AUSTPAC

Last updated

AUSTPAC was a public X.25 network operated by Telstra. Started by Telecom Australia in 1982, AUSTPAC was Australia's first public packet-switched data network, supporting applications such as online betting, financial applications (the Australian Taxation Office has made use of AUSTPAC) and remote terminal access to academic institutions, some of which maintained their connections to AUSTPAC up until the mid to late 1990s. [1] [2] [3] [4] Austpac could be accessed by dial-up to a PAD or by linking an X.25 node to the network permanently.

Contents

The Austpac general access telephone number was 01924 within Australia. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Shutdown of Austpac

On July 31, 2006, Telstra announced the following timetable for the shutdown of Austpac:

From July 31, 2006, Austpac dedicated and dialup services via X.25, X.28, X.32 & X.75 will no longer be sold to new customers.

From December 31, 2007, Austpac dedicated and dialup services via X.25, X.28, X.32 & X.75 will no longer be sold to existing customers.

On June 30, 2008, the Austpac network will be decommissioned and will no longer be available to customers.

Austpac will continue to be provisioned to Argent and Digital Data Services (DDS) customers to access and manage their service, until further notice. Argent and DDS customers' service will not be terminated as a result of the withdrawal of Austpac.

Related Research Articles

GSM Cellular telephone network standard

The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. It was first deployed in Finland in December 1991. By the mid-2010s, it became a global standard for mobile communications achieving over 90% market share, and operating in over 193 countries and territories.

Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications company which builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 and Australia's largest telecommunications company by market share. Telstra is the largest wireless carrier in Australia, with 18.8 million subscribers as of 2020.

Packet switching Method of grouping data transmitted over a digital network into packets

In telecommunications, packet switching is a method of grouping data into packets that are transmitted over a digital network. Packets are made of a header and a payload. Data in the header is used by networking hardware to direct the packet to its destination, where the payload is extracted and used by an operating system, application software, or higher layer protocols. Packet switching is the primary basis for data communications in computer networks worldwide.

Telecommunications in Australia Overview of telecommunications in Australia

Telecommunications in Australia refers to communication in Australia through electronic means, using devices such as telephone, television, radio or computer, and services such as the telephony and broadband networks. Telecommunications have always been important in Australia given the 'tyranny of distance' with a dispersed population. Governments have driven telecommunication development and have a key role in its regulation.

CompuServe was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the United States – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services ."

Singtel Optus Pty Limited is an Australian telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singtel. Optus is the second-largest wireless carrier in Australia, with 10.5 million subscribers as of 2019.

TPG (ISP) Australian internet service provider

TPG is an Australian internet service provider that specialises in consumer and business internet services as well as mobile telephone services. As of August 2015, TPG is the second largest internet service provider in Australia and is the largest mobile virtual network operator. As such, it has over 671,000 ADSL2+ subscribers, 358,000 landline subscribers and 360,000 mobile subscribers, and owns the second largest ADSL2+ network in Australia, consisting of 391 ADSL2+ DSLAMs. It also operates in New Zealand and Singapore.

AARNet

AARNet provides Internet services to the Australian education and research communities and their research partners.

Internode (ISP)

Internode Pty Ltd is an Australian Internet service provider (ISP) that provides NBN broadband services, business-class broadband access, web hosting, co-location, Voice over IP, and a variety of related services. Internode became part of the TPG Telecom group in July, 2020

Agile Communications is a licensed national telecommunications carrier based in South Australia and was the first South Australian based company to gain this license. The company is the wholesale subsidiary of ISP Internode. The company was founded by Internode Managing Director Simon Hackett and Catherine Conway and is based in Adelaide. Internode and Agile were bought out by iiNet in 2012 and iiNet itself was acquired by TPG Telecom in 2015.

A public data network (PDN) is a network established and operated by a telecommunications administration, or a recognized private operating agency, for the specific purpose of providing data transmission services for the public. The first network was deployed in 1972 in Spain called RETD. Public data network was the common name given to the international collection of X.25 providers whose combined network had large global coverage during the 1980s and into the 1990s, which provided infrastructure for the early Internet.

