Broadband News
Mon, 06th Mar 2017
NBN Co adds 2.6m premises into construction schedule
NBN Co has added over 2.6 million premises to its rollout schedule between now and mid-2019 - its first major project update since the original three-year construction plan was launched in late 2015.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 03rd Mar 2017
SoleNet owner banned over dodgy telco dealings
Australian regulators have finally caught up with small-time telco vendor James Harrison, who was today banned from running a corporation for three years and fined $250,000 over the “unconscionable” operation of his group of telco companies
Source: iTnews Australia
Movie studios seek internet providers to block a further 74 piracy sites
A further 74 pirating sites such as Limetorrents, Putlocker, Kinogo, and Megashare could be added to the list of sites blocked by nearly 50 internet providers if movie studios succeed in their latest legal move to stop Australians streaming or downloading movies and television for free.
Source: SMH
Voice outage hits Vocus
A problem with Vocus’ voice wholesale platform downed services for the telcos’ customers, the company has confirmed.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 02nd Mar 2017
Optus and Huawei attain 665Mbps speeds across 16 devices with Massive MIMO
Huawei and Optus have announced attaining throughput aggregate speeds of 665Mbps across 16 devices during a trial of Massive MIMO antenna technology.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra Brings Wi-Fi Calling To Samsung's Galaxy S7
If you've got a Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge on the network without equal, you're in for a treat. Telstra has finally switched on Wi-Fi calling to offload your network activity onto a fast wireless connection. It's being rolled out as part of the Android 7.0 Nougat update being pushed to Aussie Telstra customers from today.
Source: Gizmodo
Wed, 01st Mar 2017
NBN Co chief hints that public must pay for future FttN upgrades
NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow has effectively told a Senates Estimates committee that the four million Australians who receive a fibre to the node connection to the NBN will have to pay if they want to upgrade it in the future.
Source: iTWire
Optus, Huawei partner on the way to 5G introduction
Optus and Huawei have teamed up to complete a successful in-field test of Massive MIMO (128T128R) technology, which they say helps pave the way for the introduction of 5G services in Australia.
Source: iTWire
NBN sees potential for more pricing changes
NBN is continuing to explore opportunities for changes to its pricing model, the company’s chief customer officer, John Simon, told a Senate Estimates hearing yesterday.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 28th Feb 2017
NBN Co admits to 'exorbitant' number of satellite failures
NBN Co has admitted to an "exorbitant" rate of failures for its Sky Muster satellite service, forecasting that it may take as long as a year to iron out software bugs.
Source: iTnews Australia
Olympic Committee appeals Telstra Federal Court decision
The Australian Olympic Committee has appealed the Federal Court's dismissal that Telstra contravened the Olympic Insignia Protection Act through its Rio advertising campaign, saying the decision 'diminishes the value of the licence'.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra bets big on LTE-Broadcast
Telstra will this year launch a range of services based on LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) ahead of a national rollout of the technology in 2018.
Source: Computerworld
NBN announces first FttDP rollout areas
Following a trial of FttDP in Coburg North later this year, NBN will launch the network technology during the first half of 2018 in several metro areas of Sydney and Melbourne.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 27th Feb 2017
Amaysim readies NBN offering for May launch
The Australian telecommunications provider has confirmed it will begin rolling out Amaysim broadband in May.
Source: ZDNet Australia
What's New On Netflix, Stan, Foxtel And Amazon Prime For March
From Adventure Time to Con Air, Hand of God to every Die Hard movie ever (even the ones we'd rather forget)- here's just a taste of what Netflix, Amazon Prime, Foxtel and Stan are streaming for the month of March.
Source: Gizmodo
Telstra outlines plans for its ‘network of the future’
Telstra has used Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as the venue for unveiling major infrastructure initiatives as part of its “network of the future” program.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra to upgrade optical network, trial 5G and IoT
Telstra and technology partner Ericsson will embark on an upgrade for the telco's long-haul, regional, metro and national optical networks to achieve more capacity ahead of an expected increase in demand.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co reinstates fixed-line tech type in rollout maps
NBN Co has reversed a two month-old decision not to tell users what type of fixed-line technology they’re likely to receive.
Source: iTnews Australia
When will you get the NBN?
For the first time, Australians will be able to check when the NBN network will be available in their area, after an update to the company's website.
Source: ABC News
Thu, 23rd Feb 2017
Vodafone bogged down by mobile termination fee cuts
Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has rounded out a trifecta of mobile telcos blaming fresh revenue slumps on regulated cuts to mobile and SMS termination rates.
Source: iTnews Australia
Customers up, losses down for Vodafone
Vodafone Hutchison Australia has reported a loss of $241.8 million for the 12-months ending 31 December — a 40 per cent improvement on last year’s results for the joint venture between Vodafone and Hutchison Telecommunications Australia, when it reported a loss of $430 million.
Source: Computerworld
Wed, 22nd Feb 2017
Vodafone extending 4G mobile coverage across Tasmania
Vodafone will switch on six new towers across Launceston by the end of the year for a total of 428 square kilometres of extra mobile coverage in Tasmania.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus switches on gigabit-speed 4.5G network in Sydney
Optus will roll out its 4.5G network across Australia during 2017, with Macquarie Park in Sydney the first location to gain access to the 1.03Gbps-capable network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vocus records stellar financials following 2016 acquisitions
After completing multiple acquisitions of M2 Group, Amcom and Nextgen Networks, telecommunications conglomerate, Vocus Group (ASX:VOC), has recorded "thriving half yearly figures", with a revenue up 403 per cent and more than doubling its profit of $47 million.
Source: ARN
Tue, 21st Feb 2017
Telstra enterprise outage caused by faulty hardware
Services for enterprise customers in NSW have been restored by Telstra, with the outage attributed to a faulty piece of hardware.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Kacific to provide 100Mbps satellite broadband to remote APAC
Beating NBN's 25Mbps service, the Kacific-1 satellite will provide satellite broadband with speeds of up to 100Mbps upon launch in 2019 to more than 20 countries in South East Asia and the Pacific.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Hills hurt by 'delivery issues' on Ericsson NBN deal
Hills is working with Ericsson to remediate “delivery related issues” that are raising its costs to connect fixed wireless and Sky Muster users to the NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 20th Feb 2017
NBN Co reveals reverse power draw for FTTdp
NBN Co expects users of its forthcoming fibre-to-the-distribution point (FTTdp) footprint to supply between 6W and 14W of energy to power their services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone Is The Number One Mobile Provider In Sydney (But Only In Sydney)
Telstra dominates the market as Australia's mobile phone service provider of choice both nationally, and in in capital cities throughout the country - with Optus nipping at its heels and Vodafone strolling in at third.
Source: Gizmodo
Aussie IT professionals refute high-speed NBN claims
An Australian IT industry body has questioned the critical infrastructure of the National Broadband Network (NBN), refuting claims that demand for high-speed broadband is low.
Source: ARN