Broadband News

Fri, 20th Jul 2018

NBN Co says 'not possible' to show cheapest FTTP connections

A row over the cost of individual fibre-to-the-premises connections has intensified sharply after NBN Co claimed that it was “not possible” or would breach commercial contracts to show the ten cheapest jobs.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 19th Jul 2018

TIO recommends NBN retailers stop losing phone numbers

The TIO has made four recommendations to retail service providers in an effort to prevent them from continually losing consumers' fixed-line phone numbers during the transition to NBN services.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus announces being named key telco supplier to NSW Govt

Three days after the NSW Government touted its smart digital procurement benefits in deals with telcos, Microsoft and Salesforce, Optus has announced it is one of the winners. 

Source: iTWire

NBN Co puts target on planned enterprise user base

NBN Co has set a target to connect 900,000 enterprise and government customers to its network by FY22.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra gets $7M in Vic Govt partnership

Telstra has been awarded more than $7 million in government funding to supply new base stations across Victoria.

Source: ARN

NBN switchover sees hundreds lose old phone numbers

Hundreds of residential and business customers are temporarily - and in some cases permanently - losing their existing phone number owing to confusion about the NBN migration process.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra poised to cut 110 jobs across enterprise and service teams

Telstra is on the verge of cutting a further 110 jobs, should operational changes to enterprise sales and service teams go ahead.

Source: ARN

Wed, 18th Jul 2018

Victoria teams up with Optus and Telstra for 28 new mobile towers

28 communities to get mobile coverage with AU$11 million kicked in by the Victorian government.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Enough to get from Sydney to Perth: NBN Co's latest copper purchase revealed

NBN Co has continued to purchase large amounts of copper to be used in its "multi-technology mix", drawing criticism from the Labor Party which is yet to reveal its alternate vision.

Source: ABC News

MyRepublic launches new broadband plans specifically for Australian small businesses

NBN-loving ISP MyRepublic has finally launched plans specifically for small businesses in Australia, marking the company's expansion beyond consumer NBN plans since November 2016.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co asks $11k per premises in area switch upgrade

NBN Co biggest area switch quote in the past two years was to a “business” applicant on the NSW central coast, coming in at $11,156 per premises.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co blames fixed wireless take-up, usage for congestion

NBN Co has revealed almost 28 percent of its fixed wireless towers have seen take-up rates at least 2.5 times higher than those assumed in planning in 2011.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 17th Jul 2018

NBN: There were more faults on fibre than satellite at launch

In the first three months after launching services, NBN saw 2.5 faults per 100 active services on fibre to the premises, compared to 0.7 per 100 across satellite.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Ericsson, Telstra and Intel clock another 5G first

​Ericsson, Telstra and Intel have made the first end to end 5G non-standalone 3GPP data call over a commercial mobile network.

Source: ARN

Mon, 16th Jul 2018

NBN Co sale may not have expected effect, says TransACT architect

The privatisation of NBN Co sometime in the future may well end up creating a similar situation like that in the 1990s, when the introduction of new players like Optus and the privatisation of Telstra did not bring about the level of investment needed to keep Australia's infrastructure in pace with growing digital needs, especially in regional areas, a network expert says.

Source: iTWire

NBN speed standards emerge at top tiers

NBN Co’s retail service providers are starting to standardise their typical evening peak speeds at 46Mbps on the NBN50 tier and 80Mbps on the NBN100 tier.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 13th Jul 2018

Best to sell NBN Co only a decade after rollout ends: expert

The best option for NBN Co after 2022 — when the network rollout is completed — would be for the government to retain it for at least 10 years as that would bring it the most benefit from its investment, a network expert says.

Source: iTWire

'Lousy' NBN prompts community to crowdfund their own internet

Residents in a leafy town just 150 kilometres from Australia's largest city say they feel so let down by internet services, they've begun crowdfunding to build their own broadband.

Source: ABC News

Thu, 12th Jul 2018

Telstra turns on LTE broadcast technology

Telstra has turned on LTE broadcast technology throughout its network, enabling real-time data to be multicast to all users on a cell site instead of each user requiring a separate stream.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra kicks off LTE-B deployment with AFL app and Samsung devices

Only two devices and a single app are available at the moment to use technology the telco hopes will ease the load on its network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

TPG joins Telstra in showing NBN fixed wireless speeds

TPG is the second major retail service provider to start breaking out “typical” evening peak speeds experienced by NBN fixed wireless users.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN fuels jobs growth for Australian esports industry

Australia's competitive gaming industry is experiencing a surge of growth due to the high speeds of the NBN, providing opportunities for players and others involved in esports.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 11th Jul 2018

Turnbull: Subsea cables are 'practical' foreign aid

Spending AU$137 million on constructing a subsea cable system between Australia and Pacific island nations is a 'practical' way of providing foreign aid funding, Malcolm Turnbull has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co to roll back Sky Muster modem firmware update

NBN Co will have to progressively roll back a firmware upgrade to Sky Muster modems that has left some customers without internet despite the box showing that it is online.

Source: iTnews Australia

Govt sets buyer limits for 5G spectrum

Australia’s mobile telcos hoping for a slice of prime 5G spectrum will have their existing holdings assessed to determine how much extra they can own.

Source: iTnews Australia

5G spectrum limits announced for Australia

Carriers will only be allowed to hold 60MHz of spectrum in metro areas and 80MHz in regional areas across the 3400-3700MHz band, the Department of Communications has announced.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 10th Jul 2018

Telstra networks leader steps down after 38 years

Mike Wright has announced plans to vacate his role as group managing director of networks at Telstra, exiting the business after 38 years.

Source: ARN

Telstra head of networks stepping down

Telstra's head of networks Mike Wright has announced that he will be stepping down.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra starts publishing 'average' NBN speeds

Telstra has joined Optus in starting to publish “average” NBN speed figures across a sample of users in a bid to combat numbers being produced by external monitoring schemes.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 09th Jul 2018

Stronger protections for telecoms consumers under consideration

A stronger protection code for telecommunications consumers has been released in a move designed to improve customer service for telco users across Australia.

Source: iTWire