Broadband News
Tue, 21st Aug 2018
Superloop revenue doubles as Indigo subsea cable nears completion
The final splice of the Indigo subsea cable system is expected to take place in late December, Superloop has said, announcing an FY18 net profit of AU$7 million on revenue of AU$125 million.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Smaller NBN RSPs may be in trouble after October: claim
Smaller retail service providers who are selling NBN connections may be forced out of business after October this year when the bundles sold by NBN Co more or less become the single way that RSPs buy bandwidth from the company, Damian Ivereigh, chief executive of the small Tasmanian ISP Launtel, claims.
Source: iTWire
Gold Coast plans to open up expanded fibre network to telcos
The Gold Coast is planning to offer ISPs and backhaul providers access to its expanded fibre network in the hopes of reaping a financial reward for the Queensland city.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 20th Aug 2018
Gold Coast announces AU$10 million fibre broadband expansion
The City of Gold Coast is adding more areas to its fibre broadband network under an additional loop at a cost of AU$10 million.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Aussie Broadband wants NBN wireless users switched to fixed line
Aussie Broadband wants the government to consider funding a cost-benefit analysis to move parts of the fixed wireless footprint onto fixed line technology instead to ease congestion.
Source: iTnews Australia
Move towns to fixed line NBN: Aussie Broadband
RSP Aussie Broadband is calling on the Federal Government to fund changes to parts of the fixed wireless portion of the NBN
Source: iTWire
Fri, 17th Aug 2018
NBN Co pilots process to catch line speed degradation
NBN Co is piloting a new line speed monitoring process with select retail service providers (RSPs) that will alert the company when a line falls 20 percent below the maximum speed it is capable of.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co cost per premise shows little movement over a year
Many statistics in the NBN Co's results for the full-year 2018, announced on Thursday, show an improvement, but one area where things appear to be either worse or static is the cost of installation per premises.
Source: iTWire
Optus and Telstra go to war over 5G readiness
Optus has refuted Telstra's claim that it is the first provider in Australia to be 5G ready, after the telco turned on its 5G network in the Gold Coast.
Source: ARN
NBN Co plots upload speed cut to fixed wireless
NBN Co is planning a major re-tuning of its fixed wireless network, cutting back on the uplink in order to push maximum possible downlink speeds out to 75Mbps.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus pours cold water on Telstra's '5G first' claims
Singtel Optus, the second biggest telco in Australia by market share, has poured cold water on Telstra's claim that it is the first Australian network provider to be 5G ready, saying the lack of commercially available 5G devices means no provider can claim leadership in this race right now.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co forced to back down on charging rural users more
Under pressure from the Federal Government, the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, has backed down on a decision to charge rural and regional users $20 more for their fixed wireless 50/20Mbps plans.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 16th Aug 2018
NBN Co walks back wireless pricing proposal
NBN Co’s CEO Bill Morrow said today that the company would dump a proposed pricing construct that could have seen the wholesale pricing of some fixed wireless NBN services pegged at $20 above an equivalent fixed line service.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co forced to dump $65 fixed wireless price hike
NBN Co has embarassingly canned a plan to charge new sign-ups to fixed wireless $20 extra per month for a new bundled service after the government intervened.
Source: iTnews Australia
Foxtel taking the fight to free-to-air with plans for 4K footy
Ultra HD push comes as the pay TV giant continues to shift customers from cable to satellite, which will be required for 4K viewing.
Source: SMH
Telstra's net profit falls almost 9 percent
Telstra has recorded an 8.9 percent drop in net profit for the full year, which it attributed to the ongoing NBN migration and continuing declines in average revenue per user (ARPU).
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra's full-year profit falls 8pc to $3.6bn
Telstra sees its full-year profit fall 8.4 per cent to $3.6 billion as the impact of the NBN rollout and competition for mobile customers erode the company's bottom line.
Source: ABC News
Optus, Vodafone say 5G launch will be a slow burn
Australia will see the debut of 5G networks during 2019, but cutover certainly won’t be painless: 5G coverage won’t be extensive, handsets may not be plentiful, regional areas won’t be included in the early years and IoT applications won’t arrive in a rush.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 15th Aug 2018
NBN Co grants existing 50Mbps fixed wireless users a $45 bundle
NBN Co will grant existing fixed wireless users on its 50Mbps tier a reprieve by offering them the same $45 a month wholesale deal as fixed line users were given last year - but new users will pay $20 a month more for the privilege.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Sky Muster satellite take-up starts to worry govt
The Department of Communications will look to the forthcoming NBN corporate plan for assurance that take-up for the Sky Muster satellite service can be increased to recover missed targets.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wireless services may cost more than fixed line with new NBN Co pricing
NBN Co is preparing to launch a bundled fixed wireless product that will see retail service providers (RSPs) pay significantly more than for the equivalent fixed line offering.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra flicks on 5G in the Gold Coast
Telstra has switched on its 5G network technology across selected areas of the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Source: ARN
Labor claims NBN revenue forecasts designed to make govt look good
The Australian Labor Party claims that the 2017-18 revenue target set by the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, the NBN, has been deliberately set low in order that the government could have a public relations coup.
Source: iTWire
RSPs manage 1192 active NBN HFC services in two months
NBN Co’s slow restart of HFC sales from late April saw less than 1200 users able to sign up and get an active connection by the end of June.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus suffers outage in Thredbo caused by rival telco
Optus customers have experienced intermittent disruptions to voice and data services in Thredbo, which started on Monday morning.
Source: ARN
Tue, 14th Aug 2018
Foxtel announces live 4K channel and accompanying set-top box
Foxtel has announced a dedicated live 4K channel and set-top box with 'smarter features for faster streaming'.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus boosts Tasmanian mobile coverage with $42.2M investment
Optus has built 37 new mobile sites across Tasmania in a $42.2 million investment over the last 12 months.
Source: ARN
Telcos, Internet firms face $10m fines under new cyber law
Telecommunications and Internet companies and makers of digital devices will face fines of up to $10 million if they do not help law enforcement agencies gain access to data needed for investigating terrorism offences, according to a new draft law revealed on Tuesday. Individuals will face fines of up to $50,000.
Source: iTWire
Broadband tax revived as Labor backs plan
A heavily-delayed plan to introduce a broadband tax has been revived after Labor revealed overnight it would conditionally support the legislation.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 13th Aug 2018
More telcos connecting to NBN at more locations, ACCC finds
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says that its latest report based on wholesale market data provided by NBN Co shows positive signs for competition.
Source: ARN