Broadband News

Wed, 21st Mar 2018

Aussie data consumption soars as broadband prices fall

Real prices being paid for fixed broadband services fell almost 10 percent over the past financial year, according to consumer watchdog the ACCC.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra deploys 50 4G small cells in Melbourne CBD

Telstra has installed 4G small cells at 50 sites across the Melbourne CBD as part of a national three-year rollout of 1000 cells intended to boost capacity.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra completes small cell rollout in Melbourne

Telstra has increased its 4G network coverage across Melbourne's CBD via the installation of 50 small cells as part of the 1,000 sites that will be deployed over the next three years in preparation for 5G.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Competition drives greater value, price drops for mobile users: ACCC

Mobile is king and fixed line is fading fast, with consumers relying more and more on their mobile devices for voice calling, as mobile voice minutes rose by 7 billion in the 12 months to the end of the 2016-2017 financial year. And, competition has benefited consumers with price drops and better value for money, according to the competition regulator.

Source: iTWire

The ACCC fielded over 4,000 telco complaints in FY17

​The Australian consumer watchdog received 4,384 complaints and enquiries about the local communications industry in the financial year ending 2017.

Source: ARN

Tue, 20th Mar 2018

iiNet and Internode to compensate 11,000 NBN customers for slow speeds

The internet providers' admissions means about 70,000 customers in total have been promised fast NBN speeds but got less than they bargained for.

Source: ABC News

iiNet, Internode to compensate 11,000 users for slow NBN

iiNet and Internode are the latest internet service providers to offer compensation to customers over misleading marketing about NBN speeds.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG announces mobile sites in Sydney and Melbourne

TPG's mobile network builds across Singapore and Australia are on track, with the telco having installed sites in Sydney and Melbourne while it begins deploying more small cells in preparation for 5G.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Continued NBN headwinds hit TPG financials

​TPG's profit was down by 11.2 per cent, posting $199.9 million for the first half of the 2018 financial year.

Source: ARN

TPG prepares for mobile network trials, eyes 5G services

TPG expects to begin trials of its new Australian mobile network in the second half of 2018. The telco’s mobile network build is “well underway,” CFO Stephen Banfield today told a briefing on TPG’s first half results.

Source: Computerworld

Mon, 19th Mar 2018

No signs of damage to NBN after Cyclone Marcus

NBN is continuing to assess potential damage in the Northern Territory following Tropical Cyclone Marcus. However, early indications are that its network infrastructure has survived unscathed, according to a spokesperson for the company.

Source: Computerworld

Optus offers free service for Commonwealth Games athletes

Optus will offer a free service to all athletes at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games allowing them to speak to family and friends around the world via Wi-Fi and instore tablets at its store in the athletes' village.

Source: iTWire

Aussie Broadband unveils NBN CVC graphs

Aussie Broadband has published CVC usage graphs across all 121 NBN POIs for consumers to check traffic congestion and network management.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Missing: 200,000 dwellings from NBN Co's ready-to-connect category

About 200,000 homes and businesses which were classed as "ready to connect" in November 2017 by the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, have gone missing from this category of dwellings according to the company's own figures.

Source: iTWire

Aussie Broadband opens up CVC graphs to subscribers

Internet service provider Aussie Broadband has begun showing network traffic levels on all 121 NBN points of interconnect.

Source: iTWire

Labor raises HFC reliability as Foxtel reported to be ditching network

The Australian Labor Party has raised doubts about the reliability of the Telstra HFC cable network after it was reported that Foxtel would not be using HFC for transmission any more, but moving to satellite.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 16th Mar 2018

New rules to be introduced for handling NBN complaints

New rules to handle complaints about the NBN will take effect from June this year, the Australian Communications and Media Authority has announced.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 15th Mar 2018

Broken down by NBN technology: ACMA wants to publish telco complaints data

Proposed ACMA rules would force ISPs to respond to customers within a week and provide transparency into ISP complaints.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN customers left without internet, phone during transition

One in three households that try to switch their internet or phone services over to the NBN are left without connectivity during the process, with some waiting weeks for activation.

Source: iTnews Australia

Here’s what the Govt’s proposed NBN complaints handling rules mean for RSPs

NBN resellers may have to hold on to customer complaint records relating to network migrations for two years under proposed enforceable rules.

Source: ARN

Ombudsman greenlights ACMA proposed rules for telecoms consumer protection

Ahead of the imposition of new telecommunications consumer protection rules for NBN migration, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has revealed that residential consumers and small businesses made 27,195 complaints about telecoms services over the 12 months of the last financial year.

Source: iTWire

One third of households disconnected during NBN switch: ACMA

More than 10 percent of those without phone or internet service during the move to the NBN are without access for over a month.

Source: ZDNet Australia

A lot of people are pissed off about how NBN-related complaints are handled

The Australian Communications and Media Authority today announced that it is forging ahead with the introduction of new complaints-handling rules for telcos that offer services over the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

Drop-outs abound after NBN hook-up

​Almost half of the households surveyed by Australia’s telco regulator reported service drop-outs since connecting to the NBN.

Source: ARN

Wed, 14th Mar 2018

Telstra trials small cell tech to tame Tassie mobile black spots

In what is billed a Tasmanian first, Telstra has announced it would "trial the installation of small cell mobile technology on TasNetworks infrastructure to help fill some of Tasmania’s mobile black spots".

Source: iTWire

NBN plan marketing rules up for review this year

The ACCC will review its marketing guidelines for internet services this year, a move likely to lead to further adjustments in the way retail service providers apply the rules to their products.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 13th Mar 2018

NBN says individual lines have 1 percent chance of failure

Company releases new dashboard showing a number of metrics over the past year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra exposes more of NBN Co's fixed wireless woes

Telstra has revealed around half of NBN fixed wireless users on 12Mbps and 25Mbps plans see 40 percent or less of the speeds they pay for in the evening peak.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co claims end of the CVC bottleneck

NBN Co claims CVC-related congestion problems on its network have all but disappeared after the introduction of steeper discounts.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN reseller bandwidth buy-up sees network congestion plummet

Average NBN bandwidth congestion dropped to 12 minutes per week in February from nearly five hours last year as RSPs buy more capacity.

Source: ARN