Wellington, Feb 26 NZPA - Internet New Zealand has welcomed a new bill changing copyright laws but says the penalty of suspending a user's account for breaches won't work. On Tuesday, Commerce Minister Simon Power introduced a bill repealing Section 92A of the Copyright Act.

Wellington, Dec 16 NZPA - The Government favours a three-notice procedure to deal with illegal copying of material over computer networks which includes termination of internet access as a punishment, Commerce Minister Simon Power said today.

Wellington, Nov 16 NZPA - The Government will have a close look at recommendations in the Law Commission's report Suppressing Names and Evidence, says Justice Minister Simon Power.

Wellington, Oct 27 NZPA - Broadband subscriber numbers rose 27 percent in the 15 months to June to 1.1 million, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) says. Broadband subscribers now make up nearly three-quarters of all internet subscribers.

Wellington, Sept 23 NZPA - Average broadband performance continues to improve, the Commerce Commission's June quarter report on broadband services shows.

Wellington, Sept 1 NZPA - The Commerce Commission is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court a long running dispute with Telecom. The Court of Appeal and High Court have previously ruled in Telecom's favour in the case.

Wellington, April 14 NZPA - Signs of increasing competition were seen in fixed line telecommunications markets in 2008, but the competitive environment for mobile services was relatively unchanged from previous years, the Commerce Commission says.

By Sharon Lundy of NZPA Wellington, March 31 NZPA - Public-private partnerships will be established to deliver ultra-fast broadband to 75 percent of New Zealanders within 10 years, Communications and Technology Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

Wellington, March 11 NZPA - The Government still wants the internet community to sort out its problems with new copyright laws, even though TelstraClear said today it was pulling out of the code of practice that is being developed.

Wellington, Feb 19 NZPA - Protesters carrying blank signs sent a message to Parliament today that freedom of speech was being stifled by a copyright law and it should be dumped. The Copyright Amendment Act comes into force on February 28.