-wavelength architecture, eliminating the need for complex and expensive optical designs found in older 100GbE technologies. This translates to a substantially lower total cost for transceivers.

Seamless Integration: Fully compatible with a wide range of routers and switches equipped with QSFP28 electrical interfaces, 100G-LR allows for easier network upgrades without significant hardware changes.

Future-Proofing for your Network: As demand for 100GbE grows, 100G-LR provides a scalable and efficient solution to meet your evolving bandwidth needs.

If you’re interested and connected to the NSW-IX contact support@internet.asn.au.

Compute stack renewal

After thoroughly evaluating virtualisation solutions, our tech team has successfully migrated our virtual machine (VM) infrastructure to a Proxmox virtual environment. Transitioning to the advanced open-source virtualisation platform demonstrates IAA’s commitment to reliable, efficient, and scalable services for our Members. Of course the price comparison between VMWare and an open source solution was pretty favourable too!

Here are the key benefits of Proxmox for Members:

  • High availability and minimal downtime.
  • Greater efficiency, as it’s easier for our engineering teams to provision, monitor and maintain VMs.
  • Scalability of our virtual infrastructure to meet Members’ growing demands.
  • Customisation to meet specific needs with access to the latest features and security enhancements for future-proofing.

Our tech team will continue to innovate and enhance our services to provide you with the best experience possible. Of course, Nick also enjoyed taking the system apart and rebuilding it afresh!

Equinix SY3 - extreme makeover edition

Confession time! IAA had a dirty little secret: Equinix SY3. A tangled mess of cross connects well over 10 years old. As you can see in the before photo from 2020 there was an ugly number of low-density SC panels, as well as an old Cisco 2901 used for OOB purposes. The pièce de résistance was the stacked Extreme x670s, prone to crashing spectacularly (see the notorious Incident Report of 25 February 2021), which subsequently led to the stack’s removal (as detailed in this Scheduled Maintenance Report).

Then, this year, our intrepid tech engineers (namely Aaron) embarked on an ambitious mission to clean up the rack. They boldly removed the final x670, deftly mass-migrated peers off that box, and permanently deleted the SC panels! The rack has now been tamed!

As the connoisseurs amongst us will attest, there is still a bit of work to do to achieve perfect cabling order, such as better cable bars, proper cable lengths, replacing the 100G CR4s with LR1s or CWDM4s, and moving the higher-density LC panels further up. Regardless, we’re proud to declare that the rack is ready to welcome a shiny new Arista to our 800Gbps core.

Mission accomplished!

IAA Member Portal News – August 2024

We are excited to announce the latest updates to the Member Portal:

Streamlined Payment Flow: The payment process has been completely overhauled to make adding payment methods and paying invoices more accessible and convenient.

Pre-order Ports: The membership application form has been updated to allow Members to pre-order ports when onboarding as a member.

Improved Functionality: We continue to enhance the Portal’s functionality with the main achievement being we’ve added Arista configuration support to our existing network automation system. This enables network automation on the new Arista switches and 400Gbps ports.

We remain committed to providing our Members with the best possible experience and welcome your feedback on these new features.

What is the IAA Public Policy Advisory Panel (PPAP) and what does it do?

Formed in 2022, the IAA Public Policy Advisory Panel is an advisory body of IAA Members that help inform IAA’s public policy and advocacy work related to the telecommunications sector.

Involvement in policy and legislative reform in the Internet and broader telecommunications landscape is a critical part of IAA’s work. Indeed, the Western Australia Internet Association, IAA’s precursor, started as an advocacy body. That’s why we hold the Panel to be so important to our advocacy work.

The Panel meets quarterly to discuss live and upcoming policy issues affecting the Internet industry. The feedback provided by our Members via the Panel greatly informs our responses to the various consultations held by Government and regulatory bodies on matters that affect our industry, and therefore you, our Members!

We have found the Panel immensely helpful for our advocacy work since its formation and believe it has had a genuine impact in shaping telecommunications/Internet policy. For example, we couldn’t have participated as meaningfully during the NBN Co SAU reform process without the input of our Panel, the outcome of which we believe resulted in an SAU that is fairer for smaller RSPs, especially on matters related to NNI.

