Broadband News
Mon, 28th Nov 2016
AFP NBN raid documents to be kept confidential
Documents confiscated during AFP's NBN raids on Jason Clare in August will remain confidential and under parliamentary privilege, and will be returned to the former shadow communications minister.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Reddit CEO admits trolling Trump supporters
Steve Huffman edited abusive posts from Trump fans on the social sharing site.
Source: PC Authority
Fri, 25th Nov 2016
Switkowski: 'I did not breach caretaker conventions' with NBN opinion piece
The opinion piece on the AFP raids was witnessed by NBN's board prior to publication, with NBN chair Switkowski holding firm that he did not breach caretaker conventions.
Source: ZDNet Australia
IBM paid 'very substantial' compensation for Census failure
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed IBM made a “very substantial financial settlement” with the Commonwealth as compensation for the failure of the 2016 online Census.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra: ADSL competition better than regulation
Telstra has argued that the ACCC should not regulate 289 of its wholesale ADSL exchanges, as competition is enough to ensure the market remains fair.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 24th Nov 2016
Australia given 15 December deadline for Norfolk link
Australia has a deadline of 15 December to decide whether it will supply a cable link to Norfolk Island, with the official ground-breaking ceremony for the Hawaiki underea telecommunications cable taking place on Wednesday.
Source: iTWire
UK government invests £1b in fibre and 5G
The UK government hopes its £1 billion investment in 5G and fibre broadband will 'catalyse' industry to invest more in the new network technologies.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Hawaiki cable construction starts
Construction of the 14,000 kilometre Hawaiki submarine cable that will link New Zealand to Australia, Hawaii and mainland United States has started with a ground breaking ceremony at Bream Trail Farm, Mangawhai Heads, Northland attended by NZ prime minister John Key and communications minister Amy Adams.
Source: Computerworld
Wed, 23rd Nov 2016
NBN Co moved an FTTN cabinet after users asked to connect
Horsham resident Andrew Pillekers thought he’d “won nodelotto” when he found a crew spraying markings on the nature strip out the front of his house to indicate the placement of a node for NBN Co's FTTN network.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN's Fibre To The Curb Is A Step Closer To Being Built
The NBN's Goldilocks technology of fibre to the distribution point (FttDP) -- sitting just right in between the convenience of fibre to the node (FttN) and the speed of fibre to the premises (FttP) -- is a step closer to becoming a reality in Australia. NBN calls the tech 'fibre to the curb' (FttC) for some unknown reason, rather than FttDP or fibre to the driveway, but it's earmarked Australia's own Netcomm Wireless as the supplier of tech for the future network build-out.
Source: Gizmodo
More than half the world's people still off the Internet
Less than half of the world's population still isn't using the Internet, although the numbers are improving, according to a United Nations report.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 22nd Nov 2016
NBN signs NetComm Wireless for FttDP equipment
NBN and NetComm Wireless have announced signing a master agreement for the latter to supply DPUs for NBN's fibre-to-the-distribution-point network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
‘Fibre to the curb’ rollout one step closer, NBN says
NBN has signed an agreement with NetComm Wireless for the supply of distribution point units (DPUs) that will be used in the roll out of ‘fibre to the curb’ (FTTC — also called fibre to the distribution point or FTTdp).
Source: Computerworld
Switkowski to front NBN committee over op-ed
NBN Co chair Ziggy Switkowski will appear before a parliamentary committee this week to answer questions about his decision to write a comment piece about police raids over leaked documents during the election period.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 21st Nov 2016
Telstra flags 3G network shutdown as early as 2020
3G network could be shut down as early as 2020 as part of an long-term effort to manage burgeoning mobile data demands.
Source: ARN
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