Broadband News
Tue, 12th Apr 2016
Australian govt fintech chairman joins Telstra board
With 20 years of financial services knowledge under his belt, Craig Dunn will bring his experience as a strategic adviser for government and major companies to the Telstra board as he joins as a non-executive director.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Realtek’s ‘end-to-end’ FTTdp solution with 212MHz G.fast
Leading global IC company Realtek has announced its enhanced Gigabit to the home over copper twisted pair and coax at a tech conference in Indonesia this week.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 11th Apr 2016
NBN says it's ‘non discriminatory’ in response to ACCC ‘concerns’ over HFC deal
The National Broadband Network has responded to concerns by the competition watchdog about potential unfair competition in the telco sector over an HFC deal between it and Telstra, simply confirming its credentials as Australia’s open access wholesaler only ‘non-discriminatory operator’.
Source: iTWire
NBN FttN users increasingly opting for slower speeds
As more customers are connected to the NBN's fibre-to-the-node network, the vast majority of users are going for 25/5Mbps and 12/1Mbps services.
Source: ZDNet Australia
HFC deal sparks ACCC ‘competitive’ concerns on Telstra NBN work
The competition watchdog, the ACCC, has raised concerns about the effect on competition in the telecommunications market from the level of Telstra’s involvement in the building of the National Broadband Network.
Source: iTWire
NBN Gives Telstra $1.6B To Upgrade Australia's HFC Cable Network
Telstra and nbn have signed a contract to build out and speed up the telco’s existing hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) cable internet network, bringing it up to current standards to “deliver nbn™ broadband capability” to customers that will be moved onto it as part of the current government’s multi-technology mix National Broadband Network. The deal is worth a massive $1.6 billion for Telstra, and will run until the NBN build is complete in 2020.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN: Return to fibre-to-the-home rollout seems increasingly unlikely
The odds that the National Broadband Network rollout will return to the original plan that called for most homes to be connected by fibre to the premises (FTTP) seem to slim at best.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra's NBN construction deal raises competition worries
The competition watchdog raises concerns that Telstra may benefit against its rivals from the information it gains while helping to build parts of the NBN.
Source: ABC News
Telstra picks up AU$1.6 billion HFC contract from NBN
Australia's incumbent telco has picked up a deal to design and manage construction within its HFC footprint.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 08th Apr 2016
Shorten confirms 'hybrid' NBN under Labor
Labor will retain a multi-technology mix approach to the NBN if elected, Bill Shorten has said, but with 'a greater proportion of fibre'.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Why are we surprised that the NBN is a mess?
Politicians excel at dog-whistling. Given that, it is surprising that people are now expressing surprise at the mess that NBN has become, given the clear signals that the Coalition provided well before it was voted into office.
Source: iTWire
NBN’s ‘fibre to the most economic point’ a global trend, local Nokia boss argues
The National Broadband Network’s rollout strategy is following a global trend, according to the managing director of Nokia Oceania, Ray Owen.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 07th Apr 2016
NBN rollout could become cheaper, faster with new fibre-optic cable technology
New fibre-optic cable technology will potentially halve the cost of joining cables and speed up network delivery, according to NBN major provider Prysmian.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN spending over AU$60K a day on external lawyers
Despite the Telstra and Optus deals being put to bed a year ago, NBN spent AU$8.7 million in legal fees between mid September 2015 and the end of January 2016.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Waleed Aly Is Right About The NBN
Opinion: The government’s NBN roll-out is running behind schedule. At least, that’s according to leaked documents quoted by The Project and Waleed Aly, in last night’s “Something We Need To Talk About” segment. Who to blame? Tony Abbott, Aly says, and “the guy who he says invented the internet”, Malcolm Turnbull.
Source: Gizmodo
'Malcolm Turnbull, you didn't invent the internet': Waleed Aly slams PM's NBN hypocrisy
Waleed Aly has taken aim at the hypocrisy of Malcolm Turnbull's "age of innovation" aspirations as leaked documents reveal significant delays to the government's NBN roll out.
Source: SMH
Wed, 06th Apr 2016
Aussie data downloads boom to 1.7 exabytes
Australian broadband users downloaded a whopping 1.7 million terabytes (1.7 exabytes) of data in the last three months of 2015, an increase by half on the end of 2014
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus out to snatch new subscribers from competitors
Optus is looking to lure mobile users to switch from other mobile providers with a new offering of 30-days free usage – and a raft of incentives - to customers who sign up to a new postpaid mobile plan.
Source: iTWire
New ‘innovative’ cable technology to cut NBN rollout costs
A new line of 'innovative' cables, using FlexTube technology, are set to halve the cost of joining cables as the National Broadband Network (nbn) rollout continues across Australia.
Source: iTWire
Optus calls for rethink of NBN pricing scheme
The changing usage patterns of Australian broadband customers means that one of the key revenue streams for NBN — the Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) charge — needs a major rethink, according to Optus’ head of regulatory affairs, David Epstein.
Source: Computerworld
Labor Minister Favours Fibre To The Distribution Point For NBN
With a Fibre To The Distribution Point (FTTdp) NBN model, fibre is run to the street lead-in pit at the front of the building, where it joins up with an existing copper lead-in of around 30 metres. It avoids the need to dig up your front yard, promises high speeds via VDSL2, has the ability to be upgraded to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), boasts a network capability almost up there with full FTTP and yet — due to the use of existing copper lead-ins — costs less. Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare recently sung the praises of FTTdp, leading to questions about a potential change in NBN policy from FTTP for the Labor party’s election campaign.
Source: Gizmodo
Vodafone to launch Voice over WiFi ‘shortly’, CEO says
Vodafone is preparing to offer Voice over Wi-FI – VoWIFI – to its customers “shortly”, the telco’s CEO, Iñaki Berroeta, yesterday told the CommsDay Summit in Sydney.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 05th Apr 2016
Telco industry slams NBN CVC pricing
NBN's newly announced plans to calculate its CVC on an industry-wide basis has been met with criticism by Optus, Vocus, and Superloop.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Clare's NBN criticisms fall flat as industry tires of technology debate
Optus, Nokia, Vocus, and NBN have complained that the NBN technology debate needs to stop, with companies to instead focus on how to realise its benefits.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone 4G Now Reaches 23 Million Australians
Vodafone has increased its 4G network by more than 20 per cent to now reach 95 per cent of Australians. This puts it in second place for 4G coverage in Australia, behind Telstra 4G at 96 per cent of the population and ahead of Optus 4G at 90 per cent of the population.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN: Stop the nodes, Clare says
Shadow communications minister Jason Clare has used a speech at the CommsDay Summit in Sydney to launch a stinging attack on the use of fibre to the node (FTTN) technology in the National Broadband Network rollout.
Source: Computerworld
Vocus Communications makes nbn easy option for partners
Telecommunications company, Vocus Communications, has launched a new product, adapted from the M2 product suite, marking the integration of the two companies.
Source: ARN
Vodafone releases Mobile Black Spot Programme schedule
Vodafone has released the rollout schedule for its 70 base stations to be built in regional areas of New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria under the first round of the Mobile Black Spot Programme.
Source: ARN
Quickflix hoping to save AU$1m through redundancies, office closures
The streaming service is again cost cutting, announcing a 15 percent reduction in staff members, the closure of two offices, and a decrease in its executives' salaries.
Source: ZDNet Australia
nbn sets new CVC discount pricing model to encourage ‘enhanced broadband experience’
The nbn, which is building Australia’s broadband network, has announced a new tiered model for its wholesale Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) charge with a price as low as $11.50 depending on the average CVC bandwidth that industry provisions to all end users.
Source: iTWire