Broadband News
Wed, 21st Nov 2018
Push for telcos to disclose more information about NBN fixed wireless speeds
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission plans to revamp the guidelines for making broadband speed claims that it produces for NBN retail service providers (RSPs), with the ACCC seeking to make it easier for end users to understand the likely performance of fixed wireless connections.
Source: Computerworld
Only fibre can meet our needs into the future, says ISP chief
A full-fibre national broadband network would have cost much more, possibly as much as an extra $40 billion, but it will have to be built some time as it is the only technology that can do the heavy lifting Australia will need into the future, the head of a small ISP claims.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 20th Nov 2018
How China diverts, then spies on Australia's internet traffic
For six days last year, China Telecom appears to have deliberately diverted Australian internet traffic to China and logged as a routing error.
Source: SMH
NBN provider Mungi goes into administration
Melbourne-based unlimited NBN retail service provider Mungi has gone into voluntary administration just a year after it was created.
Source: iTnews Australia
Piracy crackdown: Rights holders come out swinging for bill targeting search engines
Groups representing copyright holders and one of the entertainment companies that has spearheaded use of an existing anti-piracy law have strongly backed proposed changes to Australia’s site-blocking regime.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co urged to move into Layer 3
NBN Co is being encouraged by a parliamentary committee to move beyond Layer 2 services on both the satellite and fixed wireless portions of its network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Inquiry calls for changes to government’s ‘NBN tax’
A parliamentary inquiry into the roll out of the National Broadband Network in regional and rural areas has called on the government to update the modelling used to underpin a levy scheme that has been dubbed an ‘NBN tax’.
Source: ARN
Labor says fixed-wireless service congestion cause for concern
The Australian Labor Party has expressed concern over the state of the fixed-wireless service offered by the NBN Co and identified in the second report of the Joint Standing Committee on the NBN as likely to be due to congestion.
Source: iTWire
House NBN panel asks govt to change regional broadband levy
The Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee into the NBN has recommended that the government update the modelling of its proposed regional broadband levy, in order to reflect the cost increases since the original modelling in 2015.
Source: iTWire
Labor accuses govt of avoiding 'inconvenient metrics' in NBN Co results
The Australian Labor Party has, predictably, slammed the Federal Government for avoiding any mention of what it calls "inconvenient metrics" in the NBN Co's first-quarter results which were announced on Monday.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 19th Nov 2018
NBN satellite business plan 'a matter of urgency': Joint committee
NBN should introduce its business-grade satellite project, address fixed-wireless congestion, and update its regional broadband levy amounts before passing legislation, the joint standing committee has recommended.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN not worried about 5G competition, completes own 5G tests
NBN has reported revenue up 50 percent to AU$620 million for the first quarter of FY19, alongside a 65 percent improvement in earnings.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Digital Lifecycle Group's CDRU joins NBN channel program
Digital Lifecycle Group's subsidiary CDRU has become the latest advisory firm to join the NBN Co's channel program as the network begins its national migration.
Source: ARN
CDRU gets NBN independent advisor accreditation
Telecommunications consultant Costs Down Revenue Up (CDRU), a subsidiary of the Digital Lifecycle Group (DLG), has announced it has become one of the first advisory groups in Australia to be accredited as part of the NBN Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Channel Program.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co looks to business purse for half of ARPU uplift
NBN Co is hoping its growing focus on the business market will contribute “around half” of the overall average revenue per user (ARPU) uplift it is targeting by 2022.
Source: iTnews Australia
Waiting for NBN good news is like waiting for Godot
Poor Stephen Rue. Having been handed the equivalent of a shit sandwich by his illustrious predecessor Bill Morrow, all that the new chief executive of NBN Co can is to pony up when the company's quarterly results are due and go through the motions.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co ARPU still stuck as losses continue to mount
The NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, has made no progress on raising the average revenue per user, which remains stuck on $44, the same as that recorded for full-year 2018, even though other metrics have shown an increase.
Source: iTWire
No need to keep encryption-busting capabilities secret: Internet Australia
Smart criminals will avoid using systems with the ability to be tapped, Internet Australia chair Dr Paul Brooks has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 16th Nov 2018
New horizons open up for NBN Co’s Sky Muster satellite service
Changes to how NBN Co operates its satellite service will open up new possibilities for the company to manage traffic as demand continues to grow for connectivity in regional Australia.
Source: Computerworld
Labor says 'mish-mash of recommendations' will not help telco consumers
The Australian Labor Party says Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has finally dumped his original plan to abolish the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman after the government put forward a list of recommendations that it said would strengthen the role of the TIO.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 15th Nov 2018
Telstra BGP routing error hits other Australian ISPs
Australia's biggest telco Telstra took down part of the Internet in the country on Thursday morning due to a stuff-up with the routes it advertised through the border gateway protocol.
Source: iTWire
Govt to pressure telcos to host call centres onshore
Australian internet providers and telcos are set to be “encouraged” by the government to set up onshore call centres to handle escalated complaints.
Source: iTnews Australia
CA welcomes telco safeguards review but sounds note of caution on TIO
Telecommunications industry lobby group, Communications Alliance, has welcomed the Australian Government’s decision to “retain” the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) as part of the strengthening of safeguards for telco consumers – but cautioned against Government recommendations that could threaten the TIO’s independence.
Source: iTWire
Government looks to further boost telco consumer protections
The Australian Government has made recommendations for further protections for telco consumers, including a strengthening of role of the Telecommunications Ombudsman.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 14th Nov 2018
Greens propose $250m NBN migration assistance fund
The Australian Greens have called for a $250 million “NBN migration program” established to assist a greater number of people to take up services on the network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Greens flag AU$1.5 billion NBN policy, Aussie GDPR, data retention repeal
The Greens party wants to invest AU$1.5 billion to make the NBN more equitable, AU$100 million in video game development, and AU$63 million in digital inclusiveness, as well as repealing data retention and setting up a Digital Rights Commissioner and GDPR-esque laws.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA: 41 telcos failed NBN complaints process audit
The ACMA kicked off an audit of compliance with its new NBN complaints-handling process rules, finding that all 41 telcos investigated were in breach of the standard.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus boosts investment in SA network by another $23.6 million
Australia’s second largest telco Optus is investing a further $23.6 million into its South Australian network, building more than 40 new sites by the end of March next year in a move aimned at improving network coverage and to deliver faster download speeds for customers.
Source: iTWire
Telcos drag the chain on meeting new compliance standard
Australia’s telcos are dragging the chain in meeting a new compliance standard requiring them to clearly set out minimum complaints-handling requirements and processes.
Source: iTWire
ABS may stop counting Internet access in 2021 census
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has floated the idea of no longer bothering to collect data on household internet connections in the 2021 census.
Source: iTnews Australia