With a Federal election just around the corner, there’s been a whole lot of promising, denying and baby kissing going on lately. While both sides have been spruiking policies, we watched with great interest last week as the National Broadband Network (NBN) briefly took centre stage.

A couple of month’s back we brought you some background information on the NBN and the advancements in broadband on the horizon for one and all. This month we bring you an update on the Government’s plans for its initial mainland rollout.

If you’re big on staying connected, you might know of a few WiFi hotspots in your area where you have access to wireless internet. If you’re not familiar with this technology, we take a closer look at how you might be able to take advantage of a handy web connection the next time you’re out and about.

This month we’ve also managed to squeeze in three great movie giveaways, with passes to see Tomorrow When the War Began, The Other Guys and Going the Distance up for grabs. Get your entries in and good luck!

Hope you’re braving the last of the winter weather; here’s to sunshine on the horizon!

You might recall our look at the National Broadband Network (NBN) as part of the March Westnet Newsletter, when we gave you a quick rundown on the Federal Government’s plans to provide all Australians with access to super-fast broadband over the next eight years.

If you’ve seen or heard news of the latest developments in the NBN roll out, you’ll be up to date on the first mainland release sites announced last week. Yes, planning and design for the provision of fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) broadband to the first 3000 homes across mainland Australia has begun.

The selected sites are:

• A section of Brunswick, Melbourne
• Inner Townsville, covering parts of Aitkenvale and Mundingburra
• Coastal communities in Minnamurra and Kiama Downs, south of Wollongong
• An area of west Armidale, NSW (including the University of New England)
• The rural town of Willunga in South Australia

Once NBN Co’s design and testing phases are complete, a number of steps in the construction side of things will need to be completed before Internet Service Providers are engaged to bring the service to broadband users.

It’s important to remember the NBN is still in its very early stages, so there is still a great deal of work to be done before householders can make use of the new broadband technology.

Construction work is scheduled to begin in the latter part of this year, which will involve the supply of fibre-optic cabling and active network equipment to bring the fibre ‘to life’. Only then can the system can be adequately tested by broadband retailers and plans put in place to get the end product to consumers.

This first release is aiming for completion at the start of 2011, but you’ll find more information on all the latest NBN developments – including site maps – at the NBN Co website.

If you’ve recently been in an airport, library, shopping centre or local cafe, chances are you’ve been right in the middle of wireless network, often called a WiFi hotspot, without even knowing.

Hotspots are sites offering internet access over a wireless local area network (WLAN), with radio frequencies sending data between computers and devices without the need for a wired connection.

This means when you’re enjoying a coffee or waiting for a flight in an area with a local wireless network, you’re able to go online remotely to check your emails or make sure your plane’s on time.

It all works through the use of a wireless router – a physically wired modem that detects frequencies from laptops or smart phones, relaying the information down the line and to the internet. Most laptops and smart phones have a built in wireless adapter these days, which can automatically sense when you’re in a wireless network.

While some WiFi hotspots require users pay for the service, many locations offer free WiFi to those in the area. (It’s a good way to provide a ‘little something extra’ and encourage them to return.) In this case, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) charges are usually worn by the organisation providing the wireless service, the ‘host’.

It’s important to also keep in mind that download, speed and time restrictions often apply in WiFi hotspots. There’s also the possibility of dropouts, depending on how many people are using the wireless network at the one time.

Offering free WiFi can also prove a valuable marketing tool. Earlier this year the ANZ bank sponsored free WiFi in a number of cafes throughout Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It encouraged coffee-lovers to go online for free to check emails, browse the web and (of course) go about their online banking.

With laptops and mobile phones getting smaller, faster and smarter – and technology moving in the same direction – people are looking to get online in more places. The beauty of WiFi hotspots is they provide the convenient service people have been asking for, often for free.

Google…Yahoo!…AdWords….MSN….AltaVista.

When you’re looking to find information on any subject, be it the full list of Olympic host cities or the recipe for the perfect winter’s meal – more often than not you head straight to your favourite search engine. But how do they find exactly what you’re looking for with just a few simple words?

An internet search engine lets you explore the World Wide Web for information relating to keywords you type in. To build up its ‘memory’ a search engine continually browses the web using a program called a web crawler. These information machines methodically sift through the countless websites online and add them to a database.

Key words within these websites, such as page titles, headings and image names are then saved in the search engine database to be retrieved when internet users like you and I conduct future searches. For example, if you’re looking for as much information as possible on Westnet, your search engine trawls through its database for websites relating to or featuring the word Westnet.

The order in which the results appear (a list sometimes running into the millions) is determined by a range of factors like relevance and popularity – even the history of the web page itself.

Each search engine will employ different methods to decide the way your list of search results is returned. In an effort to narrow your search, try searching your key words with or without inverted commas –  see if you can notice a difference!

Tip: Once you’ve found the exact website you’re looking for, add the page to your “Favourites” or bookmark it so you can return to the page later without searching again.

Westnet and Warner Bros Pictures are pleased to present Going the Distance – a comedy about meeting one another half way.

Erin’s (Drew Barrymore) wry wit and unfiltered frankness charm newly single Garrett (Justin Long) over beer, bar trivia and breakfast the next morning. Their chemistry sparks a full-fledged summer fling, but neither expects it to last once Erin heads home to San Francisco and Garrett stays behind for his job in New York City.

Despite the opposite coasts, the nay-saying friends and family, and a few unexpected temptations, the couple just might have found something like love and with the help of texting, sexting, and late night phone calls, they might actually go the distance.

For your chance to win one of 16 in-season double passes to Going the Distance, yet to be classified and in cinemas August 26^th, simply click the ‘Enter’ button in the Westnet Newsletter in your inbox. Entries are limited to one per Westnet username. The competition closes at 12.01am (WST) on August 26^th, 2010.

Westnet and Columbia Pictures are pleased to present The Other Guys.

NYPD Detectives Christopher Danson and P.K. Highsmith (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) are the baddest and most beloved cops in New York City.

Just a few desks away sit Detectives Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg). They’re not heroes – they’re “the Other Guys.” Soon Gamble and Hoitz stumble into a seemingly innocuous case, no other detective wants to touch, which could turn into New York City’s biggest crime.  It’s the opportunity of their lives, but do these guys have the right stuff?

For your chance to win one of 25 in-season double passes to The Other Guys, yet to be classified M and in cinemas September 9^th, simply click the ‘Enter’ button in the Westnet Newsletter in your inbox. Entries are limited to one per Westnet username. The competition closes at 12.01am (WST) on September 9^th, 2010.

Westnet and Paramount Pictures are pleased to present Tomorrow When the War Began.

Ellie and her friends never thought their quiet country life would ever change much. Heading into their last year of high school, they decide to camp for the weekend in a remote bush clearing. When they return, their parents have disappeared, their phones are dead, and all power is out.

Soon, the horrible realisation becomes all too clear — while they were away, thousands of foreign soldiers invaded their country. The war has begun. Now Ellie and her seven friends must band together to stay alive…and fight back.

For your chance to win one of 20 in-season double passes to Tomorrow When the War Began, yet to be classified and only at the movies from 2nd September, simply click the ‘Enter’ button in the Westnet Newsletter in your inbox. Entries are limited to one per Westnet username. The competition closes at 12.01am (WST) on September 2nd, 2010.