Broadband News
Fri, 27th May 2016
Telstra sends free modems to customers still affected by NBN ADSL outage
Free modems are being sent to the 'single-digit thousands' of customers still affected by the NBN and ADSL outage caused by a DNS software failure, Telstra has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra blames network outage on DNS bungle, modem firmware bug
Telstra has revealed a fixed broadband outage last week was triggered by a bungled software update to a domain name server, which in turn triggered a previously unknown fault in some customer modems.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra CTO sacked
Telstra has sacked its chief technology officer Vish Nandlall after discovering elements of his resume had been falsified and amid accusations he had plagiarised presentation material.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra’s broadband outage: How a minor software change became a big problem
What should have been a straightforward software update to a DNS server last week snowballed into a major broadband outage for Telstra from which the telco is still recovering.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 26th May 2016
Kogan Mobile goes 4G ahead of schedule, includes Visual Voicemail
If you live in an area where Vodafone offers 4G, and you’re a Kogan Mobile customer, 4G has just gone live nicely ahead of schedule, with new plans up to 11GB (with time limited bonus to 12GB).
Source: iTWire
Wed, 25th May 2016
NBN 'five movies' speed promise is optimistic at best
On ABC's Q&A this week Christopher Pyne said the Coalition's multi-technology NBN, with its remit to provide access to download speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) to all Australians, was fast enough for households to watch five movies simultaneously.
Source: SMH
Optus 'secretly' cuts user's broadband speed as calls for performance monitoring grow
Guy Ward's excitement about an Optus broadband and phone bundle upgrade for $5 more each month quickly dissipated when he noticed his internet speed had slowed.
Source: SMH
NBN leaks claim scalps
The nbn co has stood down two members of its staff alleged to have leaked information to the Labor Party. It has declined to name the two employees or comment further.
Source: iTWire
Tassie plagued by Internet, phone problems: Digital Tasmania
Tasmanian consumer action group, Digital Tasmania, says widespread issues with Internet usage including persistent slowdowns and complete service outages have hit the state in recent days and it has called on Internet providers to improve their technical performance and customer standards.
Source: iTWire
85 percent of voters support the NBN
Likely Labor voters both support and oppose the project in the higher numbers, while proportionally, Liberal voters give the NBN the highest level of support.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 24th May 2016
Telstra customers forced to reset modems after NBN, ADSL outage
Some customers are being told to reset their modems in order to access NBN and ADSL services after Telstra's Friday outage.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Basslink defers cable service date again
Basslink has been forced to push back the return to service date for its subsea Bass Strait electricity and data cable for a second time as bad weather impedes repair efforts.
Source: iTnews Australia
‘Absolutely not’: No regrets ditching NBN FTTP rollout, says Pyne
The government’s industry, innovation and science minister says the Coalition does not regret the decision to ditch the fibre to the premises (FTTP) blueprint for the National Broadband Network.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 23rd May 2016
Two NBN staff stood down in AFP leak investigation
NBN Co has stood down two employees over their alleged involvement in the leaking of damaging internal documents following an Australian Federal Police raid last week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra NBN And ADSL Outages Are Still Not Fixed
Despite the telco’s assurances that last week’s huge outages have been fixed, many customers across the country are still unable to connect to their NBN and ADSL services. Service is gradually returning, with Telstra advising customers to regularly cycle their modems to attempt to connect to the network, but it’s been a rough four days for Telstra in a year that’s been full of major outages.
Source: Gizmodo
Internet not working? Try again tomorrow, Telstra tells customers
Telstra customers who have been without internet access for days have been told they might have to wait another 24 hours until they are reconnected.
Source: SMH
iHeartRadio Australia hearts Optus customers with exclusive live content
Promising to ‘bring audiences closer than ever before to the music they love’, iHeartRadio Australia’s deal with Optus means access to ‘a series of unrivalled live events with exclusive artists experiences and content.’
Source: iTWire
Woolworths Mobile launches three new ‘simple phone bundle’ plans
Promising ‘greater value’ through three new phone bundle plans featuring Samsung phones, supposedly ’at supermarket prices.’
Source: iTWire
Telstra: Friday outage caused by device fault; Sunday outage by 'faulty hardware'
Telstra has added to its network woes with a brace of outages on Friday and Sunday, with the first due to a device fault between network and modems and the second to faulty hardware.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thin-skinned NBN succeeds in throwing spotlight on Turnbull decisions
For a company that accepts criticism with all the grace of a steel hammer hit right between the eyes, the NBN has found itself, and by extension Malcolm Turnbull, in the spotlight thanks to its own decisions.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra proposes changes to NBN migration plan
Telstra has proposed varying its NBN migration plan which sets out how the telco will progressively migrate telephone and internet services from its copper and HFC networks to the National Broadband Network as it is rolled out.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 22nd May 2016
Telstra outages – modem firmware problems?
iTWire has received a tip from an anonymous source over the weekend that claims that Telstra's horror run of outages in 2016 stems from bad firmware in Telstra supplied modems.
Source: iTWire
Are NBN police raids an attack on press freedom?
“The raids are a heavy-handed and over-the-top response to media stories which have embarrassed the government."
Source: ARN
Fifield says NBN management decided to refer leaks to AFP
Communications minister Senator Mitch Fifield says that he did not request that NBN refer to the Australian Federal Police a series of embarrassing leaks of internal documents.
Source: Computerworld
Fri, 20th May 2016
Turnbull 'going after whistleblowers' on NBN leaks: Shorten
The government is preventing the media from being free to report the truth about the NBN by referring the matter to the AFP, the opposition leader has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Internet Australia Says Internet Is An Essential Service
Surprise! The country’s most outspoken body representing Aussie ‘net users says that access to the internet is important. Moreso, Internet Australia says that access to data services should be officially recognised as a indelible part of the Universal Service Obligation that already covers telecommunications access.
Source: Gizmodo
The NBN’s Police Witch Hunt Highlights The Need To Scrap Australia’s Draconian Leaking Laws
Opinion: Two years. That’s the amount of jail time facing the person or people who leaked in February damaging documents demonstrating Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s National Broadband Network was facing mounting delays and rising costs.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN leaks: Journalist union slams AFP raids
The journalists' union has condemned as an attack on press freedom raids staged overnight by the Australian Federal Police.
Source: Computerworld
Disgruntled Telstra customers take to social media after another outage
Disgruntled Telstra customers take to social media to vent their frustrations over another network outage affecting services around the country.
Source: ABC News
Telstra suffers ADSL and NBN outage
Customers of Telstra have yet again been hit by an outage, this time to ADSL and NBN services across much of the nation.
Source: ZDNet Australia