IAA is also regularly invited by government and regulators to be the voice for smaller communications providers in the industry. More recently, we have been championing our Members in discussions surrounding the security and resilience of telecommunications as part of Australia’s critical infrastructure ecosystem. The Panel has again been of great help, serving as a sounding board for proposed reforms.

Most recently during our last quarterly meeting in June, Panel Members engaged in spirited discussion over the TIO’s complaints handling processes and TCP Code reforms, and more broadly, our concerns about growing calls for direct regulation from regulators, consumer groups and government.

As the telco sector faces increasing regulatory pressures, it’s more important than ever to make sure that the voices of smaller ISPs are heard and able to influence policy makers. We greatly appreciate the Panel and encourage IAA Members to get involved to contribute to IAA’s advocacy efforts.

If you would like to know more about the Panel, please reach out at policy@internet.asn.au.

Advocacy Corner: May – July 2024

Don’t be fooled by the lower than usual number of consultations going on, there’s still lots happening in the sector when it comes to policy!

Co-regulation for telecommunications continues to come under fire and is very topical as Communications Alliance released its near-complete draft of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code Review 2024 to the Review Committee on 20 May. The ACCC, and TIO in particular, have critiqued the TCP Code Review iteration, claiming it does not sufficiently protect consumers. We can expect public consultation on the revised TCP Code to open shortly.

The TIO will soon be implementing changes to their reclassification processes, and publishing guidance material surrounding complaints handling processes, including what constitutes a consumer’s “reasonable attempt to contact a telecommunications service provider” before lodging a complaint with the TIO.

The IAA Public Policy Advisory Panel (PPAP) met for its quarterly meeting on 11 June where there was a spirited discussion on the future of co-regulation in the telecommunications industry, and what can be done to defend it. IAA will be calling for nominations for the PPAP later this year, so make sure to keep an eye open.

Our policy team has also been busy attending bilateral meetings with regulators and government over the period, including on matters related the ACMA’s compliance and enforcement approach, the National Office of Cybersecurity, and the federal government’s telecommunications strategy to 2035.

On the Internet Governance front, we are excited to share the news of the launch of the auIGF (previously NetThing) which will be held this year in Melbourne on 28-29 October. IAA has been a long-time supporter and participant of Australia’s Internet governance community, and encourage you to attend.

The Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy Australia (APIGA Australia) also recently launched. A program to foster the next generation of youth leaders in Australia’s Internet and digital ecosystem, APIGA Australia are providing fellowships to attend its inaugural event held in November 2024. You can read more about APIGA Australia on their website.

Also! Don’t forget your upcoming compliance obligations:

  • CommCom TCP Code attestation, due 2 September 2024; and
  • Fair Work’s ‘Right to disconnect’ policy will come into place for non-small business employers on 26 August 2024, and small-business employers from 26 August 2025. Eligible employees will have the right to refuse employer or third-party contact outside of working hours. Arnotts Technology Lawyers have prepared some legal documents to assist our Members with their compliance. You can access their ‘Right to disconnect’ Policy template, along with a FAQs document, via the ‘Right to Disconnect – Template Pack’ in the Legal Templates section of the IAA Member Portal.

As always, please get in touch to share any thoughts on any of the open and/or previous submissions as we really appreciate your feedback.

Completed Submissions:

Statutory Review of the Online Safety Act 2021 | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and the Arts

Implementing changes to reclassification | Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

Upcoming Submissions:

Please check the Advocacy webpage for updates.

TIO’s new reclassification approach

From mid-September 2024, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) will be implementing changes to its reclassification approach. The TIO have also released Guidelines about its approach to ‘reasonable first contact’ as well as a Member Briefing Pack to provide further information about the changes, both of which can be found on the TIO Member Portal.

From mid-September, reclassification requests made by a provider will only be granted if the provider can demonstrate that the complaint was resolved prior to the consumer making contacting with the TIO about the complaint. This means that reclassification requests will be declined if the complaint was resolved only after consumers contacted the TIO.  In addition, the TIO will be increasing the “chance to consider” timeframe from 6 months to 2 years. Under this new approach, consumers can bring an unresolved complaint they raised with their provider in the last 2 years.

