Broadband News

Mon, 04th Jun 2018

Tackling trolls begins with understanding them

Online abuse is a social problem that just happens to be powered by technology. There are many ways we can make online spaces kinder, from simple design changes to a shift in online social norms, writes Renee Barnes.

Source: ABC News

Fri, 01st Jun 2018

Optus seeks compensation from Telstra over 'unlimited' campaign

Optus is seeking to establish what losses it has incurred from Australia's incumbent telco running its 'unlimited' advertising campaign.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN retail prices are starting to rise

Optus is the first major retailer to raise the price of its entry-level NBN services, a decision the rest of the industry is likely to have to confront over coming months.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vocus customer's system hacked, used to swamp triple-zero service

Australia's triple-zero service was hit by a malicious attack last weekend, with up to 600 calls at a time made through a customer of telco Vocus, with the attacker flooding the number during three short periods between 6.09am and 7.55am.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 31st May 2018

Australian shoppers to be blocked from Amazon's US site

The online retail giant will prevent Australian consumers from accessing its global sites to counter new laws to force it to collect the good and services tax on transactions.

Source: ABC News

​Amazon to block Aussies from global marketplace

From July 1, 2018, overseas retailers selling goods to Australia will be liable to pay GST on items under AU$1,000, so Amazon has decided to pull out of selling to customers down under from its global marketplace.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co details ICT channel program

NBN Co has released details on the structure of its ICT channel program, which was launched in April.

Source: ARN

Telstra pit fire not caused by lightning, RFS finds

Fire investigators have ruled out a lightning strike as the cause of a blackened Telstra pit in regional NSW earlier this month that disrupted Triple Zero emergency calls.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 30th May 2018

Court backs Optus after Telstra's

​The Supreme Court of Victoria has found that Optus did not engage in a misleading or deceptive conduct over its "empires end" advertisement.

Source: ARN

Optus to stop selling Virgin Mobile services by mid-June

Optus has revealed it will stop selling Virgin Mobile Australia services as of 15 June with all the retail stores under its outgoing Virgin Mobile brand to be closed by the end of June.

Source: ARN

Optus to shut all Virgin Mobile stores by end of June

Optus is set to close all of Virgin Mobile’s retail stores by the end of June this year, with the telco providing more details on its planned closure and integration of the subsidiary brand.

Source: iTnews Australia

New ASIC guidelines for web blocking awaiting legal sign-off

Guidance for Australian Securities and Investments Commission staff on the use of Section 313 (3) of the Telecommunications Act to block Australians' access to particular websites or online services are currently in draft form and awaiting sign-off from ASIC’s legal office, some 10 months after the government issued whole-of-government guidelines.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co: pay is hardly a reflection of performance

The news that the staff at NBN Co are paid handsomely from the public purse comes in the same week that a study showed chief executives' pay in the US to be up to 5000 times that of an average worker in the companies they headed.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co accountability pledge by Labor if it regains power

The Australian Labor Party has pledged to make NBN Co, the company rolling out the national broadband network, more accountable to consumers if it gets back into power at the next federal election.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 29th May 2018

NBN remediating 3Mbps fixed-wireless cells

NBN is remediating nine congested fixed-wireless cells that provide speeds of just 3Mbps to users during peak periods, adding that it has seen greater uptake than expected across fixed-wireless and satellite.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Melbourne ISP launches NBN challenger in Queensland

Melbourne-based internet service provider Binary Networks has revealed its fixed wireless broadband service being offered in South-West Queensland.

Source: ARN

Optus to cut 400 staff

Optus is set to make around 400 roles redundant in a bid to “remove duplication” and reduce its operating costs.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 28th May 2018

Telstra moves on Geelong train tunnel mobile coverage

As part of the Victorian government's Regional Rail Connectivity Project, Telstra will install cabling, antennas, and base stations to improve train tunnel mobile coverage.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra to begin work on mobile coverage in Geelong rail tunnel

Telstra will begin working next month on the provision of mobile coverage in the Geelong rail tunnel, the company said in a statement today. A critical part of the work is expected to be completed by the end of June.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co turns to RSPs for new wholesale bundle pricing

NBN Co is gearing up to introduce new wholesale bundle pricing for fixed wireless services and its entry-level, low-usage broadband offering.

Source: ARN

NBN to overhaul fixed-wireless pricing

NBN is looking to simplify its two-part wholesale pricing charge for fixed-wireless, as well as consulting on a new fixed-wireless product that 'better aligns to the capability of the network'.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co: the money is good, the results aren't

The NBN Co pays its staff handsomely, figures revealed ahead of Senate estimates hearings last week show, with 8% of its 6044 staff taking home more than $200,000.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 25th May 2018

That’s all folks: NBN currently has no plans for more FTTC

NBN’s chief executive, Bill Morrow, says the company is not currently contemplating expanding the number of premises connected using fibre to the curb (FTTC).

Source: Computerworld

'We killed it': NBN boss dumps top-speed plans for hundreds of thousands of customers

The company rolling out the National Broadband Network axes the idea of providing maximum-speed plans to over 300,000 potential customers, announcing it is dumping plans to provide 100 megabit per second speeds on its fixed wireless network.

Source: ABC News

Comms union slams Optus over Virgin Mobile job cuts

The news that Optus will be axing 200 jobs across Australia due to its decision to phase out its subsidiary Virgin Mobile over the next two years has been described as "a devastating blow to workers".

Source: iTWire

Thu, 24th May 2018

NBN rips up 100Mbps fixed-wireless plans

Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) company has killed off its plans to offer a 100/40Mbps fixed-wireless product, with NBN CEO Bill Morrow telling Senate Estimates on Thursday there is no economic case for it.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co kills 100Mbps on fixed wireless

NBN Co has “killed” off plans to offer 100Mbps services on its fixed wireless network so it can concentrate on meeting its minimum performance obligations.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus eyes staff redeployment as it phases out Virgin Mobile brand

​Optus is working to find employment opportunities for Virgin Mobile Australia staff in other parts of its business as it moves to phase out the Virgin brand over the next two years.

Source: ARN

Optus will progressively close Virgin Mobile

Optus is set to phase out its Virgin Mobile brand over the next two years and will contact customers “in the coming days” to outline their options.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 23rd May 2018

Telstra 'unlimited' mobile network ads banned by court

Telstra's 'unlimited' mobile network advertising campaign has been found to be misleading and deceptive conduct under a Federal Court decision, with an injunction preventing it from continuing the ads.

Source: ZDNet Australia