Broadband News
Thu, 29th Mar 2018
Four big ISPs achieving good NBN speeds, says ACCC
The first report from the ACCC's broadband monitoring programme shows that NBN services from iiNet, Optus, Telstra and TPG are achieving between 80% and a little over 90% of the maximum plan speeds during the busy evening period.
Source: iTWire
NBN limitations blamed for poor performance on some services
The ACCC claims that limitations in the NBN access network are likely to be behind poor performance on up to five per cent of services.
Source: ARN
ACCC Reports: FTTN NBN Can't Hit Maximum Broadband Speeds
The rollout of the NBN has been "interesting". While early adopters of the originally planned FttH service have been happy with fast speeds, others who have been on the receiving end of the multi-technology mix have been subject to poor speeds, loss of services and poor technical support. This prompted the ACCC to take a more direct approach, launching a broadband speed testing program. The first results from that testing are in, and they suggest the recent legal actions and public comments are making a difference to broadband performance.
Source: Gizmodo
Wed, 28th Mar 2018
Two ships deployed as Australia-Singapore cable laying gets underway
Laying of the Australia-Singapore subsea cable has commenced, with two ships laying two distinct sections from near Christmas Island to Fremantle, and the other in shallow water between Singapore and Christmas Island.
Source: iTWire
Good NBN experience? You are needed by a PR flack
NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, appears to be tired of hearing the same old "NBN sucks" story and has launched a bid to convince the populace that the experience of using the network is a positive one.
Source: iTWire
Vodafone expands NBN footprint, partners with Netflix
Vodafone is expanding its NBN footprint to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth and Tasmania, the telco announced today.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 27th Mar 2018
Telstra fires up 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspot precinct
Telstra has established what it claims is the first precinct of 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots in the world on the Gold Coast.
Source: ARN
Vodafone sets sights on 5G mobile
Vodafone has showcased 5G or fifth generation mobile technology which it says is set to dramatically increase the speed at which data can navigate across mobile networks.
Source: iTWire
ACCC won’t reveal NBN capacity purchased by telcos
The Australian Competition and Consumer will release data that reveals that market share of smaller telcos that purchase access to NBN’s network. However it said today it had decided against revealing the ratio of NBN capacity (CVC) to number of end users across individual telcos.
Source: Computerworld
Retail scrap for NBN services to get clearer
The makeup of the NBN retail market will become a little more transparent as the ACCC prepares to reveal a longer list of internet providers and the number of active services they have.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 26th Mar 2018
Thousands of Telstra customers charged for content they didn't want
The telco is facing $10 million in penalties after admitting to misleading up to 100,000 customers, who were charged for content including ringtones and games, without having to enter payment details or verify their identity.
Source: ABC News
Telstra hauled before court over 'premium' mobile billing
Telstra is facing fines of $10 million and refunds to customers who lost money to third party content services that were charged to telephony bills.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 23rd Mar 2018
Dodo, iPrimus, Commander latest to compensate 5,800 NBN customers
Another 5,861 customers will be compensated for not receiving the NBN speeds they were paying for across Vocus' Dodo, iPrimus, and Commander brands.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Not willing to wait for NBN, I turned to fixed wireless. And I'm not alone.
With many in metropolitan areas stuck on ADSL and facing an unclear NBN timetable, providers of fixed wireless are moving in.
Source: SMH
Vocus latest telco to compensate customers for poor NBN speeds
Vocus, whose brands include iPrimus, Dodo and Commander, will compensate a number of its fibre to the node (FTTN) and fibre to the basement (FTTB) customers who were sold NBN services with maximum speeds that their lines were not capable of achieving.
Source: Computerworld
NBN announces 'simulated training' for contractors
The first of a series of NBN Network Simulated Labs has opened in TAFE NSW's Lidcombe site, with the facilities to provide training and assessment for external workers on network deployment, activation, and maintenance.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co to train field techs in simulation labs
NBN Co will open a number of simulated training facilities throughout the country to help train 2000 external workers in its fixed-line technologies.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 22nd Mar 2018
NBN node crushed by car twice in two weeks
NBN Co will consider permanently relocating an NBN node cabinet in Sydney's west that was taken out by a car accident for the second time in a fortnight.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra's USO phone services fall 22 percent
Telstra has seen the number of fixed-line phone services it provides under the universal service obligation fall by 22 percent since 2012.
Source: iTnews Australia
Solving NBN congestion with Juniper's network automation bots
Juniper Networks' OpenLab and network automation technology were leveraged by Telstra in developing its own CVC bots to help track NBN network congestion, Juniper APAC head Ralph Candiloro has told ZDNet.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Foxtel, Village renew push for search engines to hide pirate sites
Foxtel and Village Roadshow are using a public consultation on the operation of Australia’s website-blocking laws to urge that the anti-piracy scheme be expanded.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra Is Boosting 4G Coverage In Coverage Blackspots
Coverage blackspots, caused by buildings and other inference, are a major pain in the butt. Telstra is planning to improve their coverage footprint through the installation of 1000 "small cells" in the CBDs of major Australian cities. The project started in Tasmania, with Melbourne already receiving 50 of the small cells and other cities to follow.
Source: Gizmodo
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