Broadband News
Wed, 31st May 2017
NBN nears halfway point as 5 million premises ready for service
NBN has announced making 5 million out of 11.9 million premises ready for service, with Sydney's North Shore, Devonport, Coober Pedy, and Yarra Glen some of the areas made ready during the last few months.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN hits 5M milestone
The milestones are coming thick and fast for the NBN, with the rollout hitting five million premises ready for connection.
Source: ARN
Tue, 30th May 2017
Launceston RSP launches 1Gbps NBN for AU$1,000
Amid claims from RSPs that NBN's CVC pricing is too expensive to offer consumers 1Gbps services, Launtel has switched on gigabit speeds for Launceston businesses for approximately AU$1,000 per month.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 29th May 2017
Submarine cable for Sunshine Coast one step closer
The Sunshine Coast Council is funding a feasibility study for its proposal to land a submarine cable in the region.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra granted legal appeal over Brisbane pole position
Brisbane City Council looks as though it has lost pole position in a legal case against Telstra.
Source: ARN
Fri, 26th May 2017
Average FttN line capable of 68Mbps but will never hit 1Gbps: NBN
40 percent of Australia will not be capable of 1Gbps broadband speeds thanks to a combination of fibre-to-the-node, fixed-wireless, and satellite technologies, NBN CEO Bill Morrow has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co defends fixed wireless and SC0 growth
NBN Co has defended its decision to shift 62 towns from fibre-to-the-node to fixed wireless connections, arguing they could end up better off with higher possible speeds.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co promises more FTTC
NBN Co is set to announce a second expansion of its fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) rollout within weeks, marking its rapid propulsion as a replacement for fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) in the network.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co may lift Sky Muster's fair use limit
NBN Co is “quietly confident” that it will be able to lift the average peak hour usage limit on its Sky Muster satellite service.
Source: iTnews Australia
More FTTC in the works, NBN boss says
NBN’s chief executive Bill Morrow says that the company will be “making some announcements soon” about wider use of fibre to the curb (FTTC) technology for the National Broadband Network rollout.
Source: Computerworld
"NBN tax" set to be passed on to end users
The competition watchdog has granted permission for the proposed Regional Broadband Scheme charge to be passed on by telcos to end users.
Source: ARN
Thu, 25th May 2017
Metadata breach the only time journalist source records have been accessed: AFP
The Australian Federal Police bungled the only time it handled a journalist's metadata, with the feds asserting that they have never made any journalist warrant applications.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Number of homes in NBN limbo balloons
NBN Co has added more than 19,000 premises to its footprint over the past fortnight that are unable to connect to internet services, underlining its new strategy to skip homes that are too hard to connect until later in the rollout.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 24th May 2017
Telstra put up 'significant barriers' for blackspot collocation: Vodafone
Telstra's mobile blackspot program collocation specifications involved prohibitive cost and technical barriers, according to Vodafone, which prevented carriers from being able to share infrastructure.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 23rd May 2017
Telstra announces smart city plans for Western Australia
Telstra will install a series of smart city solutions across Joondalup, including sensors enabling smart parking, smart waste bins, and environmental monitoring at a beachside park.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Foxtel launches FttN and FttB NBN services
According to Foxtel, its NBN footprint has now doubled thanks to expanding into premises served by NBN's FttN and FttB connectivity options.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 22nd May 2017
NBN pricing not to blame for people choosing slow speeds: Morrow
NBN users are not ordering higher-speed services due to a lack of need, not because of NBN's pricing, CEO Bill Morrow has said, adding that speedier services would cost just AU$2 extra per week.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telcos call for quick action on ACMA reform
The government should move quickly to implement the recommendations of the review into the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), telco industry body Communications Alliance said today.
Source: Computerworld
Vodafone 'not intending to collocate' on Telstra blackspot towers
Vodafone will allow collocation on 43 of its 70 round one mobile blackspots sites, with the telco 'not intending to collocate' on any of Telstra's 429 sites, the government has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA reshaping underway as govt weighs in
The federal government has decided against consolidating telco regulatory power within the ACMA, opting instead to “refine” the authority’s remit, which could see it gain oversight of content classification while losing other functions.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra exchange fire downs services in Adelaide
A fire within a Telstra exchange in the Adelaide CBD downed services to as many as 30,000 fixed-line customers on Monday afternoon.
Source: iTnews Australia
Pricing not to blame for low take-up of high speeds, NBN CEO says
End users on the National Broadband Network are “gravitating to speeds that meet their needs” — and in most cases that is 25 megabits per second, according to NBN’s CEO, Bill Morrow.
Source: Computerworld
Competition watchdog puts broadband monitoring program out to tender
The ACCC is set to throw open its proposed broadband monitoring program to tender in a deal that could be worth millions.
Source: ARN
Fri, 19th May 2017
Labor: ACMA must be resourced for spectrum reform
The Australian government's new spectrum reform consultation package has outlined the changes needed for the regulatory framework but without making provision under the recent Federal Budget, Labor has pointed out.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 18th May 2017
Underperforming enterprise division leaves Optus with disappointing financials
Singtel Optus has reported lacklustre yearly results, flagging poor performance from its enterprise business.
Source: ARN
Optus to invest AU$1.5b in mobile network
Thanks to the ACCC's decision not to declare wholesale mobile domestic roaming, Optus has said it will invest AU$1.5 billion in its mobile network over the next year, particularly in regional areas.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ETU wants rural NBN tax to be paid by government instead of consumers
The Electrical Trades Union also wants NBN hauled before the joint committee to explain the 'illegal situation' involving an employee being present during the AFP raids a year ago.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN leads globally on regional broadband: Ovum
An NBN-commissioned report by Ovum has compared regional broadband networks globally, showing that NBN is investing more and offering higher speeds in rural areas than international counterparts.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Complaints To Vodafone Are Way Down
In the December 2016 quarter, Vodafone recorded 5.0 complaints for every 10,000 services in operation. The latest complaints report, however, shows a dramatic drop to 3.9 complaints for every 10,000 services in operation. That's 50 per cent lower than the industry average.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN fixed wireless rollout reaches 500,000 premises
More than half a million households are able to order fixed wireless services on the National Broadband Network, NBN said today.
Source: Computerworld