In addition, according to its Guidelines, the TIO will consider the following as reasonable attempts to make contact with their provider, before the consumer can raise the matter with the TIO:

  • Where a consumer is unable to speak to a telco representative after being on hold for what is an ‘unreasonable period of time’;
  • Where a consumer is redirected between multiple departments during a phone call, without having their issue addressed;
  • Where a consumer is forced to contact the provider via multiple methods (e.g. webchat, in-store, by phone call) without having their issue addressed;
  • Where a consumer is told the provider will make contact with the consumer by a certain time, and the consumer does not hear from the provider by the scheduled time; and
  • Where a consumer with special needs is unable to contact the provider as the provider does not provider alternative methods of contact.

In light of these changes, it is important that you ensure your complaints handling processes align with these expectations and your staff are aware and well trained to deal with complaints. Remember, a consumer does not have to explicitly say they would like to make a “complaint” to invoke the complaints handling process.

IAA has raised concerns with the TIO about its new approach. In particular, its new guidelines on what constitutes ‘reasonable attempt to make contact’ may be too vague and sets the bar for a consumer to ‘attempt to make contact’ with a provider too low, potentially resulting in vexatious complaints being lodged with the TIO and imposes a higher standard for complaints handling than required by regulation. The TIO has assured IAA that while it will consider a consumer’s complaint in good faith, the Guidelines are intended to ensure a genuine attempt of contacting the provider has been made, and complaints will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the TIO reforms further, please contact us at policy@internet.asn.au.

Welcome New Members – August 2024

Welcome to our newest Professional Members:

Nick Grundy
Matthew Keen
Mariana Hernandez
Mark Newton
Adam Holczer
Dave Browning
Hayden Flack
Karen Ganschow

Welcome to this year’s IAA Systers!

Lili Wan
Nasla Joshi
Cara Stylianou
Jossaline Tanasaldy
Nicola Cavaleri
Natalia Khobotova
Nancy Nguyen
Chaitrali Nandedkar
Chinmayi Sajjala
Thamali Hasitha Ratnayake
Jewel Gonzales
Fiona Atkinson
Lu Zhang
Gabriela Facci
Taylor Newnham
Thy Boskovic
Kayla Lizardo
Florence Kanapitu
Lynnette Mekau
Maybelle Galicia
Avanti Gauba
Kiki Fong Lim (current Member, congratulations)

Welcome to our Corporate Members:

RINGCENTRAL
With a focus on improving service quality and reliability for their Australian customers, we would like to welcome RingCentral. With offices in 14 countries, RingCentral provides simplified business communications that help people connect worldwide. Founded in 1999, they’re using the power of cloud technologies to reimagine business communications.

SG.GS PTE LTD
We are pleased to welcome SG.GS to our exchange. Established in Asia Pacific, but expanding globally, they are building a global network across major and emerging markets, interconnected with multiple subsea routes worldwide. They offer a suite of services including cloud connect, and of course, peering.

ZONE TECHNOLOGY
Offering managed IT services for business, Zone Technology deliver high quality IT services to businesses in Perth and Australia. Their team are veterans of the IT industry, with decades of experience providing enterprise grade IT services to businesses of all sizes. We’re delighted to have them join us!

INFINITE NETWORKS
A warm welcome to Infinite Networks! Joining the ACT-IX, Infinite Networks is an Australian owned and operated Managed Network Provider that also offers Cloud Hosting and Development Services working with enterprises and ASX listed businesses since 2003.

CEO's Desk

From the CEO’s desk

If you’ve noticed something missing from your inbox, it won’t surprise you that we have shifted our newsletter to quarterly rather than monthly in the interest of providing more focused and timely content when it arises, and a better update on all things IAA. It’s been a full and fun quarter, too! I’m quite chuffed that we certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’, a strong endorsement of the workplace culture we’ve managed to create.

