Broadband News

Thu, 24th Mar 2016

NBN still grappling with inaccurate housing data

NBN says it remains confident it can stay within in its construction budgets despite admitting it is working from flawed and unpredictable data for housing and core telecommunications networks.

Source: iTnews Australia

Dubber and MyNetFone: ‘world-class’ cloud call recording for landline customers coming

Dubber is partnering with MyNetFone to provide a ’world-first cloud based call recording solution to Australian businesses that use traditional fixed phone lines such as PSTN and ISDN services.’

Source: iTWire

Clare launches broadband broadside against Turnbull

Shadow communications minister Jason Clare has seized on Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report as evidence that the government’s broadband plan has come unstuck.

Source: Computerworld

Wed, 23rd Mar 2016

Here's How Netflix Delivers TV Shows And Movies Around Australia

You might think that for a company like Netflix to release TV shows and movies digitally, it should be as simple as chucking the library on some servers, then sending it to you from across the other side of the world — but there’s much more to it than that.

Source: Gizmodo

Optus Is Offering Free Calls To Belgium

Optus customers wanting to contact family and friends following the tragic events in Brussels will be able to make free calls to Belgium throughout March.

Source: Gizmodo

TPG targets SMBs with NBN bundles

TPG today launched a range of National Broadband Network bundles combining Internet access and voice that are targeted at small businesses.

Source: Computerworld

Tue, 22nd Mar 2016

TPG net profit jumps to AU$162m after iiNet acquisition

With subscriber numbers bolstered by its recent acquisition of iiNet, TPG has reported a six-month net profit of AU$162.3 million on revenue of AU$1.15 billion.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra restores voice services after third outage this year

Telstra has confirmed that its fixed-line and mobile voice services have been restored after an hour-long outage.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra Hellstra? Telstra #outage strikes again

Yet another outage appears to be happening right now on Telstra’s network, allegedly Australia’s best, but what happens if Telstra goes down during a free data day?

Source: iTWire

Telstra Mobile's Network Is In Trouble Again

They say bad things come in threes. There are reports that Testra’s mobile network is down once again with a steady stream of customers taking their complaints to Twitter. Currently, the network outage appears to be limited to Perth, Melbourne and parts of Sydney. Here’s the news so far.

Source: Gizmodo

TPG sees net profit soar 90 per cent in first half FY16

​ASX-listed ​TPG Telecom​ has seen its net profit soar 90 per cent to $202.5 million for the first half of FY16, ending January 31. This is in comparison to the same time last year.

Source: ARN

Mon, 21st Mar 2016

Australian data protection laws to be benchmarked in Data Availability inquiry

In conducting its Data Availability and Use inquiry, the Productivity Commission will examine how Australia's data and privacy protection compares to other jurisdictions.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra, Optus, Vodafone compete on stadium mobile coverage

The three primary mobile telcos are aiming to improve speed and connectivity for customers in ANZ Stadium and the MCG using cloud RAN, 3G and 4G upgrades, and LTE-B.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN launches Digital Diagnosis, releases telehealth report

Respondents to an NBN survey have said that access to telehealth would be convenient, save money and time, and provide more options for those living in regional areas.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 18th Mar 2016

Photos: A look inside an NBN exchange

The tech NBN deployed in Redlands, Queensland.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn personally apologises to Telstra customers for mobile outage

I had wondered why Telstra CEO Andrew Penn hadn’t personally apologised to his customers, but minutes ago, he did just that.

Source: iTWire

Telstra Says Sorry For Outage With Another Day Of Free Data

At around 6pm last night, reports of outages on the Telstra network — again — started to emerge. The network began sporadically working again from 7:30pm onwards, and for the inconvenience Telstra are giving away a day of free data next Sunday.

Source: Gizmodo

Telstra apologises, offers free data day after four-hour blackout

The telco apologises for a network outage that affected up to 8 million customers, vowing to provide a free data day as compensation.

Source: ABC News

Thu, 17th Mar 2016

Telstra 'progressively restoring' mobile services after outage

Telstra says it is progressively restoring mobile services after an outage earlier impacted its mobile customers.

Source: ABC News

Nationwide outage hits Telstra's mobile network

Telstra customers lost access to their mobile services for most of Thursday night, just over a month after an "embarrassing human error" took out mobile, home phone and internet services Australia-wide.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN announces FttDP trials across Sydney, Melbourne

NBN will be trialling its FttDP network technology in hopes of deploying it to around 300,000 premises.

Source: ZDNet Australia

nbn announces FttdP trial next month

National Broadband Network provider nbn has announced a field trial of Fibre to the Distribution Point (FttdP) technology to commence in April. The new technology is largely targeted at homes in rural areas with long distances between the curb and the premises and is expected to be deployed in 2017.

Source: iTWire

Optus announces EPL broadcasting via Fetch, apps, website

The telco has laid out its plans to return to sports broadcasting, an area it has not been involved with since the Australian pay TV battles of the '90s.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra Donates 20,000 Smartphones To 'Safe Connections' Domestic Violence Program

Telstra today joined the Federal Government and Women’s Services Network (WESNET) to announce an expansion of the Safe Connections program, providing up to 20,000 safe smartphones over three years for women experiencing domestic violence.

Source: Gizmodo

How Foxtel killed Yournet, the ISP that promised inbuilt US Netflix

It was meant to be the fix for Aussies fed up with getting a raw deal on online content — an internet service provider that let mums and dads sneak into the US Netflix library without needing to know a thing about virtual private networks or Smart DNS.

Source: SMH

Wed, 16th Mar 2016

An FttDP NBN is within reach, but no one wants to touch it yet

Stuck under a government that is ideologically attached to FttN, and an opposition that persists in remaining silent, an interim solution to NBN woes is just waiting for someone to own it.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC gives draft approval for NBN revenue, pricing, cost recovery

The ACCC has approved NBN's FY15 revenue, capex, opex, and pricing, as well as a proposal that provides NBN with the opportunity to recover an additional AU$6.4 million as uptake increases.

Source: ZDNet Australia

JB Hi-Fi turns its salesforce into NBN experts

JB Hi-Fi is training sales leaders from across its 7,000-strong workforce to resell Telstra NBN services, CRN can reveal.

Source: CRN

NBN HFC Rollout Known Internally As 'Operation Clusterf***': Conroy

The rollout of the hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) part of the troubled national broadband network is known internally as “Operation Clusterf—“, says Labor senator Stephen Conroy. “I know the internal nickname you’ve got for the HFC rollout, and it’s not fit to actually describe on the public record: Operation Cluster … something,” Mr Conroy told NBN chief executive Bill Morrow during a heated exchange at a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Source: Gizmodo

NBN prices are OK says ACCC

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has determined that the National Broadband Network company’s prices are not too high and that the government owned company responsible for administering the NBN is earning revenue within allowable limits.

Source: iTWire