Broadband News
Mon, 29th Jan 2018
Aussie Broadband goes flexible
NBN RSP Aussie Broadband has announced new plans that allow customers to pick the data allowance they need rather than being locked into preset plans.
Source: iTWire
NBN tax: Govt says no need to include mobile services in subsidy scheme
The federal government has reiterated that it is not appropriate to extend the so-called ‘NBN tax’ to include mobile broadband services “at this time”.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co shelves multicast expansion for fixed network
NBN Co has shelved plans to introduce multicast capabilities across its entire fixed-line network, citing an apparent lack of interest.
Source: iTnews Australia
Customer experience again falls short as Aussie telco complaints rise
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone topped the latest Australian consumer complaints figures for the three months ending December 2017.
Source: ARN
Thu, 25th Jan 2018
Government contends rural NBN subsidy and new USO will fix regional coverage
Subsidising the fixed-wireless and satellite networks with a regional broadband levy and SIP requirement will ensure the NBN and USG initiatives provide broadband access to all Australians, the government has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra, Optus, Vodafone complaints rise as zero recorded for Pivotel
Telstra had a complaints ratio of 9.2 per 10,000 services in operation during the quarter to December, while Optus had 10.6 and Vodafone had 4.9, with 0.0 recorded for Pivotel, according to the TIO and Comms Alliance.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 24th Jan 2018
M1 snags 20K additional mobile subs ahead of TPG network launch
While losing 25,000 prepaid mobile customers across 2017, M1 gained 45,000 post-paid customers, although it is expecting competition to grow once fourth provider TPG enters the market at the end of this year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra cripples T-Box to drive Australians to Foxtel and subscription video
Telstra has decided to kill the smart TV features in its ageing T-Box video recorders, leaving long-time customers fuming as they begin the search for a new set-top box to rule the lounge room.
Source: SMH
Telstra, Ericsson and Ciena: 'world’s fastest speeds' achieved on Telstra in Melbourne
A successful demonstration of 400Gbps speeds over 61.5 GHz spectrum on Telstra’s transmission network in Melbourne has shown "the highest spectral efficiency per fibre pair ever achieved in a live environment and enables up to 30.4 terabit per second (Tbps) bandwidth."
Source: iTWire
Tue, 23rd Jan 2018
Vodafone handed govt back money for missed jobs target
Vodafone was forced to hand back $330,433 from a $4 million grant by the federal government after failing to deliver 700 new positions to its Hobart call centre.
Source: iTnews Australia
Indigo to build Perth-Singapore cable 'ahead of schedule'
Construction of the Indigo consortium’s Perth-Singapore subsea cable project will begin “ahead of schedule”, in a sign of intensifying competition to secure custom on the west coast transmission route.
Source: iTnews Australia
Is NBN Co planning to drop HFC from rollout plans?
Is the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, planning to drop HFC altogether from its multi-technology mix that it adopted after 2013 for the network?
Source: iTWire
Pacific islands sign on for NEXT subsea cable
Southern Cross Cables has announced signing on Fintel in Fiji, Teletok in Tokelau, and BwebwerikiNET in Kiribati to its 60Tbps NEXT subsea cable system between Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 22nd Jan 2018
Vodafone's lower nbn prices mean new battles now to win consumers
Price wars: a new hope for lower nbn prices, striking back against an empire of expensive telcos to ensure a return of the happy customer - can Vodafone's lower prices awaken consumer interest?
Source: iTWire
Vocus bumps capacity on domestic links ahead of ASC debut
Vocus is upgrading its domestic network infrastructure ahead of the completion of the Australia Singapore Cable (ASC).
Source: Computerworld
Vocus claims early customer demand for Australia-Singapore Cable
Australia's fourth biggest telecommunications company Vocus is currently upgrading core domestic infrastructure to support what it says is the early customer demand for the Australia Singapore Cable, as the project draws closer to being ready for service.
Source: iTWire
Vocus updating networks ahead of ASC
Vocus is adding 8TBps of capacity to its domestic core networks between Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth ahead of the Australia-Singapore Cable being ready for service.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra invests in US-HK subsea route
Telstra has invested in two new subsea cable systems connecting the US west coast with Hong Kong.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra backs two more subsea cables
Telstra will support two new subsea cables being built to connect Hong Kong with the West Coast of the US, in addition to supporting the Indigo submarine cable system announced last year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 19th Jan 2018
NBN speeds: Mitch Fifield lives in another universe
The old argument over what came first — the chicken or the egg — has been regurgitated in a somewhat different way by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield. Only his arguments revolve around speed and the cost of NBN subscriptions.
Source: iTWire
NBN retailers show signs of competing on quality
Retail service providers are starting to show considerable variances in the minimum peak performance of NBN services, with ranges of up to 18Mbps now being reported.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 18th Jan 2018
Hawaiki subsea cable reaches halfway point
Hawaiki's 15,000km, 43.8Tbps subsea cable connecting Australia and New Zealand with the west coast of the United States is now past its halfway point.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vocus eyes rollout of new Pacific subsea cable
Vocus has won a contract from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for a scoping study into the rollout of a new cable connecting Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Source: Computerworld
Greens critical of govt response to NBN panel report
The Coalition Government's response to the NBN Joint Standing Committee report shows how "clueless and careless" it is about the need for a proper broadband network which can be used for business, study, work and everyday tasks, the Australian Greens claim.
Source: iTWire
Mobile network operators urged to prepare for post-NBN world
Mobile network operators should take a leadership role in the inevitable transformation of their industry as mobile and fixed networks slowly move towards bridging the divide between them, a leading telecommunications analyst says.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 17th Jan 2018
Only a quarter of fibre-to-the-node NBN connections will reach 100Mbps
A former NBN executive describes fibre-to-the-node connections as an obsolete technology that will "never deliver the speeds expected by consumers".
Source: ABC News
Tue, 16th Jan 2018
Govt refuses to budge on MTM NBN
The government has unsurprisingly panned a highly critical report on the NBN, confirming it won’t mandate fibre-to-the-curb for the rest of the rollout nor commision an independent audit of the project.
Source: iTnews Australia
Govt dismisses call to mandate more fibre in NBN rollout
The Govt slaps down a Parliamentary recommendation to mandate greater use of FttC and FttP in the remainder of the NBN rollout.
Source: ARN
NBN copper purchase total sits at 16,600 kilometres
Over the five months since its last updated number, NBN has purchased a further 1,600km of copper.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Inside Telstra's effort to slash NBN complaint wait times
Telstra is overhauling the technology that underpins its management of NBN fault complaints to a single, cloud-based platform that will eventually serve the telco’s entire assurance business.
Source: iTnews Australia