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Bill Bennett
Freelance journalist.
Auckland-based Bill Bennett writes technology and business stories that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.
His emphasis is on telecommunications, but he also covers other aspects of technology and business. You can find his features in the New Zealand Herald and hear him regularly on RNZ Nine to Noon and the NZ Tech Podcast.
Bennett's The Download Weekly newsletter is published every Friday. You can sign up for it here.
If you want to support his work, you can make a donation to his PressPatron account.
Bill Bennett - Latest News [Page 57]
Vodafone bumps cable speed - TrueNet
Friday, 24 January 2014, 8:33 am | Digitl
TrueNet broadband speed tests show Vodafone boosted its cable service in December . The broadband testing company reports peak speeds, DNS response time and page download speeds all showed significant improvements during the month. More >>
Vodafone VDSL brings speed at no extra cost
Friday, 24 January 2014, 8:30 am | Digitl
Vodafone launched its VDSL service with the lure of offering much faster copper broadband speeds at the same price as existing ADSL services. The company says VDSL users will pay the same as existing copper broadband users for the first 12 months of a contract. More >>
Stand by for ISP disruption as MyRepublic enters NZ
Thursday, 23 January 2014, 9:50 am | Digitl
Former New Zealand Regional Fibre Group CEO Vaughan Baker is heading MyRepublic, a new UFB-only ISP that expects to start operating by the middle of the year. More >>
Did Telecom NZ pay too much for 4G spectrum?
Wednesday, 22 January 2014, 5:28 pm | Digitl
Telecom NZ paid NZ$83 million dollars for the last slice of 700 MHz spectrum. The company beat Vodafone to secure the final 2 x 5 MHz block left on the table from the first round of bidding. More >>
What does Moody’s downgrade of Chorus mean?
Wednesday, 22 January 2014, 8:03 am | Digitl
Yesterday Chorus announced Moody’s Investors Service cut the company’s credit rating. It is now sitting at Baa3. Previously it was a Baa2. Moody's also said Chorus has a negative outlook. More >>
Why you can't judge a Chromebook by the cover
Tuesday, 21 January 2014, 7:34 am | Digitl
Just as tablet makers like Apple pack 80 percent of PC functionality into a slim new format, Chromebook makers bundle a different, but just as essential, subset of PC features, in a familiar-looking hardware package. More >>
IBM's late cloud play aims for Amazon catch up
Monday, 20 January 2014, 9:53 am | Digitl
IBM made headlines over the weekend when it said it will spend US$1.2 billion to expand its cloud computing business. The plan includes adding 15 new data centres on five continents to the 13 it already has. Eventually there will be 40 data centres. More >>
Logitech Ultra-thin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air review
Monday, 20 January 2014, 8:45 am | Digitl
Smaller means third-party add-on makers like Logitech either have to rework existing keyboard cover designs, come up with something new or miss out on potential business. More >>
New Zealand broadband prices in global mid-range
Monday, 20 January 2014, 8:38 am | Digitl
Residential broadband prices in New Zealand sit around the middle of the latest Point Topic country scorecard . More >>
Forrester: Microsoft trumps Apple for mindshare
Thursday, 9 January 2014, 1:00 pm | Digitl
We understand research companies say outrageous things to get publicity. The latest from Forrester is a classic. Tracy Stokes writes Why Microsoft trumps Apple in the battle for consumer mindshare . More >>
Smartphone market share myths
Thursday, 9 January 2014, 10:57 am | Digitl
Samsung sells more smartphones than any other company. Reuters reports Samsung accounts for every third smartphone sold around the world in 2013. Gartner puts Apple's market share at around 12 percent. More >>
Desktop Android emerges as Windows rival
Tuesday, 7 January 2014, 10:26 am | Digitl
Computer makers like HP are toying with desktop Android, it's the biggest threat yet to Microsoft and a radical change of direction, will it fly? More >>
2013 impressive gadgets, a personal view
Monday, 6 January 2014, 8:58 am | Digitl
Software got cloudier in 2013. Smartphones got bigger, pixels on just about everything got smaller. New Zealand's mobile data networks got faster and service providers began selling fibre broadband services. More >>
Devices combining Windows and Android solve nothing
Monday, 6 January 2014, 8:33 am | Digitl
PC sales continue to struggle as users switch to smartphones and tablets. Microsoft's Windows 8 OS did little to stop the rot. More >>
Three non-obvious predictions for 2014
Sunday, 22 December 2013, 4:41 pm | Digitl
December saw a flurry of 2014 technology forecasts. I predict the same thing will happen next year. More >>
Ovum calls for copper broadband network shutdown
Wednesday, 18 December 2013, 8:45 am | Digitl
Ovum's Australia-based research director David Kennedy says if New Zealand's government is serious about making Ultrafast Broadband work, it must name a date to close the copper network. Kennedy says: "Tensions in the New Zealand telecommunications ... More >>
Apple, Microsoft, Google technology stacks - conclusions
Tuesday, 17 December 2013, 8:41 am | Digitl
Continually jumping between technology stacks feels inefficient. Would it make sense to just pick one and stick with it? More >>
Chorus after Ernst & Young report
Monday, 16 December 2013, 8:26 am | Digitl
One interpretation of the Ernst & Young report is that Chorus was correct when it claimed the drop in copper access price would mean a $1 billion funding shortfall. The report surfaced Saturday lunchtime. Later that afternoon Chorus CEO Mark Ratcliffe ... More >>
NZ iPhone plans - December 2013
Sunday, 15 December 2013, 2:53 pm | Digitl
Apple's iPhone 5S remains the world's top-selling smartphone. New Zealand carriers report it is popular here too. More >>
Chorus can close UFB funding gap to $250 million UFB
Saturday, 14 December 2013, 2:43 pm | Digitl
Ernst & Young Australia's report into Chorus's ability to deliver on its broadband contracts says the company could reduce the funding gap to $250 million or less with "cash flow savings initiatives". More >>
