Broadband News
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
ACCC proposes takeover of Internet activity reports
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a discussion paper proposing to take over the collection of Internet activity data, a task which the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that it would be stopping.
Source: iTWire
Huawei likely to get limited role in 5G networks: report
Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei is likely to be allowed to play a role in the rollout of 5G networks in Australia, but will face curbs on provision of equipment for what are deemed sensitive parts of the networks.
Source: iTWire
Sat, 11th Aug 2018
People going it alone for faster NBN are also paying for their neighbours
NBN users who choose to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pocket for a high-speed internet connection are inadvertently paying to upgrade their neighbours' connections as well as public infrastructure.
Source: ABC News
Thu, 09th Aug 2018
ACMA asks 'is your Internet connection working at its best?'
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has added three new videos to its telco tips series focusing on the factors inside your home that can affect how your broadband works.
Source: iTWire
Kogan lowers NBN prices, but is Vodafone still better value?
Kogan Internet has lowered its prices to be a smidgeon below Vodafone's newly lowered prices, but with Vodafone offering 4G back-up, Vodafone wins the better value battle despite Kogan's cheaper pricing.
Source: iTWire
NBN robocall scam threatens to disconnect internet, demands financial details
A phone scam claiming to be from the National Broadband Network ramps up in Queensland, with one woman harassed eight times in the past three days.
Source: ABC News