Broadband News
Tue, 23rd Jan 2018
Is NBN Co planning to drop HFC from rollout plans?
Is the NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, planning to drop HFC altogether from its multi-technology mix that it adopted after 2013 for the network?
Source: iTWire
Pacific islands sign on for NEXT subsea cable
Southern Cross Cables has announced signing on Fintel in Fiji, Teletok in Tokelau, and BwebwerikiNET in Kiribati to its 60Tbps NEXT subsea cable system between Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 22nd Jan 2018
Vodafone's lower nbn prices mean new battles now to win consumers
Price wars: a new hope for lower nbn prices, striking back against an empire of expensive telcos to ensure a return of the happy customer - can Vodafone's lower prices awaken consumer interest?
Source: iTWire
Vocus bumps capacity on domestic links ahead of ASC debut
Vocus is upgrading its domestic network infrastructure ahead of the completion of the Australia Singapore Cable (ASC).
Source: Computerworld
Vocus claims early customer demand for Australia-Singapore Cable
Australia's fourth biggest telecommunications company Vocus is currently upgrading core domestic infrastructure to support what it says is the early customer demand for the Australia Singapore Cable, as the project draws closer to being ready for service.
Source: iTWire
Vocus updating networks ahead of ASC
Vocus is adding 8TBps of capacity to its domestic core networks between Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth ahead of the Australia-Singapore Cable being ready for service.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra invests in US-HK subsea route
Telstra has invested in two new subsea cable systems connecting the US west coast with Hong Kong.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra backs two more subsea cables
Telstra will support two new subsea cables being built to connect Hong Kong with the West Coast of the US, in addition to supporting the Indigo submarine cable system announced last year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 19th Jan 2018
NBN speeds: Mitch Fifield lives in another universe
The old argument over what came first — the chicken or the egg — has been regurgitated in a somewhat different way by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield. Only his arguments revolve around speed and the cost of NBN subscriptions.
Source: iTWire
NBN retailers show signs of competing on quality
Retail service providers are starting to show considerable variances in the minimum peak performance of NBN services, with ranges of up to 18Mbps now being reported.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 18th Jan 2018
Hawaiki subsea cable reaches halfway point
Hawaiki's 15,000km, 43.8Tbps subsea cable connecting Australia and New Zealand with the west coast of the United States is now past its halfway point.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vocus eyes rollout of new Pacific subsea cable
Vocus has won a contract from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for a scoping study into the rollout of a new cable connecting Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Source: Computerworld
Greens critical of govt response to NBN panel report
The Coalition Government's response to the NBN Joint Standing Committee report shows how "clueless and careless" it is about the need for a proper broadband network which can be used for business, study, work and everyday tasks, the Australian Greens claim.
Source: iTWire
Mobile network operators urged to prepare for post-NBN world
Mobile network operators should take a leadership role in the inevitable transformation of their industry as mobile and fixed networks slowly move towards bridging the divide between them, a leading telecommunications analyst says.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 17th Jan 2018
Only a quarter of fibre-to-the-node NBN connections will reach 100Mbps
A former NBN executive describes fibre-to-the-node connections as an obsolete technology that will "never deliver the speeds expected by consumers".
Source: ABC News
Tue, 16th Jan 2018
Govt refuses to budge on MTM NBN
The government has unsurprisingly panned a highly critical report on the NBN, confirming it won’t mandate fibre-to-the-curb for the rest of the rollout nor commision an independent audit of the project.
Source: iTnews Australia
Govt dismisses call to mandate more fibre in NBN rollout
The Govt slaps down a Parliamentary recommendation to mandate greater use of FttC and FttP in the remainder of the NBN rollout.
Source: ARN
NBN copper purchase total sits at 16,600 kilometres
Over the five months since its last updated number, NBN has purchased a further 1,600km of copper.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Inside Telstra's effort to slash NBN complaint wait times
Telstra is overhauling the technology that underpins its management of NBN fault complaints to a single, cloud-based platform that will eventually serve the telco’s entire assurance business.
Source: iTnews Australia
Nokia, Optus seal 5-year network deal
Nokia and Optus have inked a five-year agreement under which Nokia will manage and maintain key components of Optus' network infrastructure, operations and field maintenance.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co says one in four FTTN lines can go over 100Mbps
NBN Co expects just 24 percent of fibre-to-the-node lines will be capable of wholesale speeds of 100Mbps or more by the end of the rollout in 2020.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 15th Jan 2018
Kogan.com in a 'brilliant position' for NBN: Ruslan Kogan
Having never undertaken a large fixed-line infrastructure spend, Ruslan Kogan says his company is in a better position than most to offer 'incredibly attractive' services, especially with NBN currently focused on repairing customer experience issues.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN pillar goes missing
An NBN pillar has gone missing from a North Fremantle nature strip, forcing technicians to completely replace it in order to reconnect 167 affected premises.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus accidentally blocks all bit.ly links
Optus accidentally blocked all its users from accessing websites through the bit.ly URL shortener whilst trying to block a phishing email on Monday morning.
Source: iTnews Australia
Almost 60,000 Aussies caught up in NBN speed claim action
Nearly 60,000 Australians are due to receive compensation from the country’s largest telco over misleading NBN speed claims.
Source: ARN
Write-down of NBN firmly on the cards: Budde
A write-down of the national broadband network is now firmly on the cards after the competition watchdog joined the chorus supporting it, according to telecommunications analyst Paul Budde.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 12th Jan 2018
Telstra CEO: 2018 will be big for 5G
The rollout of commercial 5G networks could begin in 2019 if standardisation and technologies are set during 2018, Telstra CEO Andy Penn has said, adding that Telstra is a world leader in the space.
Source: ZDNet Australia
The fastest NBN speed plan is falling out of favour
The highest-speed plan on the national broadband network is becoming a tough sell for telecommunications companies amid concerns the risks and costs are outweighing the benefits.
Source: SMH
CES 2018: Telstra NB-IoT network now live
Telstra has used CES 2018 to announce the launch of its NB-IoT network across all capital and major regional cities in Australia.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Dropping silent line charges good for consumers: ACCAN
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says Telstra’s decision to remove charges for telephone users who want to use its silent line services will lead to better consumer outcomes and privacy protections for customers.
Source: iTWire