Small to medium business IT specialist Activ Australia has forged a new alliance that will let it deliver much better Wide Area Network performance for its customers.

National broadband company Internode will boost its network capacity to the US by 40 per cent immediately, using a fully redundant route via Asia provided by Australia-Japan Cable (AJC).

While the new link, which goes live in January 2007, will initially boost Internode’s Australia-US data traffic capacity by 40 per cent, it can more than double as required. Internode already has nearly 3 gigabits per second (Gbps) of dedicated capacity to the US via the Southern Cross Cable fibre-optic link.

This latest capacity increase dramatically boosts the performance resiliency and geographic diversity of Internode’s international network. Throughout 2006, Internode has experienced an unprecedented level of growth - doubling its size during the year - so this extra international capacity is key to underpinning the Internode network’s high-level performance with many extra customers.

Internode has signed a five-year agreement for AJC to supply an initial 1.2 Gbps capacity, with a simple upgrade path to 4.8 Gbps capacity - dual STM-16 - to meet increased demand from its ADSL2+ and ADSL customers. The company will also launch new enhanced ADSL1 plans, running as fast as 8 megabits per second (Mbps) once the new AJC link goes live on January 10, 2007.

Internode managing director Simon Hackett said the AJC deal gave Internode both extra capacity, which could grow as needed, and route redundancy, through the South Pacific and Asia. "We are doing this to make sure the Internode network continues to keep ahead of customer demand," he said.

National broadband company Internode will boost its network capacity to the US by 40 per cent immediately, using a fully redundant route via Asia provided by Australia-Japan Cable (AJC).

Australian-founded company Maxamine has announced a $12.5 million, five-year contract that makes its web analytics software available to 125 US Federal Government agencies. Already, the Social Security Administration, the Health & Human Services Department and Treasury have signed agreements under the contract.

Online media leader Hostworks will provide a comprehensive managed service to support the significant new online presence for Network Ten's digital division as a key partner in TEN's bid to gain a greater share of the $1 billion Internet advertising market.

TEN this week revealed it will launch at least 50 sites based on both local programs such as Australian Idol, Big Brother and Thank God You're Here and overseas series.

Hostworks' agreement with TEN will grow as the broadcaster positions itself as a major player against competitors in the Australian market.

TEN's General Manager - Digital Media, Damian Smith, said TEN chose Hostworks for its unique capability, reliability, scale and exceptional quality customer service. "We have worked with Hostworks previously on programs such as Big Brother which have been very successful," he said.

Broadband trailblazer Internode has collected another national first – the title of Australia’s top Internet Service Provider, based on a 97 per cent approval rating in a mammoth national survey.