Broadband News

Fri, 29th Jul 2016

Telstra allowed to continue Olympic advertisements by court

The Australian Olympic Committee's application to get Telstra to stop its 'I go to Rio' marketing campaign has been dismissed by the Federal Court.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC to regulate super-fast broadband for next five years

Fibre and cable-based non-NBN wholesale broadband services with speeds of more than 25Mbps are to be regulated for the next five years by the ACCC.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC makes telcos open ‘superfast’ broadband networks to competitors

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has pushed ahead with opening up so-called ‘superfast’ broadband (25 megabits per second or faster) networks, forcing network operators to allow other telcos to sell services over their infrastructure.

Source: Computerworld

Half of all NBN users still opting for speeds of just 25/5Mbps

Despite debate between political parties on the inability of the Coalition's technology-agnostic NBN model to attain high speeds, almost 50 percent of all premises connected are opting for just 25/5Mbps.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN launches HFC services on former Telstra network in WA

The first Telstra HFC network acquired by NBN has been declared ready for service, joining the former Optus HFC network launched in June.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra increases NBN market share

A snapshot provided by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission of National Broadband Network services reveals that Telstra continues to dominate the NBN market.

Source: Computerworld

NBN brings HFC to Western Australia

NBN has formally launched commercial hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) services in Western Australia.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 28th Jul 2016

Telstra complaints rise alongside market share

The TIO and Kantar have both published their latest stats on the Australian telecommunications industry, with outage-riddled Telstra increasing in both complaints and market share.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Trident Perth-Singapore subsea cable signs Equinix datacentres

The submarine cable that will connect Australia with Singapore and Indonesia has chosen to have points of presence in Equinix's Sydney, Singapore, Jakarta, and Melbourne datacentres.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra faces $2-3 billion earnings gap post-NBN: Moody's

Telstra will struggle to fill a $2-3 billion earnings gap once the NBN roll-out winds up, according to ratings agency Moody's.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 27th Jul 2016

Vodafone Australia CTO Benoit Hanssen departing

The CTO responsible for Vodafone's push into regional network coverage is departing for a role at Hutchison.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Singtel and Ericsson implementing 450Mbps 4G indoor technology in 2017

Singtel and Ericsson have aggregated licensed and unlicensed spectrum to extend network coverage indoors to attain throughput speeds of up to 450Mbps.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 26th Jul 2016

​Vodafone heads for New England with mobile blackspot rollout

Vodafone is adding a total of 26 new sites in the New England region, of which 18 will fall under the government's mobile blackspot program and the other eight will be of the company's own funding.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Investigator: The NBN nightmare

If there’s an experience more likely to turn to your preferred deity or superstition than getting an internet service cutover between different providers we’d like to know what is is. The experience of one reader, let’s call him Fred as he’d prefer to stay anonymous, is the stuff of nightmares.

Source: PC Authority

Broadband Advertising Is Too Vague, Says ACCC

Has a grinning olympian convinced you to upgrade to the NBN? Or maybe you’ve hooked up to “super fast high speed” internet. But do you most people actually know what they are buying when they sign up to an internet service provider deal?

Source: Gizmodo

Aussie regulator calls for greater broadband speed transparency

Australia's competition regulator and national consumer law champion, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), is calling for consumers to be provided with better information about broadband speeds.

Source: ARN

Mon, 25th Jul 2016

Telstra's COO is leaving the telco after 12 years

Telstra's chief operations officer Kate McKenzie will retire from the telco after 12 years with the business and three years leading its network architecture and operations, IT, and field services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Rowland takes on Shadow Communications as Clare trades up

As part of a number of significant changes to its shadow ministry, Michelle Rowland will be a part of shadow cabinet as Labor's communications spokesperson.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN's Sky Muster II blasts into space in October

​Nbn’s second satellite, Sky Muster II, is set to blast into space on October 5.

Source: ARN

Optus Business inks multi-million dollar deal with QBE Australia

Telecommunications company, Optus Business, has signed a new, three year ICT services contract with global insurer, QBE Australia, that will see Optus deliver voice, mobile and data network services for the business.

Source: ARN

Telstra COO Kate McKenzie quits telco

Telstra's chief operations officer is leaving the job and retiring from Telstra in the same year the network has suffered a series of embarrassing and costly outages.

Source: SMH

Fri, 22nd Jul 2016

Lightning Broadband offers Australians crazy high-speed internet without NBN

As millions of Australian homes wait for the NBN to reach their door, Lightning Broadband is deploying a wireless network promising fibre-like download speeds to suburban users.

Source: SMH

NBN launching DOCSIS 3.1 for HFC network in second half of 2017

In response to an Ovum report that said HFC networks rival fibre on performance, NBN has said it will deploy DOCSIS 3.1 technology before the end of next year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Kickass Torrents is offline, but moves to block it continue

An application for a Federal Court injunction that will compel Telstra, Optus, TPG and Foxtel’s broadband arm to block customer access to Kickass Torrents will proceed for now despite the file-sharing site’s domains being seized and its alleged operator arrested.

Source: Computerworld

Thu, 21st Jul 2016

Telstra spars with AOC over Olympic advertising

The Olympic Committee is seeking injunctive relief against Telstra, which it said has breached the law by advertising about the Rio games despite not being an official sponsor.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC approves Telstra NBN migration plan

Telstra's amendments to the migration plan have been accepted by the regulator, allowing for longer and more flexible transitions of customers from Telstra copper and HFC onto the NBN.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra's variation to the Migration Plan gets the thumbs up

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved Telstra’s variation to the Migration Plan.

Source: ARN

Wed, 20th Jul 2016

Optus says Telstra's USO costs should drop to one-tenth

Telstra’s costs in meeting its universal service obligations (USO) should be “less than one-tenth” of the $290 million it receives a year, according to Optus.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC seeks responses to NBN regulatory amendment for fibre, copper, HFC network

NBN's move to a multi-technology mix network means having to amend the special access undertaking, with the ACCC asking for feedback on the proposed regulatory variations.

Source: ZDNet Australia

The ACCC Is Looking For Feedback On Proposed NBN Changes

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is asking for submissions regarding NBN’s proposed variation to its “Special Access Undertaking” (SAU), lodged on 27 May, which is a part of the regulatory framework for governing prices and other terms for the NBN supply to retailers until 2040.

Source: Gizmodo