Broadband News

Thu, 17th Nov 2016

iiNet complaints skyrocket after TPG takeover

Customer complaints about iiNet jumped by nearly 50 percent in the year since the telco was taken over by TPG, according to figures published by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra reveals new network strategy in wake of outages

Telstra has unveiled a new strategic plan will see it pump up to $1.5 billion into building out its “networks for the future”.

Source: ARN

iiNet, TPG consumer complaints skyrocket

Complaints about Vodafone and Telstra decreased, while those about Optus and iiNet/TPG rose, according to the Ombudsman's annual report.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Slow speeds, drop-outs among key problems for NBN users: report

An ombudsman's report shows a steep increase in the number of complaints about the NBN, with the biggest problems including slow data speeds, unusable services and drop-outs.

Source: ABC News

Telecommunications Ombudsman finds internet complaints increase as mobile complaints decline

Complaints about internet services and providers of the National Broadband Network rose by nearly 100 per cent in the past financial year, while billing, payments and faults were the biggest source of individual complaints, according to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

Source: SMH

Wed, 16th Nov 2016

Sick Of Waiting For The NBN, The Gold Coast Is Building Its Own

One Australian council is so sick of waiting for the NBN to arrive, it has decided to build its own fibre network.

Source: Gizmodo

Optus and Huawei hit 35Gbps in single-user 5G trial

Optus and Huawei achieved a single-user transmission speed of 35 gigabits per second during a 5G trial using spectrum in the 73GHz band.

Source: Computerworld

Tue, 15th Nov 2016

Telcos asked to speak out against national security Bill for third time

Industry is being invited to make submissions on the telco national security legislation, which was introduced to Parliament last week after a consultation that did not achieve much in the way of changes.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vodafone continues losing customers as Telstra, Optus, Amaysim gain: Kantar

The no-contract segment is continuing to grow in popularity, with Optus, Telstra, Amaysim and Aldi Mobile benefiting while Vodafone, Virgin, and TPG's total mobile customer bases shrank.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra's Smart Home Gadgets Will Automate Your Entire House

Telstra just launched the first products in its Smart Home range of internet-connected wi-fi gadgets -- and they promise to make your life "a little bit easier". Whether you want to monitor everything that happens in your house or whether you want to make your appliances a little more energy efficient, Telstra has a widget for that.

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 10th Nov 2016

Australia hits 8th spot for average 4G download speeds: OpenSignal

Australia's average 4G download connection speed is 32.5Mbps, while availability stands at 79.34 percent, according to a report by OpenSignal.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Government pushes ahead with controversial telco security bill

Attorney-General George Brandis yesterday introduced in the Senate a bill to implement the government’s Telco Sector Security Reforms program.

Source: Computerworld

Optus blames ACCC for operating revenue decline

Optus hits out at regulated reduction in mobile termination rates following operating revenue decline.

Source: ARN

Optus pins 10 percent profit decline on termination rates and Sport launch

For the half year, Optus has seen its revenue fall by more than 10 percent, and EBITDA decrease by 5 percent to AU$1.28 billion.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 09th Nov 2016

Brandis introduces telco national security legislation in Parliament

The telco national security legislation has been introduced to Parliament after consultation with industry that did not achieve much in the way of changes.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Brandis pushes telco security reforms into parliament

The federal government is pushing ahead with a plan to force telcos to inform it about network changes and procurement intentions, today introducing its long-awaited security bill into parliament.

Source: iTnews Australia

IPv4 addresses exhausted, networking standards must support IPv6: IAB

The IPv4 era is well and truly over as the Internet Architecture Board has said all IPv4 addresses have been allocated.

Source: ZDNet Australia

That's it for IPv4, go all IPv6: Internet Architecture Board

Future internet protocols and standards will not require compatibility with the original IPv4 addressing scheme, after the unallocated space of IPv4 addresses officially ran out.

Source: iTnews Australia

MyRepublic Says Its Gamer NBN Plan Is Actually For Gamers

Last week, upstart Singaporean ISP MyRepublic launched an unlimited data, single speed tier plan on Australia's NBN. It has a 'gamer' variant of that plan, too, that it says is actually different -- not just branding, not just smoke and mirrors. It's talking about optimised latency for gaming, and optimised routes to popular servers.

Source: Gizmodo

Tue, 08th Nov 2016

NBN grows revenue and loss as network rollout picks up pace

NBN's negative AU$336 million EBITDA from Q1 last year grew by half again to negative AU$501 million, while its quarterly revenue more than doubled, from AU$73 million to AU$181 million.

Source: ZDNet Australia

In the Game of Technologies, will you be an NBN loser?

We break down the mix of technologies making up Australia's National Broadband Network.

Source: PC Authority

Over Two Thirds Of NBN Customers Actually Want Fast(er) Internet

With well over a million properties actively connected to the NBN, Australia's national broadband network is apparently starting to accelerate the speed of its rollout. the government-owned company calls it "continuing momentum". What's interesting, though, is how many customers are opting for higher speed tiers, suggesting that people actually do want faster internet -- echoing the recent comments of upstart ISP MyRepublic, which says flawed copper-based technologies like fibre to the node are nowhere near future-proof.

Source: Gizmodo

nbn delivery partners set to ramp up HFC rollout

nbn is set to lean on a raft of recently-signed delivery partners to ramp up the rate of its HFC connections in the second half of the year.

Source: ARN

NBN passes 1 million FTTN/B premises

NBN Co has passed a milestone for premises connected to its fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-basement networks, with more than 1 million homes and business now able to take up a service.

Source: iTnews Australia

Broad industry support for NBN pricing revamp, Bill Morrow says

NBN CEO Bill Morrow says there is “broad-based support” among National Broadband Network retail service providers (RSP) for a shift to a modified discount scheme for the capacity-based CVC charge.

Source: Computerworld

Mon, 07th Nov 2016

Australian intellectual property laws won't be changed for TPP: Government

No changes will be made to Australia's intellectual property laws, and the US government has not raised any concerns about ISP liability for copyright infringement in Australia, the government has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Pressure mounts on Government over Norfolk Island calls for cable link

The Norfolk Island Accommodation and Tourism Association -- the peak body for the island's largest industry – has weighed into the debate over the island’s demands to be connected to the Hawaiki fibre-optic cable to boost Internet and broadband services.

Source: iTWire

Government welcomes ‘strong growth’ in NBN connections

The Federal Government has welcomed the ACCC’s release of a report on the demand for wholesale broadband services provided by the national Broadband Network, particularly the 25% growth in purchase of capacity – or connectivity virtual circuits (CVC) - by wholesalers in one quarter.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 04th Nov 2016

NBN doubles capex spending to AU$4.5b in FY2016

NBN's regulatory documents have revealed a capex spend during FY16 of AU$4.52 billion, up 108 percent from last year's AU$2.17 billion, with opex rising by 42 percent to AU$2.26 billion.

Source: ZDNet Australia

The ISP 'For Gamers' Comes To Australia With A $60 Unlimited NBN Plan

MyRepublic, touting itself as the ISP "for gamers", hits Australia on 15 November with a 100Mbps unlimted NBN plan for $59.99 per month. Here's everything we know so far.

Source: Gizmodo