Broadband News

Tue, 03rd Jul 2018

NBN changes to combat fixed-wireless congestion

NBN is looking to increase its maximum microwave hub site backhaul bandwidth from 900Mbps to 4Gbps, as well as capping the number of premises in a fixed-wireless sector to 56.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Foxtel turns to data to keep its customers

Foxtel is using decisioning software to help it retain particularly high value customers as it defends against higher churn rates caused by the encroachment of new competitors including Netflix.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 02nd Jul 2018

Decimal points are hard: NBN says regional rollout almost complete

Update: NBN has said just 4 percent of non-metro premises are currently in design, as opposed to the 44 percent previously stated.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Superloop prepares for NBN retail play

Superloop’s retail arm, Superbb, will activate its first NBN Point of Interconnect (POI) this month, the company has revealed.

Source: Computerworld

Father of the Internet Vint Cerf: IPv4 was never the ‘production version’

Back in the ’70s, researchers in the US Defence Department’s internetworking program needed to decide how much address space computers on “this Internet thing” were going to need.

Source: Computerworld

Fri, 29th Jun 2018

SBS World Cup deal a disaster for Optus, but Christmas in July for football fans

SBS' acquisition of every single remaining game of the 2018 World Cup is a gift from heaven for football fans, the deal of the century for the public broadcaster and a complete disaster for Optus, writes Tracey Holmes.

Source: ABC News

What's New On Stan, Netflix, Hayu, Foxtel And Amazon For July

From The Fast and the Furious to 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fast & Furious to The Fast and the Furious. Tokyo Drift - and of course, Fast Five. Here's just a taste of what Netflix, Hayu, Stan and Amazon are streaming for the month of July.

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 28th Jun 2018

Vodafone revamps tablet and mobile broadband plans in win for customers

Vodafone has "revamped" its approach to tablets, no longer following the blood-sucking vampire telcos that lock devices to mobile services plans for two years.

Source: iTWire

Boost for football fans with all remaining World Cup games shown on SBS

SBS has agreed to show all remaining World Cup matches as Optus's struggles continue.

Source: ABC News

Macquarie Telecom signs $100M NBN Co wholesale deal

Macquarie Telecom has signed a deal with NBN Co to sell telecommunication and data services to businesses in Australia.

Source: ARN

Wed, 27th Jun 2018

NBN Co shows upgrade path thinking for almost all access techs

NBN Co has laid out a detailed roadmap and timeline of options to upgrade almost all last-mile access technologies barring fibre-to-the-node and satellite over the next five years.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vodafone boosting regional mobile coverage with rail connectivity

Vodafone is set to switch on its first new mobile site under the Victorian Government’s Regional Rail Connectivity Project (RRCP), giving train commuters and other Vodafone customers increased network coverage.

Source: iTWire

New Vodafone service lets customers ditch landline but keep number

Vodafone has unveiled a new offering for its NBN customers that allows them to dump their home phone service but keep the number.

Source: Computerworld

Union begins battle to save 9500 Telstra jobs

Communication Workers Union has kick-started a nationwide campaign to save 9500 jobs set to axed by Telstra during the next three years.

Source: ARN

Vodafone launches NBN Wi-Fi booster and new plans

Vodafone is dropping its upfront charges for customers switching to NBN services, as well as unveiling new plans with discounts for post-paid mobile customers and launching a Wi-Fi booster.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Inside NBN’s fibre to the curb rollout

Although it is still early days for the roll out of fibre to the curb, NBN says that its efforts to ensure a smooth migration process from the legacy copper network to FTTC has paid off when it comes to end user satisfaction.

Source: Computerworld

Tue, 26th Jun 2018

Fibre to the curb: How NBN is delivering its new network

NBN's new FttC rollout is far more complex and time-consuming than its FttN network, but is already showing higher speeds and better customer experience, the company has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Aussies may have lost interest in the NBN: study

A newly published study has questioned whether Australians have now lost interest in the National Broadband Network given the time it has taken to roll out the NBN nationally and the negative stories about disappointing speeds and connection issues.

Source: iTWire

Amaysim chief departs for Foxtel

Amaysim co-founder Peter O'Connell will be CEO on July 1, following the departure of current CEO and MD Julian Ogrin for Foxtel.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co's top user downloads 23.6TB a month

NBN Co has revealed that the top user on its network is pulling down 23.6 terabytes of data a month.

Source: iTnews Australia

Know your rights: threat of NBN broadband limbo still looms for many

Despite promises from the ACMA the majority of Australian homes could still end up without internet, or relying on mobile hotspots, if NBN installation fails.

Source: SMH

More woe for Optus as network hit by outage

If the saying that troubles come in threes has any validity, Australia's second biggest telco Optus had better watch. On Monday, its network was hit by an outage in Victoria to make it the second issue that the company has encountered over the last fortnight.

Source: iTWire

Decision on extending simulcast of World Cup only by weekend: Optus

Despite claiming that its network has held up well while streaming World Cup matches after the initial fiasco, Optus says it will not decide until the end of the week whether to simulcast the round of 16 and the quarter-finals on public broadcaster SBS.

Source: iTWire

Huawei has paid for more politicians' overseas travel than any other company

The Chinese telco giant is revealed as the biggest corporate sponsor of international travel for Australia's federal politicians, as an important decision about the nation's 5G future edges closer.

Source: ABC News

Mon, 25th Jun 2018

Labor plan no fix for systemic NBN, service issues: Greens

The Australian Labor Party's plans for a service guarantee for those who use Australia's national broadband network, the NBN, is of little use as it does not tackle the systemic issues dogging the network or improve the customer experience, the Australian Greens claim.

Source: iTWire

Vocus ups debt facility to AU$1.3b

Vocus will be able to carry out its 'strategic initiatives' thanks to a new syndicated debt facility of AU$1.27 billion and NZ$150 million.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Labor policy could see NBN face fines for failures

A Labor government will establish an NBN Service Guarantee that will potentially see households and small businesses compensated if problems aren’t resolved within specified timeframes.

Source: Computerworld

Sun, 24th Jun 2018

Labor pledges better NBN experience if it regains power

The Australian Labor Party has pledged to deliver a better experience for those consumers of Australia's national broadband network, the NBN, with a plan for an NBN Service Guarantee that sets standards for fixing faults, installations and missed appointments.

Source: iTWire

Labor wants to fine NBN Co for bad service

The federal opposition wants to create its own NBN service guarantee that would see NBN Co fined every time contractors missed appointments or made installation errors.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 22nd Jun 2018

New rule to stop households being left without broadband during NBN transition

New rules introduced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are designed to stop households being left without any access to telecommunications services when there are hiccups during their migration to the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld