Broadband News

Mon, 01st May 2017

NBN Co pushes PoI redundancy back to 2018

NBN Co has delayed the creation of a point-of-interconnect redundancy product that would enable ISPs to continue servicing customers in the event of a PoI failure.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 28th Apr 2017

NBN should increase FttP and FttDP connections: SA government

The South Australian government has said FttP and FttDP should be extended to more premises to avoid a long-term copper remediation cost, while satellite services should be a 'last resort'.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus flags further redundancies

​Optus has flagged plans for further redundancies after moving to cut more than 300 jobs across a range of business areas.

Source: ARN

Thu, 27th Apr 2017

Turnbull calls NBN a 'good debt' for taxpayers

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has defended the NBN as a “good debt” for the government and taxpayers because it is "secured to a financial asset” that is "going to ... generate billions" in revenue.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra ordered to pay court costs for five rivals

The federal court has ordered Telstra to pay the court costs incurred by five of its rivals following a legal battle over the price it can charge other telcos for access to its copper network.

Source: iTnews Australia

What's New On Netflix, Stan And Amazon Prime For May

From Twin Peaks to American Gods, House of Cards to Trainspotting - here's just a taste of what Netflix, Amazon Prime and Stan are streaming for the month of May.

Source: Gizmodo

NBN migration: Telstra boosts SSU compliance

Telstra has improved compliance with its Structural Separation Undertaking (SSU) obligations, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said today.

Source: Computerworld

Calix installs G.fast services across Australian fibre-copper broadband

Calix has begun enabling ISPs to offer G.fast services well ahead of NBN, with the technology currently delivering symmetrical speeds of 300Mbps over hybrid copper-fibre networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 26th Apr 2017

Optus announces 22 new mobile towers across Queensland

Optus will be building a total of 22 new mobile sites across Queensland -- 18 with its own funding, and four under the federal government's mobile blackspots program -- for around AU$10 million.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co hits 1Gbps+ speeds in fixed wireless trials

NBN Co has demonstrated that it can push peak broadband download speeds on its fixed wireless network from 50Mbps to over 1Gbps.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 25th Apr 2017

Broadband limbo remains as ACCC fails to break Telstra, NBN deadlock

Intervention by Australia's consumer watchdog has failed to break a stand-off between NBN, Telstra and retailers leaving homes without broadband for months.

Source: SMH

Mon, 24th Apr 2017

Here's What Australia's Cellular Network Scene Could Look Like By 2020

TPG Telecom Ltd has announced it intends to become Australia’s fourth mobile network operator, along with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

Source: Gizmodo

Fri, 21st Apr 2017

Indigo subsea cable construction locked in with Alcatel contract

Alcatel Submarine Networks has entered a system supply agreement with the Indigo subsea cable consortium, ensuring the construction, supply, and operation of the cable is now binding.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Stan Is Now Streaming In 4K

Australia's own home-grown Netflix competitor Stan has a shiny new feather in its cap. A new Premium plan tier at $15 per month is Stan's foray into 4K video, with the entirety of Breaking Bad and new series like Wolf Creek available in crispy crispy Ultra HD the first to come in a continually expanding catalogue.

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 20th Apr 2017

Victoria to fix mobile blackspots along rail lines

Victoria has announced it will fix mobile blackspots along the state's five busiest rail corridors in partnership with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

Source: iTWire

In-flight Wi-Fi takes off on Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia's in-flight Wi-Fi will use Optus' fleet of satellites and connectivity provider Gogo, with the three-month trial on one domestic aircraft providing customers with free access to the service.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN cements DOCSIS 3.1 HFC commitment by joining CableLabs consortium

NBN has announced joining HFC technology standards group CableLabs in order to collaborate with global cable companies on bringing DOCSIS 3.1 and full duplex DOCSIS to market to enable gigabit speeds.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Ballarat blasts NBN Co over claimed $13m repair bill

The City of Ballarat says it is still waiting for NBN Co and its contractors to fix 6500 instances of damage to council infrastructure caused by the rollout of the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telcos want to help consumers understand broadband performance

Telecommunications industry body Communications Alliance has put together an education package designed to help consumers understand Australia’s increasingly complex broadband landscape.

Source: Computerworld

NBN joins cable broadband R&D group

NBN announced this morning that it had been accepted as a member of CableLabs, an international R&D and standards body focused on cable networks.

Source: Computerworld

Wed, 19th Apr 2017

NBN: The Ultimate Guide to your current and future speeds

Wondering what kinds of speed you can expect from your connection now, and in the future? We break every part of the technology mix down.

Source: PC Authority

Tue, 18th Apr 2017

TPG raises AU$320m to fund Australian mobile network

TPG has raised AU$320 million of the AU$400 million it is seeking to help fund its AU$1.9 billion mobile network across Australia, with primary shareholders including CEO David Teoh providing most of the contribution.

Source: ZDNet Australia

VPNs Become Even More Important As ISPs Start Collecting Customer Metadata

As of Friday last week, Australian internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies are officially required to collect “metadata” about their customers’ communications. According to the legislation, this data includes...

Source: Gizmodo

TPG savaged in $1b sell-off after mobile network plans revealed

TPG shares have been dumped, sending the stock plummeting more than 18 per cent and shedding a billion dollars from its market value, after it revealed plans to build Australia's fourth mobile network.

Source: SMH

Ebay threatens to block Aussies from global purchases

Ebay may block Australians from buying overseas goods on its platform rather than try to collect GST on those purchases and remit it to Australia.

Source: iTnews Australia

Don't treat home internet as a fringe benefit: Telstra

The federal government should no longer consider home internet services a fringe benefit given the large number of Australians that now work from home, according to Telstra.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 14th Apr 2017

Three Charts On Australia's Growing Appetite For Fast Broadband

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest figures on internet activity in Australia show a huge jump in the number of people with advertised speeds of greater than 24 Mbps (that’s megabits per second, a measure of data transfer speed).

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 13th Apr 2017

Metadata can't be used in civil lawsuits, Brandis rules

The federal government has decided to block civil litigants from being able to request access to data retained under the nation's data retention scheme for use in their lawsuits.

Source: iTnews Australia

'Get a VPN' as metadata retention scheme deadline arrives, experts say

Today was the deadline for internet providers to be compliant with Australia's metadata retention scheme. If you don't want the Government to be able to see your online activity, then you better get a virtual private network, digital rights advocates say.

Source: ABC News

Metadata capture begins but information not to be used for civil cases

The Federal Government will not allow civil litigants to access metadata stored by telecommunication companies after a backlash from lawyers and privacy advocates.

Source: ABC News