We’ve had events in Adelaide and Melbourne, with both nicely attended and covering great topics. The Melbourne session on NTP is being repeated online due to popular demand! It was truly fascinating to look into the issues with NTP and see measurements taken over a twenty-year period. We’re planning some more events in conjunction with APNIC, so stay tuned.

The tech team have also been ripping things apart and rebuilding a few things, with new switches installed (Brisbane and Melbourne) and some rearrangement work in VIC-IX after the data centre space was reassigned. We’ve also taken a broom to all the bodgy paths in our OSPF configuration so now we have a nice clean area zero in all the right places. Thank you to Aaron and Matt who had a few sleep deprived nights on all that effort!

In general on the IX front, we’ve been cracking the terabit mark on a fairly regular basis now. This means our traffic values are trending up nicely and we’re serving over a solid petabyte worth of content every day too! We also welcomed Hurricane Electric onto QLD-IX which caused an influx of new routes into Queensland.

There’s been a lot happening over in SA-IX too! We’ve completed some upgrades, creating more capacity between the sites and a new content switch on the way. In line with these upgrades, we’ve made the tough decision to commence charging from Q2 FY23-24 at 50% off and at full price in the following year (from Q2 FY24-25). After 10 years operation without charge, this brings the exchange into line with the other well-established exchanges and means we can continue to invest in it into the future.

We received over 50 applications for the IAA Systers program this round, and I must say I was really impressed with the calibre of the candidates. Hopefully the ones we take to the Systers’ workshop will all submit talks for AUSNOG as their work sounds really interesting and worth hearing about! A big thank you to all of you who applied or supported candidates to apply. Together, we’re making a genuine difference!

On the regulatory front, we’ve been asked to participate in a regulation ‘sprint’ between government and industry reviewing all the overlaps due to changes in security legislation imposed on the telco sector. Some of this may even affect your licencing conditions and there has even been talk of licencing internet providers generally. Rest assured we will oppose the latter right into the ditches. While we do expect further consultation on this, the sudden call to review complex matters in a ridiculously short time frame has most of us rather annoyed, to say the least… As ever – let us know your views.

Happy peering!

Narelle

Welcome new members

Welcome to our newest members

Since our last newsletter we’ve had a few more Members come on board. We’d like to say a special hello to you all!

We welcome Corporate Members:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation, operated by SpaceX, providing satellite internet access coverage to over 50 countries to provide a commercial internet service. In January 2020, the Starlink constellation became the largest satellite constellation ever launched, and as of December 2022 comprises over 3,300 small satellites in orbit. SpaceX Starlink is opening a new POP in Perth connected to WA-IX.

IPSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

IPSTAR has been providing rural and regional Australians with connectivity at home and on the farm for nearly 20 years. They are an ISP with partnership with large semi-government entities, currently expanding their network. They recently joined IAA as part of their expansion.

INMARSAT AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED

Inmarsat is a mobile satellite operating company whose customers need access to the Internet through their ground station network. They see IAA’s NSW-IX as an important way of improving their internet connectivity in Australia and elsewhere and believe this will greatly enhance the scope and number of internet providers they have access to.

We also welcome Professional Members:

Michelle Williams
Michael Maenuú
Josh Finlay
Gordon Morton

IAA Advocacy Corner

March-May 2023 Advocacy Corner Update

The past couple months has been very busy for the policy team, and we continue to see various legislative and regulatory reforms in the telco sector.

Please get in touch to share any thoughts on any open and previous submissions; we always appreciate your feedback.

CDR Paused For Telcos

Treasury has confirmed that the expansion of the Consumer Data Right (CDR) Scheme has been paused for the telecommunications sector. Following the release of the 2023-24 Budget, it was revealed that $88.8 million will be invested over 2 years to support the CDR in banking, energy and non-band lending sectors and deliver a cyber security uplift. As had been speculated, it was further announced in the CDR Framework Design and Strategy, that a strategic assessment is planned for the end of 2024. This is to inform future expansions of implementation of action initiatives, including in the other sectors. This strategic assessment will require the consideration of new criteria, and consultation process.

