Broadband News

Tue, 05th Apr 2016

NBN pushes ahead with price cuts

NBN will push ahead with a discounting scheme for one of the major charges it levies on retail service providers (RSPs) that sell services over the National Broadband Network.

Source: Computerworld

Mon, 04th Apr 2016

Optus Is Cutting 480 Jobs To Focus On 'Content'

Optus is making up to 480 jobs redundant across Australia in a move to streamline its business. “Sustainable growth” is the company’s buzzword for the cuts, but they come at a time when Vodafone and Telstra are pressuring their competitor and attracting customers away with competitive mobile plans.

Source: Gizmodo

Vodafone completes rollout of 4G across its network

Vodafone has completed rolling out 4G across its network the telco said today. All of the telco’s 850MHz spectrum has been re-farmed to help boost 4G coverage.

Source: Computerworld

Cause of Telstra’s mobile outages ‘common to all networks’, telco says

Telstra this morning defended the performance of its mobile network following outages in February and March.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra free data guy clocks up almost a terabyte of downloads

When Telstra offered its mobile customers unlimited data for two separate days this year as compensation for network outages, some customers took it as a challenge to download as much as they possibly could in one day.

Source: SMH

New NBN leaks reveal further delays

Two new documents have leaked from the NBNco, and they show just how far the network have fallen behind schedule.

Source: PC Authority

ACCC takes Sydney ISP to Federal Court

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started legal action against Sydney-based ISP SoleNet and its director James Harrison for alleged “unconscionable conduct” and “undue harassment” in selling telecommunications services.

Source: CRN

Telstra customers download almost 50pc more than first free data day

Telstra responds to customer complaints of slow download speeds after its free data day yesterday, which saw the most amount of data downloaded in 24-hours on the company's mobile network.

Source: ABC News

Telstra outage review: Increase capacity, traffic protection across network

Telstra's COO has said the ongoing review into its three mobile outages has yielded several plans to increase and augment its signalling capacity, improve traffic management, and better manage any issues.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra customers smash previous record for mobile data traffic

Telstra customers set a new record on 3 April​ by downloading 2686 terabytes of data using the telco’s mobile network.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra’s 3 April free data day: fast and slow, previous record busted

Telstra’s latest free data day saw initially fast download speeds, but as the day wore on, things got slower and slower, with downloaded data amounts breaking a new record.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 01st Apr 2016

James Cook Uni connects the Daintree rainforest to the NBN

Queensland’s James Cook University is just weeks away from connecting more than 600 sensors at its Daintree Rainforest Observatory to the NBN, giving researchers access to real-time data and video feeds from the forest.

Source: iTnews Australia

Hawaiki 30Tbps trans-pacific subsea cable commences construction

The privately owned and 'carrier neutral' high-capacity subsea cable connecting Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and the US West Coast has commenced construction.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Don't Forget Telstra's Free Data Day This Sunday

As a way of saying sorry — again — for the massive network outage on 20 March, Telstra is offering free data to customers on 3 April.

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 31st Mar 2016

Australian feds cannot tell senator if they have his metadata

The Australian Federal Police has refused to say whether politicians, political staffers, or journalists have had their metadata preserved or accessed in the past year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Singtel joins Telstra and SubPartners on 20Tbps Perth to Singapore subsea cable

The APX-West subsea cable connecting Perth to Singapore has been newly designed as a 20Tbps cable to be owned and operated by Telstra, Singtel, and SubPartners.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Singtel, SubPartners, Telstra to jointly build new submarine cable

Singtel, SubPartners, and Telstra have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to build a new international submarine cable, APX-West, connecting Perth and Singapore.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 30th Mar 2016

Bigpond boosts 1000GB bundle in fight to lock-in customers before NBN arrives

Aussie telcos are sweetening their broadband deals as they jostle for position before the National Broadband Network rolls down your street.

Source: SMH

How to: find faster-than-ADSL internet in Australia

If you’re stuck on ADSL, there are other options out there for a faster connection.

Source: PC Authority

Internet Australia renews call for fibre over copper for NBN build

Internet Australia is keeping up the pressure on the Federal Government to abandon copper in favour of a fibre-based network for the National Broadband Network (nbn).

Source: iTWire

What's New On Netflix, Stan And Foxtel Anytime For April

If you’re seeking new content, look no further. Here’s some of the latest Netflix, Stan and Foxtel Anytime have to offer for the month of April.

Source: Gizmodo

Optus partners with Uber for in-car 4G Plus Wi-Fi

Optus and Uber have partnered up to offer drivers and customers 4G Wi-Fi inside of Uber vehicles.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Lightning Broadband promises faster, cheaper broadband without the NBN

Former solar panel mogul Jeremy Rich wants to take on the NBN, already rolling out in Melbourne with ‘plans to go national soon.’

Source: iTWire

Tue, 29th Mar 2016

Survey Results Surprise No One: People Find Netflix Better Value Than Foxtel

Consumer satisfaction research firm Canstar has released the results from its latest survey focusing on paid TV subscriptions, with the trends confirming all of our suspicions. Netflix is the viewer’s darling — no surpises there. And while Foxtel does get a solid thumbs up for new content, it lags behind in the other categories.

Source: Gizmodo

What happens to your social media accounts when you die?

What happens to a person's social media accounts after their death is one of the vexed issues of the internet era, with as many as 30 million Facebook accounts thought to belong to dead people.

Source: ABC News

Spirit Telecom to float on ASX, helped by glamour TV client

Spirit Telecom is approaching one of its final hurdles before listing on the ASX, making it the third small Australian telecommunications-related company to go public in less than a year.

Source: CRN

Basslink fault found but repairs pushed back until mid-June

Basslink locates the fault in the undersea cable which connects Tasmania to Australia's power grid but warn it will not be repaired until mid-June, a month later than it had earlier hoped.

Source: ABC News

Sat, 26th Mar 2016

The Best Smart TVs For Watching Netflix, According To Netflix

Netflix has partnered with TV manufacturers to recommend smart TVs based on their movie streaming performance and other features. If you’re in the market this year for a Netflix-friendly television, check out Netflix’s recommended TVs.

Source: Gizmodo

Fri, 25th Mar 2016

Admitting to throttling video, Netflix now promises more control for users

Netflix admitted Thursday to throttling video streams worldwide for its mobile users, but said it hasn't been an issue for customers.

Source: ARN

Thu, 24th Mar 2016

Investigator: Dealing with limited ISP choice and the NBN

Anthony Caruana addresses a reader’s trouble with finding a suitable ISP and service when moving house.

Source: PC Authority