Eftel will acquire wholesale telecommunications service provider Platform Networks under a new agreement announced today.

Google’s move to buy mobile manufacturer, Motorola, will put Google in good stead to challenge Apple more directly, according to analyst firm Ovum.

Australian telcos may have to lift their levels of customer service, following the federal government’s announcement of an instrument to enforce the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) standard, in order to better protect telecommunications users.

The Australian federal government has called for public comments on draft program guidelines for the Digital Hubs and Digital Enterprise programs. The programs are intended to provide guidance on making the most of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The Melbourne suburb of Brunswick became the first metropolitan area in Australia to feature National Broadband Network (NBN) coverage today, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard activated the network in the area.

NBN Co has denied that its systems were compromised during the attack on its partner Platform Networks that was revealed earlier this week.

Increasing numbers of employees in Australian enterprises are bringing their own smartphones and laptops into the workplace, prompting some companies to introduce ‘bring-your-own IT’ policies in order to handle the challenges these devices create.

Telecom New Zealand has released specifics of its proposed structural separation, which would allow its infrastructure business, Chorus, to participate in the country’s Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative.

A Facebook scam that exploits the buzz surrounding new social networking tool Google+ is making the rounds and may be the precursor to a widespread phishing scam.

The Convergence Review Committee has released a refined version of its framing paper - calling the new document an ‘emerging issues paper’ - following a period of public consultation on the initial paper.

Unified communications vendor Interactive Intelligence has acquired CallTime Solutions, an Australian reseller of the vendor’s software.

Australian BlackBerry owners looking to purchase a newer model phone may be eligible for up to $120 credit if they trade in their existing BlackBerry, as part of Research In Motion’s new Trade-Up program.

Australian telecommunications provider Eftel has successfully completed its purchase of ClubTelco, with the combined companies turning over more than $1 million a week from their 120,000 active accounts.

Domain registrar and web host Netregistry has acquired web host Distribute.IT, following a hacking attack earlier this month which irrevocably destroyed the online assets of some Distribute.IT customers.

In two separate deals announced recently, Telstra and Optus revealed they would each migrate customers from their broadband networks to the NBN (National Broadband Network).