The telco industry has long been pushing back on the expansion of the CDR into the sector. With plenty of information already provided to customers in an accessible format, in accordance with the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code, as well as switching between telco providers being a feature within the industry, representatives have disputed the need for the CDR Scheme.

This pause is welcome news.  We look forward to continuing consultations with government, should discussions surrounding the implementation of the CDR for the telco sector arise again. You can read our previous responses to consultations related to the CDR for further details.

Completed Submissions

Copyright Enforcement Review | Attorney General Department

The Attorney General Department consulted on its Issue Paper regarding the review of Australia’s copyright enforcement regime. In our response, we pointed out the dangers of relying on website blocking schemes due to their inherent impact on the openness of the Internet, and the likelihood of motivated actors to go around these blocks. We also recommended finding other mechanisms outside of the court system to enforce copyright protection, and to focus on reducing infringement of copyright laws as opposed to enforcement after the fact.

Internet Carriage Services Online Safety Code | Industry Associations

Following the eSafety Commissioner’s response to the first round of the industry Online Safety Codes, the industry associations released round two of the Codes. We submitted specifically to Code 7 for Internet Carriage Services. Our response focused on the need to ensure compliance measures balance the protection of individuals with the need to minimise unnecessary burdens on ISPs.

ACMA Compliance Priorities 2023-24 | ACMA

We responded to the ACMA Compliance Priorities for 2023-24 and emphasised that rather than focusing on enforcement measures, the ACMA should prioritise encouraging compliance. We suggested this could be achieved via industry and community engagement, education and awareness and lowering the burden of regulatory compliance for industry.

Privacy Act Review Report | Attorney General Department

The Attorney General Department released its Privacy Act Review Report, which proposed various significant reforms to the Privacy Act. Should the Privacy Act be amended as per the proposals contained in the Report, these changes could prove to have substantial impacts, such as the removal of the small business exemption that currently exists. Our response reiterated positions we have expressed in previous submission regarding privacy legislation. In particular, we emphasised the need to focus on ensuring best practice data and personal information handling practices through collaborative means, as opposed to the expansion of the APPs that does not necessarily ensure compliance with the complex regulation.

2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy | Department of Home Affairs

The Department of Home Affairs and the Strategy Expert Advisory Board sought feedback on the 2023-30 Australian Cyber Security Strategy Discussion Paper. Our response primarily focused on the need for greater genuine engagement and collaboration, to ensure a truly effective approach to cyber security. In the context of increasing regulatory requirements for the telco sector in relation to data security, critical infrastructure and privacy, we emphasised the need to harmonise and simplify the current policy landscape for an effective and efficient strategy that combats the threats and risks to Australia’s cyber security.

Final Access Determination (SBAS) | ACCC

The ACCC released its Exposure Draft to the Superfast Broadband Access Service Final Access Determination. This draft instrument was based on the ACCC’s decision released in October 2022, with limited incorporation of stakeholder feedback to the consultation held during December 2022. Our response reiterated our positions stated in our response during the December consultation, including the extension of the Determination to cover all residential TC-4 speed tiers at NBN Co pricing, and regarding NNI and state based aggregation charges. We also recommended the Determination to expressly set out prohibition to on-charge RBS.

Open Submissions

Draft Decision: Variation to the NBN Co Special Access Undertaking (Nov 2022) | ACCC | 30 May 2023

The ACCC has released its draft decision to reject the proposed NBN Co SAU Variation. It is seeking views on its draft decision, and whether providers would accept a NBN Co SAU variation proposal based on NBN Co’s letter in response to the issues raised by the ACCC.

Although rejecting the SAU overall, amongst other things, the ACCC has indicated it is willing to accept the price increase for the 50/20 Mbps speed tier. Review the ACC’s draft decision.

Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code| Communications Alliance | 6 June 2023

Communications Alliance has commenced its review of the TCP Code, with the review to take place over 3 stages. The first stage, with the deadline for responses to its Discussion Paper closing in early June, is intended to be a pre-code drafting stage to gather information in order to set the foundations for the rest of the review.

Copyright © 2025 Internet Association of Australia Ltd | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions

Sign up to IAA's mailing list

Complete this form to receive all our latest news, events and updates.