Broadband News

Thu, 20th Oct 2016

ACMA opens investigation into 5G mobile broadband spectrum

The ACMA is undertaking an initial investigation of the 1.5GHz and 3.6GHz spectrum bands for refarming to enable mobile broadband over future 5G networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACMA starts discussion of spectrum re-farming for 5G

International plans for the early adoption of 3.6GHz for 5G services have led the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to bring forward public discussion of the use of this part of spectrum.

Source: iTWire

ABS apologises for AU$30m Census bungle, ISPs say IBM had standard DDoS protections disabled

Australian Statistician David Kalisch has told Senate Estimates the ABS incurred AU$30 million in remediation costs due to the Census night stuff-up.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Netflix Has More Customers Than Ever In Australia

Talk of a customer revolt has fizzled as Netflix’s growing stable of original content continues to win over new subscribers at home and abroad. It’s only 18 months since Netflix officially opened its doors in Australia but it’s already seen the demise of one local competitor in Presto, plus the foreign raider has forced Australia’s volatile Freeview consortium to finally build its long-promised cross-network streaming service which is set to launch in November.

Source: Gizmodo

Optus enhances 4G services across Canberra

Optus will boost its 4G services at more than 10 sites across Canberra to improve data coverage, download speeds and voice quality for its mobile customers.

Source: ARN

Basslink could unplug cable, warns Bryan Green

Tasmania's vital Basslink cable could be switched off if the company's finances do not improve, Opposition Leader Bryan Green says.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 19th Oct 2016

NBN satellite users waiting five weeks to connect, experiencing outages: Morrow

Due to greater than expected demand, satellite customers are having to wait an average of five weeks to be connected and are experiencing 'multiple' network failures, NBN CEO Bill Morrow has said.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN adding 'ready for service' areas to rollout map

Along with listing areas with services available, build commenced, and build prep, NBN will now make RFS premises searchable by the end of 2016.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN predicts CVC charge will drop to AU$10

While in the midst of industry consultation over the oft-criticised CVC pricing, NBN CEO Bill Morrow has said the company expects pricing to eventually fall to AU$10.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vodafone Is Launching NBN Home Broadband Next Year

Vodafone is getting on board with the NBN. Australia’s challenger telco already has plenty of customers on its mobile network, but it wants to convert those users into home broadband users too.

Source: Gizmodo

Vodafone finally makes its NBN play

Vodafone has confirmed it is preparing to enter the National Broadband Network market, with the company’s CEO — Iñaki Berroeta — saying that the telco intends to offer its first fixed-line broadband services before the end of next year.

Source: Computerworld

NBN eyes new discount scheme for RSPs in early 2017

NBN CEO Bill Morrow expects that “if all goes well” NBN will implement a previously mooted discount system based on how much capacity per customer an individual retail service provider (RSP) provisions.

Source: Computerworld

Tue, 18th Oct 2016

NBN Co to tweak RSP pricing model for fee drop

NBN Co will make more changes to its broadband pricing structure to encourage retail service providers to purchase more bandwidth, forecasting that the fees will drop by almost half in the coming years.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra, Ericsson, Qualcomm unveil 1Gbps 4G network, mobile router, 5G modem

Telstra is well on the path to 5G, with the announcement of its gigabit-speed 4G network in conjunction with Qualcomm's gigabit-class mobile router and 5G modem chipset solution.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra security chief, Mike Burgess, steps down

Telstra chief information security officer, Mike Burgess, has resigned from the telco after spending nearly four years in the role to “explore other opportunities", according to a Telstra spokesperson.

Source: ARN

XG.Fast delivers 8Gbps over copper in NBN lab trials

NBN has achieved speeds of up to 8 gigabits per second over 30 metres of copper using XG.Fast, the company announced today.

Source: Computerworld

Assange's internet 'cut off' by Ecuador, WikiLeaks says

WikiLeaks says founder Julian Assange's internet was shut down by the Ecuador Government, deflecting blame from the US or British governments who have sparred with Mr Assange for releasing sensitive material.

Source: ABC News

Mon, 17th Oct 2016

G.fast broadband expected at 29m premises by 2021: Ovum

Western Europe is on track to deliver high-speed G.fast first thanks to the European Commission's 2020 target of 100Mbps to 50 percent of households.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN on board as report predicts global explosion in ultra-fast network technology

NBN Co has flagged it could deploy ultra-fast G.Fast or XG.Fast technology to underpin the rollout of its Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) network to 700,000 premises, just as a new report by Ovum predicts an explosion in use of the new technologies worldwide over the next five years.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 14th Oct 2016

Australia government urged to fund extension of Hawaiki Cable to Norfolk Island

The Australian government is being urged to fund the extension to Norfolk Island of the $US300m Hawaiki Cable that will link Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii to the US.

Source: Computerworld

ACCC rules to continue ADSL regulation amid NBN rollout

The Australian competition watchdog has released its draft decision to continue regulating the wholesale ADSL service for a further five years.

Source: ARN

Adelaide wants to build CBD-wide fibre network for business

Adelaide City Council wants to lay up to 100km of fibre optic cable through its CBD in the hope that a dedicated high-speed network for businesses will lure big organisations back to its streets.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN signs new greenfield deals

NBN has signed deals with Fulton Hogan and Visionstream to hook up greenfields areas to the National Broadband Network as well as build out the fibre links for its transit network.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 13th Oct 2016

NBN signs fibre contracts with Visionstream, Fulton Hogan

Visionstream and Fulton Hogan have won the tenders for NBN's final MTM design and construction contracts to roll out broadband services to 450,000 new development premises.

Source: ZDNet Australia

nbn signs on Fulton Hogan and Visionstream for NBN delivery

nbn has signed new development and fibre links contracts with two delivery partners to roll out NBN services.

Source: ARN

Wed, 12th Oct 2016

Turnbull says NBN represents 'great corporate turnaround'

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has hailed the multi-technology mix national broadband network being rolled out by his government as "one of the great corporate turnarounds in Australia's history".

Source: iTWire

Vodafone demonstrates 5G with robots, VR streaming

Vodafone has publicly shown off trial uses for 5G technology at the University of Technology Sydney today, including robotics and virtual reality streaming.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vocus founder quits after leadership spill attempt

Vocus founder James Spenceley has been forced out of the company alongside fellow board member Tony Grist following a failed leadership coup.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vodafone Australia and Nokia attain 5Gbps speeds in 5G showcase

Following Telstra and Ericsson's live 5G trial last month, Vodafone and Nokia have demonstrated 5G use cases during a live trial of the network technology at UTS.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Pauline Hanson receives seat on NBN committee

After failing in a ballot to be part of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, Pauline Hanson has been appointed to it after Senator John Williams was discharged.

Source: ZDNet Australia