Broadband News
Mon, 21st Nov 2016
Excess data charges cost Aussies $146 million – and that’s just for one year
Aussies often use their smartphones to send and receive data but it has collectively cost them $146 million in excess data charges this year, according to a survey by comparison website Finder.
Source: iTWire
Amaysim announces NBN strategy and timing
Amaysim will launch its broadband product at the beginning of next year, with the telco planning to extend its dual-brand mobile strategy into the fixed-line market.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 18th Nov 2016
Telstra claims regulated roaming would negate $1bn regional spend
Telstra's plan to invest almost $1 billion into mobile coverage in remote and rural areas over the next five years would be "uneconomical" if the government decides to regulate domestic mobile roaming, the telco claims.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Just Got A $20 Billion Government Loan To Finish Its Rollout
The remaining money that Australia's national broadband network company needs to finish the rollout of the country's multi-technology mix fibre- and copper-based -- $19.5 billion, to be exact -- will come from a government loan, rather than private investors NBN had hoped.
Source: Gizmodo
Government to loan NBN money to complete rollout
The government will loan NBN the money it needs to complete the National Broadband Network rollout, finance minister Senator Mathias Cormann and communications minister Mitch Fifield have announced.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 17th Nov 2016
Video streaming drives new Telstra investment in ADSL backhaul
The NBN could be arriving any time in the next four years for customers, but Telstra is set to upgrade its ADSL backhaul.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telcos should form organically, except for NBN: Fifield
The telecommunications industry should be privately and 'organically' formed, Mitch Fifield said, with the exception of the centrally planned NBN.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Authorities probing selling of Australian telco customer data by Indian firm
The Australian Federal Police is helping Indian authorities investigate claims that personal information of Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone customers are being sold.
Source: ZDNet Australia
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