TransACT is the trading name of TransACT Capital Communications, an Australian telecommunications company based in Canberra which provides broadband internet access, fixed telephony, cable television services, and mobile phone services in Canberra and a subset of these services in Queanbeyan, throughout South-east New South Wales and in Victoria.

TelstraClear

TelstraClear Limited was New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company before being acquired by Vodafone New Zealand in October 2012, previous to which it was a subsidiary of Australian company Telstra.

AAPT is a fixed-line telecommunications company owned by TPG Telecom. It owns significant fibre and internet infrastructure in Australia. Its national network offers data, cloud, voice and internet services.

Telenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lines connecting their computers and local networks to this backbone network. Free public dialup access to Telenet, for those who wished to access these systems, was provided in hundreds of cities throughout the United States.

Internet in Australia first became available on a permanent basis to universities in Australia in May 1989, via AARNet. Pegasus Networks was Australia's first public Internet provider in June 1989. The first commercial dial-up Internet Service Provider (ISP) appeared in capital cities soon after, and by the mid-1990s almost the entire country had a range of choices of dial-up ISPs. Today, Internet access is available through a range of technologies, i.e. hybrid fibre coaxial cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and satellite Internet. In July 2009, the federal government, in partnership with the industrial sector, began rolling out a nationwide fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) and improved fixed wireless and satellite access through the National Broadband Network. Subsequently, the roll out was downgraded to a Multi-Technology Mix on the promise of it being less expensive and with earlier completion. In October 2020, the federal government announced an upgrade by 2023 of NBN fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services to FTTP for 2 million households, at a cost of A$3.5 billion.

Internet access is widely available in New Zealand, with 93% of New Zealanders having access to the internet as of January 2020. It first became accessible to university students in the country in 1989. As of June 2018, there are 1,867,000 broadband connections, of which 1,524,000 are residential and 361,000 are business or government.

Primus Telecommunications (Australia) Australian subsidiary of the telecommunications provider

iPrimus is an Australian telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of Vocus Communications.

Microtex 666 was an Australian Prestel-based Videotex system that operated from 1986 to 1989.

Vodafone Australia is an Australian telecommunications brand providing mobile and fixed broadband services. Vodafone’s mobile network covers more than 23 million Australians, and Vodafone has commenced the rollout of its 5G mobile network. Vodafone NBN fixed broadband services are available in capital cities and selected regional centres. Vodafone is the third-largest wireless carrier in Australia, with 5.8 million subscribers as of 2020.

References

  1. "Discussion on AUSTPAC". The Canberra Times . 57 (17, 479). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 August 1983. p. 14. Retrieved 11 August 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  2. "$6.5 m ELECTRONICS CONTRACT SIGNED Canberra a link in doubled Austpac data transmission". The Canberra Times . 57 (17, 279). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 January 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 11 August 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Advertising : "Going on line?" Telecom Austpac® is the reliable, cost-efficient way to go". The Canberra Times . 60 (18, 496). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 May 1986. p. 19. Retrieved 11 August 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  4. Electronic communication for distance education: A comparison of AUSTPAC, MINERVA, TELEMEMO and VIATEL , David Kember - Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education, 1986, 2(1), 43-55. Australian Journal of Educational Technology(AJET) 2(1): Kember (1986) - electronic communication for distance education
  5. EDGE DOCUMENT INTERCHANGE SYSTEM INTERFACE SPECIFICATIONS, V 1.07, 14 April 2003, Australian Securities & Investments Commission
  6. austphrk.txt, ...This tutorial will be focusing on the 'phone side of hacking. ..., ZEDZ.NET: purveyors of crypto since 1994.
  7. 5 Equipment and communications - AUSTPAC, Greenleaf, Mowbray & Lewis (1998) Australasian Computerised Legal Information Handbook
  8. Accessing Telecom Australia`s AUSTPAC service., Compiled by Soft Beard 1990