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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!
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.
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:
Upcoming Submissions:
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.
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 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.
