Broadband News
Mon, 12th Feb 2018
NBN Co 'open' to alternative use of its 5G spectrum
NBN Co says it is “open” to discussions on how its valuable 3.5GHz spectrum holdings could be opened to commercial 5G use.
Source: iTnews Australia
Losses mount as NBN network rollout continues
The national broadband network comes at an increasing cost to Australian taxpayers, with massive losses continuing to mount as the rollout grinds towards a scheduled completion by 2020.
Source: iTWire
No changes to HFC in NBN rollout plan, says Morrow
Despite the fact that a number of suburbs which were marked down to get the national broadband network via HFC cable have had a quiet change of technology, NBN Co head honcho Bill Morrow says that there is no change in the HFC rollout.
Source: iTWire
Still no end date for NBN Co HFC sales halt
NBN Co chief, Bill Morrow, has revealed there is still no firm date from which it will begin taking new orders for its HFC network.
Source: ARN
NBN expecting 1.2m people on 50Mbps speeds by mid year
NBN has announced that it is expecting to have up to 1.6 million premises on speeds of 50Mbps or above by June thanks to discounting the wholesale pricing of higher speed tiers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co expects seven-fold growth in 50Mbps users by June
NBN Co is predicting it will have more than 1.2 million premises on 50Mbps plans by June, seven times more than at the end of 2017.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN's HFC Network Is Costing Taxpayers A Whole Lot More Than Anyone Ever Imagined
Late last year NBN announced an immediate halt to any new Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial connections while it worked on "improving the service for existing customers", a move which was tipped to cost taxpayers between $420 to $790 million, according to NBN's own figures. Today, NBN's half yearly result showed an increase of $450 million in costs to the HFC network - an increase that Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says isn't even including the costs of the "halt".
Source: Gizmodo
NBN reveals surge in higher-speed plans
NBN has announced a surge in end users on its 50 megabits per second speed tier, with the company today revealing that it expects 1.1 million additional end-users to have 50/20Mbps broadband services by June.
Source: Computerworld
Fri, 09th Feb 2018
Telstra threatened with lawsuit over third-party billing cancellation
ASX-listed mobile marketing and carrier billing company Impelus has promised to take Telstra to court over its decision to stop allowing subscription-based content providers to charge for their products from the telco's bills.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 08th Feb 2018
Optus rolls out smart cells for Sydney botanic garden
Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden and Domain are banking on Optus' small cells and ENE-HUB's smart pole designs to bring 4G coverage, free Wi-Fi, and digital services to the area.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN capacity purchase increase leads to 1.53Mbps per user
Five RSPs have now connected to all 121 NBN points of interconnect, with the ACCC also recording a marginal increase per user in CVC capacity purchased from 1.11Mbps to 1.53Mbps.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus adds 'record' 127k mobile customers
Optus has announced net profit of AU$262 million for the quarter on revenue of AU$2.33 billion, with the telco attributing this to the addition of 127,000 post-paid mobile customers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus Business sees revenue fall
Optus Business saw a year-on-year decline in revenue for the quarter ending December 2017, according to the latest financial report by parent company, Singtel.
Source: ARN
ACCC optimistic on consumer benefits as retailers vie for NBN services
Telstra continues to dominate the market for services on the NBN, well ahead of all other telcos, with just under half of the services nationally and an even greater share in regional Australia.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co sees first major CVC increase
NBN Co has seen its first major movement in the amount of connectivity virtual circuit being bought by RSPs, coinciding with the launch of a new temporary price construct.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN resellers finally start buying more bandwidth
The ACCC has revealed a 38 per cent increase in NBN CVC acquired by resellers for the three months ending December.
Source: ARN
Warner Bros chases Netflix with film streaming pilot
American entertainment giant Warner Bros is dipping its toes into on-demand content in Australia through a partnership with ASX-listed video technology start-up Linius Technologies.
Source: iTnews Australia
30% to abandon NBN for wireless: ALP report claim
A new ACCC co-funded survey has been cited by the Australian Labor Party as showing that 30% of households could abandon the NBN and switch to wireless broadband. The number stands in in stark contrast to NBN Co projections.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 07th Feb 2018
Kogan Mobile launches $7.90, 32GB 'first-recharge' deal for new customers
Fierce 'everything' competitor, Kogan, has slashed all of its 30-day SIM-only deals to $7.90 for the first recharge, with the standout feature a massive 32GB for the first recharge.
Source: iTWire
New NBN exec to oversee enterprise push
NBN has announced that Paul Tyler will lead its business sales and marketing division.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co poaches Telstra business group exec
NBN Co has poached Telstra’s group managing director for business to head up its own business operations.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN take-up dips as low as 39 percent
NBN Co is seeing take-up in some of its worst-performing areas between 15 percent and 35 percent below forecasts - and the key question the company is trying to answer now is why.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 06th Feb 2018
Telstra, TPG, Vocus begin trialling NBN enterprise products
NBN is planning to launch its Enterprise Ethernet product by Q3 this year, with Telstra, TPG, and Vocus now trialling the symmetrical 1Gbps service designed for government and large business customers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co's 5G spectrum price blown away at auction
The government will face renewed pressure this year over prized 5G spectrum that is parked with NBN Co at a fraction of its commercial value.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 05th Feb 2018
Village Roadshow accuses Google of demonstrably 'facilitating crime'
Film producer believes it would be squished by Google's lawyers, but wants the option to sue to remain available thanks to a lack of safe harbour for service providers in Australia.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co cuts $184m deal for enterprise satellite service
NBN Co will offer enterprise services on its Sky Muster satellites from early 2019, the network builder has revealed.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra opens 5G Innovation Centre
Telstra on Monday opened an innovation centre where it will test next-generation mobile technologies in Australian conditions to support the early commercial deployment of 5G services across the country.
Source: ARN
Fri, 02nd Feb 2018
Telstra writes off $500 million investment in video-streaming business Ooyala
Ooyala was supposed to be Telstra's ticket to become a global technology giant, but now it looks like another value destroyer for the struggling telco.
Source: ABC News
Optus aims for 5G fixed wireless rollout in 2019
Optus plans to commence the rollout of a 5G fixed line service in Australia by early 2019, starting with key metropolitan areas.
Source: ARN
Optus to offer fixed wireless over 5G
Optus has fired a warning shot at NBN Co, unveiling plans to offer high-speed fixed wireless services in key metro areas based on 5G technology.
Source: iTnews Australia