IAA Newsletters
Remember our announcement in March about our network cracking over 800Gbps? Well, two months on, and with many thanks to our newest content provider and the gaming community in Australia, our network hit a new record of 901Gbps on Wednesday, 11 May. From the moment the caches were live, the traffic started coming in fast, and it was only a matter of time before we reached the 900Gbps club. Watch out, members; 1Tbps is on the horizon and when it’s here, we’re going to celebrate!!
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Earlier this month, we racked and stacked a new PKG mirror hosted on NSW-IX. The new mirror is the first of its kind here in Australia and will make a big difference for FreeBSD users in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
FreeBSD is an operating system for a variety of platforms that focuses on features, speed and stability. With its cutting edge features, it offers advanced networking, performance, security and compatibility. Best of all, FreeBSD is free! As a community project, FreeBSD relies on the collaborative work of the community. There are a number of ways in which you can contribute, and to find out more about these, check out the contributing to FreeBSD page.
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Earlier this month, we welcomed Steam to the network, and from day one, the peak kept growing, pushing our network to reach a new traffic record of 901Gbps on Wednesday 11 May. The latest addition of Steam caches means that with 440Gbps of caching capacity between Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, our gamers can enjoy increased speeds when downloading new games or updating an old favourite.
Steam caches are opt-in by default, and if you would like to opt-out of these caches, you may do so by using the following communities:
- 10084:2508 WA STM Opt Out
- 10084:2518 VIC STM Opt Out
- 10084:2528 QLD STM Opt Out
If you require any assistance to opt-out, please do not hesitate to contact one of our friendly team members at peering@ix.asn.au
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National Data Security Action Plan | Department of Home Affairs | 10 June 2022
The Department of Home Affairs is calling for submissions for the development of the National Data Security Action Plan. They seek to explore with industry and state and territory governments how Government and industry can meet data security expectations, how responsibilities can be best assigned to keep Australians’ data safe, and how Government, businesses and individuals can share responsibility for data security in the future to get the best outcome for everyone.
NBN Co. SAU Variation | ACCC | 8 July 2022
The ACCC is seeking submissions to its report on NBN Co.’s SAU Variation. The proposed variation from NBN Co includes product and pricing commitments, changing the framework for NBN Co’s cost recovery, and incorporating fibre-to-the-node and other copper-based technologies to create a single regulatory framework for all technologies.
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Given the recent federal election, IAA’s policy team has largely worked on publications related to the election in May. We published our 2022 IAA Election Wish List, outlining the policies we would like to see adopted by the political parties. We also released our 2022 Election – Policy Assessment evaluating the policy platform of the major political parties in comparison to our Election Wish List.
Unrelated to the election, we also released a Customer Identity Authentication whitepaper to provide information and guidance on the new ACMA rules and steps that members will need to implement in order to ensure compliance with the new rules by 30 June 2022. We hope you find this guide useful.
5 Year Independent Review | Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
In our submission to the Independent Review, we raised the concerns of industry, particularly relating to the inherent issues in the TIO’s complaints handling structure and costs model. We noted that this inherently affects the ability of the TIO to meet industry benchmarks.
Statutory Review | Department of Treasury
We primarily focused on the need to ensure that the costs to industry are being properly considered and that there is a commitment to ensuring rules will realise actual benefits for consumers.
Industry Guidance on the Carrier Separation Rules | ACCC
In our response, we raised attention to obligations not specified directly in the rules but contained in the written notice to avoid any confusion.
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Well, wasn’t that a fun-filled month! The longest election campaign in recent history is over at last, and we have a new government. We can say goodbye to unwanted vile political text messages, nasty social media memes and pork barrelling, and we’ll move to a new regimen of well-articulated policy discourse by a polite and caring political class motivated by the nation’s best interest, not simply the retention of power. [Yes, I know it’s a dream, but I live in hope.] Seriously, we congratulate the new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and look forward to deepening our relationship with Michelle Rowland as the expected Communications Minister. We also wish Paul Fletcher and his team well and thank them for their service.
You may have noticed we issued an election wish list and rated the political parties’ policy platforms in the lead up to the election. One thing we asked for was that the new government restore trust in our political processes. While an integrity commission is a key component of a trustworthy system, our issue is with the government’s approach to engagement with industry: we’ve had too many tokenistic consultations and rushed legislation rather than constructive engagement towards effective, efficient regulation. We’ll keep on asking.
Last month I also managed to attend NZNOG in Wellington and caught up with our NZIX colleagues and many of the NZ based ISPs. If you get a chance, have a look over the many useful presentations, such as the OpenLI, security and 800G sessions. They also had a number of sessions given by government which had me feel I was in some parallel universe with genuine, constructive government-industry relations. Sweet as!
Looking forward, we’re doing some heavy analysis to properly scope out our program of upgrades and expansion. In the wake of our cracking the 900Gbps level, our member survey on sites, and looming equipment shortages, we will need to do some rearrangement, and it may well mean the closure of one or two POPs where there are no members present anymore. In this way, we can ensure we have the capacity you want in the places you want, as well as ensure efficient cache fill and plenty of head room for intra-IX traffic. So here’s the challenge: how about for the 25th anniversary of WA-IX next month we break the TERRABIT barrier? Come on, you know you can do it!
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Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is an annual event to promote and raise awareness of the importance of protecting personal information led by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in partnership with state and territory privacy regulators and Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities. This year, the event is highlighting privacy as the foundation of trust and will focus on simple foundations we can put in place to protect our personal information.
We will be promoting the material through our social media accounts and will provide tips for individuals to build a solid foundation of privacy and set a challenge for you to see how well your privacy practices stack up. For more information on PAW2022, please visit their website for more detail https://education.oaic.gov.au/paw2022/
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Completed Submissions
Telecommunications Sector Security Instruments | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications | 29 March 2022
The DITRIC has drafted new conditions and rules for carriers and CSPs to apply equivalent security measures for the telecommunications sector to those under the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Act 2021 which is currently in place for other sectors. Our response predominantly commented on the breadth of scope which would impose unnecessary burdens and substantial costs on industry, and the lack of clarity provided in the instruments regarding the definition of key terms.
Digital Platform Services Inquiry – September 2022 Report | ACCC | 1 April 2022
This inquiry is part of the ACCC’s five-year Digital Platform Inquiry for its September 2022 Report and follows the release of its fifth interim report. In our response, we focused on the need to ensure appropriate regulation over the digital landscape which fosters competition in the industry as well as improve the protection of consumers.
Consumer Data Right Rules and Standards Paper for the Telecommunications Sector | Department of the Treasury | 5 April 2022
Following the formal designation of the telco sector earlier this year, the federal Treasury has sought input for the development of rules which would apply to the sector. In general, we raised concerns about the disproportionate costs for industry and supported the introduction of a limitation threshold to provide exemptions for smaller organisations.
Open Submissions
NBN Co Special Access Undertaking – Long Term Revenue Constraint Methodology draft determination 2020-21 | 13 May 2022
The ACCC is seeking input to assist their assessment of whether NBN Co has complied with the criteria for their annual LTRCM determination.
Independent Review | Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman | 15 May 2022
Public consultation for the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is currently underway as part of its independent five-year review. The consultation is seeking feedback from industry in regard to the TIO’s accessibility, fairness, accountability, efficiency, effectiveness and land access (amongst other concerns).
National Data Security Action Plan Discussion Paper | Department of Home Affairs | 10 June 2022
The Department of Home Affairs has released a discussion paper for consultation on the development of the National Data Security Action Plan.
Please get in touch at policy@internet.asn.au to share any concerns or feedback we can incorporate into our submission for these open consultations.