Broadband News

Thu, 19th Apr 2018

Latest NBN lottery reveals which Australian homes will receive new FTTC connection

NBN Co updates its website to reveal which Australians are to be recipients of its fast, new fibre-to-the-curb connections. Find out if you're one of them.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 18th Apr 2018

Optus Wholesale adds FTTC to NBN portfolio

Optus Wholesale has begun offering fibre to the curb (FTTC) connections as part of its Residential Broadband over NBN (RBBoNBN) product.

Source: Computerworld

'Urgent reforms' needed for auDA: Fifield

auDA's current management framework is 'no longer fit for purpose', Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has said while releasing a plethora of recommendations and new terms of endorsement.

Source: ZDNet Australia

.au change put off; govt orders auDA to meet review terms

The .au Domain Administration, the organisation that administers the Australian domain namespace, says it has put off changes in domain suffixes to .au until the second half of 2019 at the earliest, following a government review finding that the current management framework was no longer fit for purpose.

Source: iTWire

Fifield claims TIO figures give skewed picture of telco issues

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has questioned the manner in which the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has calculated the percentage rise of complaints relating to services deliver over the national broadband network.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 17th Apr 2018

More FTTC for NBN still a possibility, Morrow says

NBN CEO Bill Morrow says the company is “very well focused” on seeing how it continue to cut the cost of fibre to the curb, leaving open the possibility that the company will pursue a broader rollout of FTTC.

Source: Computerworld

Optus mum on rumours of moving Virgin Mobile users to its platform

Australia's second biggest telco Optus is unwilling to comment on what it characterises as "rumour and speculation" that it will be moving all customers of its Virgin Mobile subsidiary to its own platform and retiring the brand.

Source: iTWire

NBN: Queensland govt calls for more FTTC, FTTP and less FTTN

The Queensland government has called on NBN to increase its use of fibre to the premises (FTTP) and fibre to the curb (FTTC, also known as fibre to the distribution point or FTTdp) and decrease its use of fibre to the node (FTTN).

Source: Computerworld

Darren's NBN service was so bad he went back to his old cable internet

The technician switched on Darren Haymes' new NBN service, walked out the door and suddenly his family couldn't get onto the internet for six weeks. After four months of problems, he was put back onto his old Telstra cable internet.

Source: ABC News

Majority of NBN complaints land at RSPs' doorsteps

​Complaints about services delivered over the NBN from July to December 2017 totalled 22,827, according to newly released industry figures.

Source: ARN

NBN complaints keep going up

Complaints about NBN services look set to easily pass the mark set last financial year, though NBN Co says they represent far fewer problems it has to deal with directly.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 16th Apr 2018

Qld govt frets over NBN-powered roadside phones

The Queensland government is seeking assurances over how DSL and ISDN lines that connect roadside cabinets and emergency phones are to be upgraded under the NBN.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co says one million have upgraded to faster nbn speeds in last four months

So much for politicians suggesting 25Mbps would be enough, with NBN Co reporting the number of Australian homes and business connected to higher speed nbn plans "has more than doubled with new figures revealing more than one million people have upgraded their internet speeds in the last four months."

Source: iTWire

NBN Co has 'under 500' congested fixed wireless cells

NBN Co has confirmed the number of fixed wireless cells that it classifies as congested is somewhere “less than 500” nationwide.

Source: iTnews Australia

Rowland swipes at Turnbull over NBN cost claims

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been accused of citing incorrect figures, about the Labor Party's expenditure on the national broadband network, during a radio interview last week.

Source: iTWire

NBN attempts to push speeds higher with new pricing

Congestion has dropped in the last year from seven hours down to just 18 minutes per week, NBN has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co preps new pricing for May launch

NBN Co is getting set to start selling services under its new wholesale pricing options from May.

Source: ARN

Fri, 13th Apr 2018

NBN Co reveals range for evening congestion among RSPs

NBN Co has given a better indication of the difference in user experiences across its network as retail service providers’ connectivity virtual circuit purchases are exposed.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 12th Apr 2018

Kogan launches fixed-line NBN service

The latest step into telco services taken by Kogan.com is its low-cost NBN service which has been launched today in collaboration with Vodafone Hutchison Australia.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co raised scrapping HFC with govt two years ago

NBN Co took an informal proposition to the government to scrap HFC in favour of fibre-to-the-curb around two years ago, but did not receive any further “directive” to pursue it.

Source: iTnews Australia

Kogan NBN service goes live

Kogan Internet has launched its NBN service off the back of Vodafone's offering, with plans maxing out at less than AU$90 per month for download speeds of 100Mbps and unlimited data.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN creates new tech channel with official program launch

NBN Co has unveiled a dedicated new technology channel across Australia, targeting partners, vendors and distributors to increase network uptake.

Source: ARN

Wed, 11th Apr 2018

The truth behind Optus' ‘unlimited' mobile data offer

Consumers are being warned to read the fine print after Optus began inviting select customers to sign up to a mobile plan that claims to offer "unlimited" data, but comes with some caveats.

Source: SMH

Vodafone predicts mobile substitution pain for NBN Co

Vodafone Australia has unveiled a study that claims 39 percent of Australian fixed broadband users could switch to mobile in future, a substitution rate well above NBN Co's expectations.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 10th Apr 2018

Proposed rule would stop NBN retailers charging for speeds they can’t deliver

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has unveiled its latest tranche of proposed regulations designed to protect consumers during the migration to the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

Basslink subsea cable out until late May

Following third-party damage to its subsea cable last month, Basslink has pushed out the repair date from late mid April to late May while it repairs and re-pressurises the cable.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACMA releases new NBN migration rules

The ACMA's new rules will require line tests on NBN services, reconnecting customers to legacy services where the NBN is unusable, providing minimum information to consumers, and reporting complaints data to the ACMA.

Source: ZDNet Australia

TPG could displace Optus, Vodafone within five years

TPG could be Australia's number two telco in five years and number one within a decade, entrepreneur Bevan Slattery has predicted.

Source: iTnews Australia

Questions raised over NBN Co’s 5G trials

“Is NBN now planning to build a mobile network?” Labor’s Shadow Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, asks.

Source: ARN

Labor opposes call to break up NBN

Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland says that although the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s recent telecommunications market study was “certainly useful in parts”, Labor did not agree with the ACCC’s recommendation that NBN should be prepared for being broken up into separate businesses.

Source: Computerworld