Broadband News
Wed, 11th Oct 2017
Where next for the NBN?
ITPA Australia’s Robert Hudson gives his view on the 23 recommendations outlined in by parliament’s NBN committee in its latest report
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 10th Oct 2017
Foxtel tweaks broadband prices
Foxtel has tweaked its broadband packages to offer lower prices in some cases, and more options in others, with the company also offering NBN connections on HFC.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co goes local with new customer service team
NBN Co, the builders of the National Broadband Network, has boosted its team servicing regional and remote communities with the appointment of a dedicated team aimed at improving the customer experience on its access network.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 09th Oct 2017
Foxtel launches NBN service across HFC network
Foxtel has added HFC services to its fibre to the node, building, and premises NBN offerings, with packages including unlimited downloads at speeds of 25/5Mbps.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC shelves changes to NBN T&Cs
The ACCC has shelved planned updates to the core regulatory agreement governing how services are supplied over the NBN, pending the outcome of ongoing pricing discussions between NBN Co and its main internet service providers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Pricing uncertainty makes ACCC press pause on key NBN agreement
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says that won’t make a decision on changes proposed by NBN to the company’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU), at least for now.
Source: Computerworld
Fri, 06th Oct 2017
NBN Co pursues more physical HFC node splits
NBN Co will set up an internal program to increase the number of physical node splits being performed on parts of its HFC network.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Says Our Internet Isn't Really Worse Than Kenya's
The Akamai State of the Internet Report recently revealed that Kenya is getting 12.2Mbps as an average fixed-broadband internet speed.
Source: Gizmodo
Suppliers see different side of NBN rural rollout
NetComm Wireless, Qualcomm, and ViaSat have all lauded NBN's capacity to collaborate with its tech partners to push the infrastructure project to technology limits across fixed-wireless, satellite, and fibre to the curb.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mobile domestic roaming: An explainer
Vodafone is continuing to fight the regulator in court over its decision due later in October -- but would a mobile domestic roaming declaration increase or decrease competition for consumers?
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone announces changes to declining brand
After slipping 20 places on a global branding ladder in the past year, Vodafone has announced an upcoming change to the Vodafone brand positioning globally and in Australia, the first such change the company says since 2009.
Source: iTWire
'We've Got This in Hand': Malcolm Turnbull Slammed For Brushing Aside NBN Concerns
This morning our PM was on the radio, having a chat about the NBN - as you do - and when asked about the rollout (and its many issues) Turnbull replied with, "I think we’ve got this in hand".
Source: Gizmodo
Thu, 05th Oct 2017
Even govt MPs are now criticising NBN, says Labor
The Labor Party's communications spokesperson Michelle Rowland has taken aim at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the national broadband network rollout, pointing out that criticism of the network is now coming from his own side of politics.
Source: iTWire
Telstra to combat NBN Co's move into public safety
Telstra has revealed plans to build and test a “data exchange” for emergency services as part of a wider bid to build its presence in public safety over the next three years.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 04th Oct 2017
NBN launches new Sky Muster plans with more data
NBN's satellite service is now offering RSPs the chance to provide customers with double the data allowance, capped at 300GB per month separated into peak and off-peak usage.
Source: ZDNet Australia
New nbn Sky Muster plans offer up to 300GB monthly data
Retailers are now selling new, larger capacity nbn Sky Muster plans, promising "better value broadband for the bush" at peak and off peak times.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co cuts energy used by PoIs, FTTN nodes
NBN Co has raised the ambient temperature inside its aggregation nodes and found a way to automatically switch off unused line cards in node cabinets under a broader push to reduce energy costs across the network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 03rd Oct 2017
Vocus shuffles boardroom lineup amid class action spectre
M2 co-founder, Vaughan Bowen, replaces longtime Vocus chairman, David Spence, in the company’s new boardroom lineup.
Source: ARN
Fri, 29th Sep 2017
Telstra's 20-year USO deal savaged by auditor
An explosive audit has questioned the value for money and “net public benefit” of a 20-year contract handed to Telstra for the provision of standard telephony services to Australians.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN inquiry demands drastic refocus of broadband project
A joint federal inquiry into the NBN wants a drastic overhaul of the project, including an independent audit, better information, and a “minimum” of fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) in the rest of the fixed-line footprint.
Source: iTnews Australia
Belong Mobile launches Telstra 4G services
New MVNO Belong Mobile is providing customers with two mobile plans focusing on data, serving 95 percent of the Australian population with 4G and 98 percent with 3G via Telstra's network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone to upgrade cell sites with massive MIMO
Vodafone is set to begin upgrading selected cell sites at the end of next year with new antennas capable of a minimum three-fold increase in site capacity.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone to deploy 4G Massive MIMO in 2018
Vodafone Australia is this week undertaking Massive MIMO trials across its live network, with plans to deploy the technology allowing speeds of around 600Mbps across cities at the end of next year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 28th Sep 2017
Fresh fault found on SEA-ME-WE3 subsea cable
A submarine cable repair crew has identified a fresh instance of damage to the insulation of the SEA-ME-WE3 subsea telecommunications cable which connects Perth to Asia.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus pushes 4G to 800Mbps with Massive MIMO and 3CC
Optus has told ZDNet that it has completed trials of Massive MIMO and three-cell carrier aggregation, attaining speeds of over 800Mbps on its live 4G network in Macquarie Park in partnership with Huawei.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC did not deny Vodafone natural justice: Telstra
Vodafone Australia was not deprived of natural justice as shown through its 'comprehensive submissions' to the ACCC's wholesale domestic mobile roaming inquiry, Telstra has argued in court.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN pushing its unified security model for wider adoption
NBN's chief security officer is urging organisations in Australia to give one individual responsibility across all things security, just like his company has done.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Launtel launches first Hobart gigabit Internet
Tasmanian-owned telco Launtel has officially launched its Blue Ocean gigabit NBN Internet service promising “lightning fast” services connecting the State with the global gigabit economy.
Source: iTWire
Vodafone, ACCC meet in court for mobile roaming stoush
Lawyers representing Vodafone, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Telstra appeared in Federal Court in Sydney yesterday in a fight over the ACCC’s inquiry into mobile roaming.
Source: Computerworld
Wed, 27th Sep 2017
NBN places spending cap on business products
NBN has announced a spend cap for business-grade products as a replacement for its Business Ethernet product slated to launch later this year, allowing RSPs to bundle enterprise services together.
Source: ZDNet Australia