Broadband News

Mon, 18th Jun 2018

ABC digital services would be hit by sell-off: claim

Digital services like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's iView program, which enables Australians to catch up on viewing programs they have missed, could be affected if the organisation is privatised as called for in a motion by federal council of the Liberal Party on Friday, the Australian Labor Party claims.

Source: iTWire

Almost half of all NBN users now on 50Mbps or faster

Of all NBN users, around 44 percent are now on speeds of 50Mbps and above, with 70 percent of all new customers now ordering across the higher speed tiers.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Has Telstra hit peak pessimism or has it got further to fall?

This week's strategy meeting gives Telstra a chance to arrest its tumbling fortunes and plug its $3bn revenue black hole caused by NBN's roll out, writes Stephen Letts.

Source: ABC News

Top tier NBN uptake continues to grow

​The sales of higher-speed wholesale NBN services continue to grow, but fixed-line network congestion also appears to be on the rise.

Source: ARN

NBN closes in on 4 million active services

The latest NBN monthly progress report reveals that as of May some 3.9 million households and businesses had active services on the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

Sun, 17th Jun 2018

Optus World Cup coverage again breaks down despite CEO's pledge to fix

Hours after Optus chief executive Allen Lew offers an apology for the telco's malfunctioning World Cup coverage and pledges to fix the issues, even more streaming issues render yet another game unwatchable for many.

Source: ABC News

How to fix Optus Sport’s catastrophic attempt at World Cup coverage

Avoid the dreaded #FloptusSport fail. The World Cup only comes once every four years but the long notice hasn’t seemed to give Optus enough time to provide a service that fulfils its one and only job – to display the World Cup on its World Cup app.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 15th Jun 2018

Optus leaves football fans raging as World Cup streaming fails to deliver

Having settled in to watch the first full night of World Cup action, Australian football fans are left raging at Optus as the telco's exclusive stream of Russia 2018 fails to deliver.

Source: ABC News

More than 1,000 buildings signed up to Adelaide's gigabit fibre network

More than 1,000 buildings have registered with Ten Gigabit Adelaide in order to get connected to the fibre-optic network being rolled out by TPG Telecom.

Source: ARN

Telstra confirms 2Gbps-capable 4G mobile network deployment this year

​Telstra has reiterated its plans to begin deploying 2 Gbps-enabled 4G network technology later this year.

Source: ARN

Telstra edges closer to 2Gbps peak speeds for 4G

Telstra is set to bring 2Gbps theoretical peak speeds to “high traffic” portions of its LTE network later this year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 14th Jun 2018

Labor endorses possible Huawei 5G ban as repeating its NBN ban

As the party in power when Huawei was banned from being involved in Australia's NBN, Shadow Minister for Defence Richard Marles has given a thumbs up to talk of the Chinese telecommunications giant being banned from 5G deployments.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Equinix to connect Vocus subsea cable in Australia and Singapore

Interconnection and data centre company Equinix has announced that the Australia Singapore Cable, owned by Vocus, will be accessible in its International Business Exchange date centres in Singapore and six Australian metropolitan cities.

Source: iTWire

Outback parent group calls for more reliable internet for families

Queensland's peak body helping isolated families in rural communities emphasise the need for reliable internet coverage in the bush.

Source: ABC News

Australia keeps Huawei out of Pacific subsea cable project

Australia has agreed to fund subsea internet cables and a cyber security centre for the Solomon Islands, forestalling plans by Chinese telecom giant Huawei that could have compromised Australian internet security.

Source: iTnews Australia

Huawei unlikely to get role in Australian 5G projects: report

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Telecommunications appears unlikely to be allowed to provide equipment for 5G networks in Australia, due to alleged national security concerns, a report claims.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 13th Jun 2018

Australia forks out millions to keep Huawei out of Pacific undersea cable project

​Australia has agreed to fund underwater internet cables and a cyber security centre for the Solomon Islands, forestalling plans by Huawei Technologies to lay the cables.

Source: ARN

Australia using foreign aid to lock Huawei out of PNG-Solomon Islands subsea cable

Around AU$200 million from Australia's foreign aid budget is being used to prevent Chinese telco equipment giant Huawei from building a subsea cable to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 12th Jun 2018

Superloop buys SkyMesh's NBN fixed-line users

Superloop has bought SkyMesh’s fixed-line NBN customer base and “relevant infrastructure” for $1.5 million.

Source: iTnews Australia

Superloop pays $1.5M for SkyMesh broadband customers

​Superloop has acquired the fibre broadband customer base of SkyMesh for $1.5 million.

Source: ARN

Telstra's 4GX-lite mobile satellite small-cell launches with first customer, 'bridging coverage gap'

Telstra's new 4GX-lite Mobile Satellite Small Cell offering has launched, offering "a new solution to help people living and working in some of Australia’s most remote places purchase their own coverage extension of the Telstra 4GX mobile service".

Source: iTWire

Mon, 11th Jun 2018

New NBN complaints rules better for consumers, industry: ACCAN

Telecommunications consumer interest group ACCAN says new complaints rules for consumers switching to Australia's national broadband network, the NBN, will give the regulator better tools to ensure improvements in complaint handling by the telco industry.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 08th Jun 2018

Mount Gambier expected to see growth due to NBN: claim

The national broadband network is expected to help in the setting up of 700 new businesses and aid in the creation of up to 2370 jobs in Mount Gambier, the company rolling out the network, the NBN Co, claims.

Source: iTWire

Poor ADSL speeds see QLD town telco providers to step up

​With almost 6,000 locals, Goondiwindi seems to have become the home of NBN challengers, with one business now claiming the spot as the first locally-owned fixed wireless ISP.

Source: ARN

Outages following cut Telstra cable set to roll into weekend

Thousands of fibre cables to be spliced after third party cut cable and took down thousands of broadband and NBN services.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 07th Jun 2018

Concerns raised over new NBN migration rules timeline

The Communications Alliance has judged as "virtually impossible" for teleco providers to be ready to abide by new industry rules when they come into effect.

Source: ARN

Western Australia wants 100Mbps minimum NBN speeds and CVC canned

Sandgropers call for triennial reviews of the definition of 'very fast broadband' in NBN's statement of expectations.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Cut Telstra cable leaves NSW customers without internet for more than 24 hours

A Telstra cable cut during civil works in suburban Sydney causes a state-wide internet outage for certain users, leaving some with the prospect of no connection until tomorrow morning.

Source: ABC News

25Mbps does not qualify as ‘very fast broadband’: WA govt

The Western Australian government has called for changes to the statement of expectations that governs the rollout of the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

NBN consultant unveiled as Labor candidate for Mayo

Telecommunications consultant and academic Reg Coutts, who helped set up the framework for the National Broadband Network, will contest the seat of Mayo for Labor.

Source: ABC News