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South Africa has a new player chasing the township fibre broadband market: Wire-Wire Networks has deployed fibre to 15 800 homes in Thembisa (previously Tembisa), a sprawling township in central Gauteng. CEO JP Schmidtke joined the TechCentral Show earlier this week to share exclusive details about the company's growth plans and to talk about the business opportunity for fibre companies in South Africa's vast township economy. Schmidtke said Wire-Wire Networks – like other industry players such as Vumatel, Fibertime and Frogfoot – believes townships present the next big expansion opportunity for fibre network operators, though the business model is rather different to the one used to deploy infrastructure in the suburbs. Wire-Wire is offering uncapped fibre – delivered over a meshed Wi-Fi network from fibre endpoints in each home or dwelling, starting at R5 for an hour of uncapped internet access at 100Mbit/s (limited to a single device). Other price plans, which are all uncapped and offer 100Mbit/s, include: • R9 for a one-day plan that connects one device • R39 for a one-week plan that connects one device • R119 for a one-month plan that connects one device • R449 for a one-month plan that supports eight devices • R1 120 for a one-month plan that supports 12 devices Subscribers can connect anywhere in Thembisa where Wire-Wire has coverage and so are not confined to connecting to the network in the vicinity of their own homes. There are no contracts or connection charges, and Wire-Wire provides a “free-to-use” Wi-Fi router and UPS (designed to keep the internet working even during load shedding and other power outages). The fibre is trenched, not delivered aerially, as it the case in many township deployments. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Schmidtke unpacks how Wire-Wire was formed, talks about its future plans and explains how it hopes to make low-cost fibre broadband profitable in township settings. Wire-Wire's leadership team consists of Schmidtke as well as fibre industry expert Hendrik Opperman, head of projects (external) Succeed Bvuma, head of technical David Radebe and head of projects (internal) Susan Hattingh. Don't miss the discussion! TechCentral
In this episode of the podcast, TechCentral speaks to Calvin Collett, MD at MTN-owned Internet service provider Supersonic, about its new Air Fibre uncapped broadband product launched this month. Collett unpacks what Air Fibre is exactly -- it uses unlicensed frequency bands to deliver guaranteed download speeds of up to 100Mbit/s -- and where Supersonic is planning to roll out the technology and why. Where does it fit into the market, especially next to fibre and 5G technologies? What is the size of the potential market? What about signal interference? And symmetry in the speeds? And does it need line of site to a tower? Collett answers all these questions and more in the podcast. Don't miss the discussion!
High Availability Router/Firewall Using OpenBSD, CARP, pfsync, and ifstated, Building the Development Version of Emacs on NetBSD, rc.d belongs in libexec, not etc, FreeBSD 11.3 EOL, OPNsense 20.7.1 Released, MidnightBSD 1.2.7 out, and more. NOTES This episode of BSDNow is brought to you by Tarsnap (https://www.tarsnap.com/bsdnow) Headlines High Availability Router/Firewall Using OpenBSD, CARP, pfsync, and ifstated (https://dzone.com/articles/high-availability-routerfirewall-using-openbsd-car) I have been running OpenBSD on a Soekris net5501 for my router/firewall since early 2012. Because I run a multitude of services on this system (more on that later), the meager 500Mhz AMD Geode + 512MB SDRAM was starting to get a little sluggish while trying to do anything via the terminal. Despite the perceived performance hit during interactive SSH sessions, it still supported a full 100Mbit connection with NAT, so I wasn’t overly eager to change anything. Luckily though, my ISP increased the bandwidth available on my plan tier to 150Mbit+. Unfortunately, the Soekris only contained 4xVIA Rhine Fast Ethernet. So now, I was using a slow system and wasting money by not being able to fully utilize my connection. Building the Development Version of Emacs on NetBSD (https://lars.ingebrigtsen.no/2020/08/25/building-the-development-version-of-emacs-on-netbsd/) I hadn’t really planned on installing a NetBSD VM (after doing all the other two BSDs), but then a NetBSD-related Emacs bug report arrived. News Roundup rc.d belongs in libexec, not etc (https://jmmv.dev/2020/08/rcd-libexec-etc.html) Let’s open with the controversy: the scripts that live under /etc/rc.d/ in FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD are in the wrong place. They all should live in /libexec/rc.d/ because they are code, not configuration. This misplacement is something that has bugged me for ages but I never had the energy to open this can of worms back when I was very involved in NetBSD. I suspect it would have been a draining discussion and a very difficult thing to change. FreeBSD 11.3 EOL (https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2020-September/001982.html) As of September 30, 2020, FreeBSD 11.3 will reach end-of-life and will no longer be supported by the FreeBSD Security Team. Users of FreeBSD 11.3 are strongly encouraged to upgrade to a newer release as soon as possible. OPNsense 20.7.1 Released (https://opnsense.org/opnsense-20-7-1-released/) Overall, the jump to HardenedBSD 12.1 is looking promising from our end. From the reported issues we still have more logging quirks to investigate and especially Netmap support (used in IPS and Sensei) is lacking in some areas that were previously working. Patches are being worked on already so we shall get there soon enough. Stay tuned. MidnightBSD 1.2.7 out (https://www.justjournal.com/users/mbsd/entry/33801) MidnightBSD 1.2.7 is available via the FTP/HTTP and mirrors as well as github. It includes several bug fixes and security updates over the last ISO release and is recommended for new installations. Users who don't want to updatee the whole OS, should consider at least updating libmport as there are many package management fixes Beastie Bits Tarsnap podcast (https://blog.firosolutions.com/2020/08/tarsnap-podcast/) NetBSD Tips and Tricks (http://students.engr.scu.edu/~sschaeck/netbsd/index.html) FreeBSD mini-git Primer (https://hackmd.io/hJgnfzd5TMK-VHgUzshA2g) GhostBSD Financial Reports (https://ghostbsd.org/financial_reports_from_January_to_June_2020) *** Tarsnap This weeks episode of BSDNow was sponsored by our friends at Tarsnap, the only secure online backup you can trust your data to. Even paranoids need backups. Feedback/Questions Daniel - Documentation Tooling (https://github.com/BSDNow/bsdnow.tv/blob/master/episodes/369/feedback/Daniel%20-%20Documentation%20Tooling.md) Fongaboo - Where did the ZFS tutorial Go? (https://github.com/BSDNow/bsdnow.tv/blob/master/episodes/369/feedback/Fongaboo%20-%20Where%20did%20the%20ZFS%20Tutorial%20Go.md) Johnny - Browser Cold Wars (https://github.com/BSDNow/bsdnow.tv/blob/master/episodes/369/feedback/Johnny%20-%20Browser%20Cold%20Wars.md) *** Send questions, comments, show ideas/topics, or stories you want mentioned on the show to feedback@bsdnow.tv (mailto:feedback@bsdnow.tv)
TechCentral — In this promoted episode of the podcast, TechCentral interviews Sentech chief of sales and marketing Mmapula Kgari about the company's new Sentech Connect broadband project. The idea behind Sentech Connect is for the state-owned communications company to "play a significant role in the implementation of SA Connect’s mandate and servicing of government with wireless broadband services”. SA Connect is government’s broadband strategy plan. “Sentech Connect will digitise health care, education and government services in underserviced and rural areas, bridging the digital divide with fast, reliable broadband connectivity,” the company said in a statement when the project was launched at the AfricaCom event in Cape Town last year. The broadband offering ranges from bandwidth of 10Mbit/s to 100Mbit/s, allowing for the creation of smart classrooms; smart city services; smart clinics and hospitals; the Internet of things; and public safety initiatives In the podcast, Kgari explains why Sentech has launched Sentech Connect, where the network is available, how it's being funded and the impact it hopes it will have in underserved parts of South Africa. She also talks about the technology and radio frequency spectrum it's using and its go-to-market strategy.
There's one story dominating the podcast this week: TechCentral's exclusive story about Vumatel's plan to offer uncapped 100Mbit/s fibre to township residents for R89/month, starting in Alexandra in Johannesburg. If Vumatel gets it right - and its models show it's likely to work - the audacious plan could transform township economies in South Africa. Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg talk in detail about the plan, with fresh insights from TechCentral's Friday interview with Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman. Also this week, Vodacom's weird free data offers and communications regulator Icasa versus Cell C. Duncan's pick this week is Ada for iOS and Android, while Regardt has chosen custom Lego mini figures from mini-me.co.za. Listen to the podcast to find out who the team has chosen as winner and loser of the week. Podcast website
TechCentral — There's one story dominating the podcast this week: TechCentral's exclusive story about Vumatel's plan to offer uncapped 100Mbit/s fibre to township residents for R89/month, starting in Alexandra in Johannesburg. If Vumatel gets it right - and its models show it's likely to work - the audacious plan could transform township economies in South Africa. Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg talk in detail about the plan, with fresh insights from TechCentral's Friday interview with Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman. Also this week, Vodacom's weird free data offers and communications regulator Icasa versus Cell C. Duncan's pick this week is Ada for iOS and Android, while Regardt has chosen custom Lego mini figures from mini-me.co.za. Listen to the podcast to find out who the team has chosen as winner and loser of the week.
On TalkCentral this week, Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg chat about the constitutional court judgment in favour of former communications minister Faith Muthambi. Also this week, Japan's Nippon Telephone and Telegraph said to be mulling the sale of Dimension Data Africa (but there are strong denials), Telkom is getting a new name, Telkom is boosting copper-based digital subscriber lines to 100Mbit/s (well, some of them) and Apple's insane, US$5 000 iMac Pro. Download or stream the podcast to find out who Duncan and Regardt and have named as winner and loser of the week, as well as their technology picks this week. Podcast website
TechCentral — On TalkCentral this week, Duncan McLeod and Regardt van der Berg chat about the constitutional court judgment in favour of former communications minister Faith Muthambi. Also this week, Japan's Nippon Telephone and Telegraph said to be mulling the sale of Dimension Data Africa (but there are strong denials), Telkom is getting a new name, Telkom is boosting copper-based digital subscriber lines to 100Mbit/s (well, some of them) and Apple's insane, US$5 000 iMac Pro. Download or stream the podcast to find out who Duncan and Regardt and have named as winner and loser of the week, as well as their technology picks this week.
Materials Available here: https://media.defcon.org/DEF%20CON%2023/DEF%20CON%2023%20presentations/DEFCON-23-Joshua-Smith-High-Def-Fuzzing-Exploitation-Over-HDMI-CEC-UPDATED.pdf High-Def Fuzzing: Exploring Vulnerabilities in HDMI-CEC Joshua Smith Senior Security Researcher, HP Zero Day Initiative The HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) standard has gained extensive market penetration. Nearly every piece of modern home theater equipment has HDMI support and most modern mobile devices actually have HDMI-capable outputs, though it may not be obvious. Lurking inside most modern HDMI-compatible devices is something called HDMI-CEC, or Consumer Electronics Control. This is the functionality that allows a media device to, for example, turn on your TV and change the TV’s input. That doesn’t sound interesting, but as we'll see in this presentation, there are some very surprising things an attacker can do by exploiting CEC software implementations. Then there's something called HEC or HDMI Ethernet Connection, which allows devices to establish an Ethernet connection of up to 100Mbit/s over their HDMI connections (newer HDMI standards raise the speed to 1Gbit/s). Don't think your mobile phone implements CEC? You might be wrong. Most modern Android-based phones and tablets have a Slimport(r) connection that supports HDMI-CEC. Ever heard of MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link)? Think Samsung and HTC (among other) mobile devices, and many JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic, and Sony car stereos – as many as 750 million devices in the world so far. Guess what? MHL supports HDMI-CEC as well. Let's explore, and own, this attack space. Kernelsmith is senior vulnerability researcher with Hewlett-Packard Security Research (HPSR). In this role, he analyzes and performs root-cause analysis on hundreds of vulnerabilities submitted to the Zero-Day Initiative (ZDI) program, which represents the world’s largest vendor-agnostic bug bounty program. His focus includes analyzing and performing root-cause analysis on hundreds of zero-day vulnerabilities submitted by ZDI researchers from around the world. Joshua is also a developer for the Metasploit Framework and has spoken at a few conferences and holds a few certifications. Prior to joining HP, Smith served in the U.S. Air Force in various roles including as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Crew Commander and Instructor, but more relevantly as a penetration tester for the 92d Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron. Post-military, he became a security engineer at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, where he began contributing to the Metasploit Framework. Smith performed research into weapons systems vulnerabilities as well as evasion and obfuscation techniques to add depth and realism to security device tests. Smith received a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.A. in Management of Information Systems from the University of Great Falls. Smith was drawn to ZDI for the chance to work with a world-wide network of security researchers while continuing his own vulnerability research. When not researching software vulnerabilities, Josh enjoys raising his two young hackers-to-be and watching sci-fi since he can't play sports anymore (there's no tread left on his knees). Twitter: @kernelsmith, @thezdi
Die Deutsche Telekom hat angekündigt, Internetverbindungen ab einem bestimmten Datenvolumen zu drosseln. Was ist denn noch dran, an den nur noch sogenannten Flatrates? Wieso kann man in Korea mit seinem Mobiltelefon unbeschränkt über 100MBit/s im Internet surfen, während hierzulande der Breitbandausbau der Datenautobahn in einigen Regionen zum Stocken kommt und nun die wenigen schnell mit Staatskupfer angebundenen Teilnehmer jedes Bit auf ihrer Leitung zweimal umdrehen sollen, bevor ihnen die Telekom die wichtige Informationslebensader abschnürt? Und was hat das alles mit den modernen Multimedia-Angeboten der Telekom und ihrer Partner zu tun? Im Studio wollen wir mit linuzifer, nibbler und Constanze darüber reden, was es bedeutet, wenn sich die digitalen Torwächter aufschwingen, Strafzölle auf den digitalen Wegen zu erheben.
The telecommunication industry is currently in the midst of a disruptive technological development. Next generation (fibre) networks (NGN) increase transmission data speeds from the current 16Mbit/s to more than 100Mbit/s. This enables new services such as HDTV, interactive gaming or video on demand. While the technology exists today, the timing and extent of actual investments depend on the access regulation for non-investors. This paper explores how different regulatory access regimes affect investments and social welfare. We find that the existing access regulation, where the investor bears the investment risk alone, induces too little investments to the detriment of consumers. In contrast, access regimes that distribute the investment risk among more or all telecoms firms stimulate investments and increase consumer surplus. The paper also explores how different forms of risk-sharing, in terms of participating firms and cost allocations, affect social welfare. The (simulation) results presented in this paper build on a game theoretical model.