Broadband News

Tue, 12th Jun 2018

Superloop pays $1.5M for SkyMesh broadband customers

​Superloop has acquired the fibre broadband customer base of SkyMesh for $1.5 million.

Source: ARN

Telstra's 4GX-lite mobile satellite small-cell launches with first customer, 'bridging coverage gap'

Telstra's new 4GX-lite Mobile Satellite Small Cell offering has launched, offering "a new solution to help people living and working in some of Australia’s most remote places purchase their own coverage extension of the Telstra 4GX mobile service".

Source: iTWire

Mon, 11th Jun 2018

New NBN complaints rules better for consumers, industry: ACCAN

Telecommunications consumer interest group ACCAN says new complaints rules for consumers switching to Australia's national broadband network, the NBN, will give the regulator better tools to ensure improvements in complaint handling by the telco industry.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 08th Jun 2018

Mount Gambier expected to see growth due to NBN: claim

The national broadband network is expected to help in the setting up of 700 new businesses and aid in the creation of up to 2370 jobs in Mount Gambier, the company rolling out the network, the NBN Co, claims.

Source: iTWire

Poor ADSL speeds see QLD town telco providers to step up

​With almost 6,000 locals, Goondiwindi seems to have become the home of NBN challengers, with one business now claiming the spot as the first locally-owned fixed wireless ISP.

Source: ARN

Outages following cut Telstra cable set to roll into weekend

Thousands of fibre cables to be spliced after third party cut cable and took down thousands of broadband and NBN services.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 07th Jun 2018

Concerns raised over new NBN migration rules timeline

The Communications Alliance has judged as "virtually impossible" for teleco providers to be ready to abide by new industry rules when they come into effect.

Source: ARN

Western Australia wants 100Mbps minimum NBN speeds and CVC canned

Sandgropers call for triennial reviews of the definition of 'very fast broadband' in NBN's statement of expectations.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Cut Telstra cable leaves NSW customers without internet for more than 24 hours

A Telstra cable cut during civil works in suburban Sydney causes a state-wide internet outage for certain users, leaving some with the prospect of no connection until tomorrow morning.

Source: ABC News

25Mbps does not qualify as ‘very fast broadband’: WA govt

The Western Australian government has called for changes to the statement of expectations that governs the rollout of the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

NBN consultant unveiled as Labor candidate for Mayo

Telecommunications consultant and academic Reg Coutts, who helped set up the framework for the National Broadband Network, will contest the seat of Mayo for Labor.

Source: ABC News

Want fibre to your home? It'll cost you $1.2m, couple told

A couple living outside Melbourne, about 7 kilometres from the nearest fibre connection, are told they will have to pay up to $1.2 million to have the NBN's best service connected to their home.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 06th Jun 2018

Fortnite or Netflix: which should NBN Co be more concerned about?

The head of the NBN says gamers are "heavy users", but how much bandwidth do online games actually use?

Source: ABC News

Tue, 05th Jun 2018

Telstra chief mulls cable sabotage possibility:

​Telstra CEO Andrew Penn has conceded that sabotage cannot be ruled out as a cause of the fire that damaged one of its cables in early May.

Source: ARN

Aussie Broadband may have to cut some NBN users loose

Aussie Broadband will have to cut loose any customers that can’t afford to shift to NBN’s new price model, encouraging them instead to churn away to a handful of other providers.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC could monitor performance of NBN fixed wireless service

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says it engaged in a “few exploratory talks” with the federal government about expanding its broadband monitoring project to cover NBN fixed wireless services.

Source: Computerworld

ACCC needs AU$6m more to monitor NBN fixed-wireless speeds

Another AU$6 million in government funding is needed to extend the ACCC's speed-monitoring reports to fixed-wireless services in order to cover the cost of obtaining 4,000 more devices and the managed services involved.

Source: ZDNet Australia

What's New On Stan, Netflix, Hayu, Foxtel And Amazon For June

From Macgyver to True Crime, Luke Cage to the It - here's just a taste of what Netflix, Hayu, Stan and Amazon are streaming for the month of June.

Source: Gizmodo

Mon, 04th Jun 2018

Virgin Becomes The First Australian Airline To Offer International Wi-Fi

Virgin Australia have just announced that they're switching on international Wi-Fi from today, which is great news for those of us who thirst for connectivity during overseas flights.

Source: Gizmodo

Consumers could lose services over NBN ‘failure’: ACCAN

Telecommunications industry consumer lobby group, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, has raised concerns that consumers will lose services with what it says is the failure of the national broadband network fixed wireless and satellite services not meeting current broadband requirements.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co could target multi-terabyte fixed wireless users

NBN Co is considering whether to rein in users clocking up “terabytes” of data usage each month on the fixed wireless network by throttling their services in the evening peak.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN considers throttling fixed wireless ‘superusers’

NBN is examining ways it to minimise the impact of what CEO Bill Morrow has dubbed “superusers” on the performance of its fixed-wireless service, including potentially introducing a ‘fair use’ policy.

Source: Computerworld

Huawei: Australia needs us for 5G competition

Following anti-Huawei national security advice from the US, Huawei is looking into how the cost of 5G network rollouts would blow out if it were to be banned from providing equipment to Australia's telcos.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tackling trolls begins with understanding them

Online abuse is a social problem that just happens to be powered by technology. There are many ways we can make online spaces kinder, from simple design changes to a shift in online social norms, writes Renee Barnes.

Source: ABC News

Fri, 01st Jun 2018

Optus seeks compensation from Telstra over 'unlimited' campaign

Optus is seeking to establish what losses it has incurred from Australia's incumbent telco running its 'unlimited' advertising campaign.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN retail prices are starting to rise

Optus is the first major retailer to raise the price of its entry-level NBN services, a decision the rest of the industry is likely to have to confront over coming months.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vocus customer's system hacked, used to swamp triple-zero service

Australia's triple-zero service was hit by a malicious attack last weekend, with up to 600 calls at a time made through a customer of telco Vocus, with the attacker flooding the number during three short periods between 6.09am and 7.55am.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 31st May 2018

Australian shoppers to be blocked from Amazon's US site

The online retail giant will prevent Australian consumers from accessing its global sites to counter new laws to force it to collect the good and services tax on transactions.

Source: ABC News

​Amazon to block Aussies from global marketplace

From July 1, 2018, overseas retailers selling goods to Australia will be liable to pay GST on items under AU$1,000, so Amazon has decided to pull out of selling to customers down under from its global marketplace.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co details ICT channel program

NBN Co has released details on the structure of its ICT channel program, which was launched in April.

Source: ARN