Broadband News
Tue, 27th Feb 2018
Want the best chance of a fibre NBN connection? Move to croc country
In percentage terms, the mainland territories provide the best opportunity to get on the 'real' NBN.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Netgear to refund Aussie customers over warranty wrangle
Netgear Australia has agreed to provide “remedies and refunds” to customers who were allegedly misled by its warranty and technical support representations.
Source: ARN
Turnbull signs up to 100Mbps NBN plan
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has signed up to the 100Mbps spoeed tier on the national broadband network despite previously arguing that most Australians need only 12Mbps.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co pushes back crucial HFC status update
NBN Co has delayed a planned update on the state of its HFC network by a few more weeks, denting hopes for the 700,000 users whose connections were pulled back for remediation late last year.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra’s brand value rises to US$12.4b, 13th in global rankings
Telstra registered a 14% increase in brand value to US$12.4 billion in 2017, retaining the title of the most valuable telecoms brand in Australia and climbing one spot to 13th place globally in the Brand Finance Telecoms 300 rankings.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 26th Feb 2018
Vodafone backs NBN to beat mobile in the home
Vodafone Australia is backing the NBN to largely prevail in the residential broadband market with limited substitution by fixed wireless or forthcoming 5G services.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co refuses to disclose cheapest FTTP connection costs
NBN Co has avoided disclosing the cheapest fibre-to-the-premises connections it has made nationwide, by relying on a single piece of misused terminology.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone Australia made a $178M loss in 2017
Vodafone Australia has reported a $177.8 million loss for the full year ending 2017, a 26.4 improvement on its $241.8 million loss the previous year.
Source: ARN
Vocus chief executive exits after tumultuous tenure at the telco
Telco company Vocus is searching for a new chief executive just days after downgrading its earnings guidance.
Source: ABC News
Internet providers face broadband marketing laws
Retail service providers whose marketing of broadband plans doesn’t match up to reality could face $1.1 million fines if a new private members bill is passed into law.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra puts total 5G broadband reach at 1m premises
Telstra is expecting the entire telco industry to serve around one million premises with 5G-based broadband, less than one-tenth of the reach of the NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
Subscribers up but profit down for Amaysim in 2018 first half
The budget mobile operator has reported a net loss after tax to the tune of AU$237,000 for the first six months of the 2018 financial year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC seeks public input to digital platforms inquiry
The competition watchdog, the ACCC, has launched its quest for submissions to its upcoming digital platforms public inquiry, including a review of whether digital platforms have impacted media organisations’ ability to fund and produce quality news and journalistic content for Australians.
Source: iTWire
MWC 2018: Telstra using AFL app for LTE-B launch
LTE-Broadcast will see a wide-scale launch in 2018 off the back of Telstra's AFL app, with the telco also pushing mass software downloads and emergency services use cases for the technology.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra moves forward to eventual 4G, 5G integration
Telstra says work is continuing in preparation for the 4G and 5G mobile technologies to integrate in future, including working with Ericsson, Qualcomm and Intel to develop the end-to-end 5G ecosystem.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co tackles premises left behind with D-Lite
NBN Co is embarking on a program of work codenamed D-Lite to prevent further growth in the number of premises that aren’t able to connect to its network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Sun, 25th Feb 2018
MWC 2018: Telstra's 5G rollout plan for 2019
Telstra's 5G network will be going live in major cities and some regional areas in 2019, with the telco to conduct trials with Ericsson and Intel and deploy more than 1,000 small cells during 2018.
Source: ZDNet Australia
MWC 2018: Telstra to live demo 2Gbps 4G
Telstra and Ericsson will be providing live demos of their 2Gbps 4G speeds during MWC 2018, attained using carrier aggregation, 4x4 MIMO, and 256 QAM.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sat, 24th Feb 2018
US warns Australia against Huawei 5G involvement: report
The US has warned Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull not to allow Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to supply equipment for any future 5G networks, indicating that there are security risks involved.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 23rd Feb 2018
NBN Co has hundreds of active sites in '5G spectrum'
NBN Co has registered at least 650 fixed wireless sites to operate in what is now prized 5G spectrum, complicating demands by Vodafone for the spectrum to be reallocated for commercial mobile use.
Source: iTnews Australia
Internode named home broadband provider of the year
Adelaide-based internet service provider Internode has been named 2017 Roy Morgan Home Broadband Provider of the Year for the second year running and the sixth time in the last seven years.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 22nd Feb 2018
NBN Co's quest for more ARPU is ill-fated: network expert
The quest by the NBN Co to push up the average revenue per user is ill-fated as this would lead to a rise in retail prices, which would in turn, result in a drop in the number of paying customers, a network expert claims.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co qualifies its 'further investment' in fixed wireless
NBN Co has clarified that its pledge this week to invest in capacity upgrades on its fixed wireless network is simply already planned work that will cost more than initially expected.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 21st Feb 2018
Telstra claims iMessage and FaceTime bug now fixed
Earlier today, Telstra announced that "some" of its customers "experienced an issue with Apple iMessage and FaceTime," but has since announced the problem has been fixed.
Source: iTWire
NBN deal sees NetComm earnings surge
NetComm Wireless (ASX:NTC) has experienced a record half-year revenue and earnings for FY18, mainly thanks to key projects such as its contract with NBN.
Source: ARN
Speed issues? It ain't us that's to blame, says NBN Co
The NBN Co is well known for doing what Pontius Pilate did – washing its hands of any responsibility for the shabby network that it has built so far. Today, it has unveiled another instalment in this exercise.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 20th Feb 2018
ACCC wants bigger fines for big companies that mislead consumers
The ACCC describes planned bigger fines for big business as the key to changing corporate culture, as cost-of-living issues, including NBN speeds and energy prices, also make its list of top priorities for 2018.
Source: ABC News
Labor plans more fibre-based broadband for Adelaide
South Australian Labor has pledged to deliver fibre-based broadband services in Adelaide if it wins the state election next month.
Source: Computerworld
Consumer watchdog flags further action over NBN speed claim issues
NBN resellers look set to come under further scrutiny by the country’s consumer watchdog over misleading speed claims, with more “interventions” on the way.
Source: ARN
Vocus boosts NBN market share
Vocus has for the first time released data on its total share of the NBN market. The telco said that as of the end of 2017 it had captured 8.8 per cent of the market, up from 7.4 per cent at the end of 2016.
Source: Computerworld