Broadband News

Mon, 04th Jan 2016

Netflix Australia January 2016 content selection

Netflix has advised which TV shows and movies have been added to its roster of content in January 2016: here it is!

Source: iTWire

802.11ah Wi-Fi standard approved, will underpin Internet of Things

A new wireless standard that extends Wi-Fi’s reach down into the 900MHz band will keep the 802.11 family at the center of the developing Internet of Things, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced today.

Source: ARN

Amaysim acquires Vaya for AU$20m, inherits AU$50m Optus debt

Amaysim has acquired MVNO Vaya for AU$70 million in total, including a AU$50 million debt to Optus, due to be paid over the next two years.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 31st Dec 2015

Telstra, Vodafone prepare for New Year's Eve network traffic jump

Vodafone will make use of cells on wheels while Telstra taps into its mobile app and Wi-Fi network to handle the increase in network traffic during NYE.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 30th Dec 2015

Majority of WA iiNet internet users 'back online' after major fault

The internet service provider iiNet says it is confident it has fixed a fault that has affected customers around Western Australia for four days.

Source: ABC News

Tue, 29th Dec 2015

Quickflix recovers AU$7m debt through deals with 'major studios'

The streaming company has reduced millions of dollars in debt by signing licensing deals with studios, and will restructure its remaining payment obligations by issuing options for 50 million non-exercisable shares.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Chasing Aussie Downloaders Backfired In 2015: Netflix, VPNs Were The Winners

For Voltage Pictures, producers of the movie Dallas Buyers Club, extracting substantial fines from a large number of Australians who downloaded their movie illegally should have been relatively straightforward. They had used the model in other countries successfully and Australia had politicians and a legal framework that supported the protection of intellectual property.

Source: Gizmodo

Thu, 24th Dec 2015

Telstra predicts MASSIVE record traffic on its network for Christmas 2015

’Tis the season to be jolly but ’tis also the season to be online and break some records, Telstra-style!

Source: iTWire

Wed, 23rd Dec 2015

Comcast now offering 1Gbps speeds across DOCSIS 3.1

Comcast has connected the first commercial DOCSIS 3.1 service to a customer in Philadelphia, providing speeds of up to 1Gbps.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Project Thunder: The Aussie rival to Netflix that never was

Netflix has impacted viewing habits, piracy rates and even internet speeds in Australia, but it could have been a different story if Project Thunder had come together as planned.

Source: ABC News

IA wants a lift in our efforts to enable a 'digital' Australia

Australia’s peak body representing Internet users has called for a stepped-up national effort by government and industry to ensure Australia achieves its full potential as a digitially-enabled society.

Source: iTWire

Telstra Expects A Record Breaking Day Of Traffic This Christmas

To be more precise: Telstra is expecting us to download twice the amount of data we downloaded last year.

Source: Gizmodo

What we learned about 5G in 2015

The much-anticipated 5G mobile standard won't be finished until 2020, but the people who'll make it happen were busy throughout 2015 trying to define it.

Source: ARN

Kim Dotcom faces extradition to United States after hearing

A New Zealand court rules Internet mogul Kim Dotcom can be extradited to the United States to face online piracy charges.

Source: ABC News

Understanding the NBN: What is the multi-technology mix?

If this is the NBN we’re stuck with; we might as well understand it. I cut through the myths and the spin to spell out what each technology offers and how likely it is to last for the long haul.

Source: PC Authority

Tue, 22nd Dec 2015

HTTP 451 Error Code For Internet Censorship Approved

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has approved the use of the 451 HTTP status code for websites that are inaccessible for legal reasons such as government censored content or blocked copyrighted material. There are limitations as to whether internet users in different geographical regions will see this error code but the approval of 451 is an acknowledgement of the prevailing issues of internet censorship and online piracy.

Source: Gizmodo

Telstra working on 1Gbps commercial network speeds with Ericsson, Qualcomm

A test by Ericsson, Telstra, and Qualcomm has seen the companies use 4x4 MIMO combined with 256 QAM in an effort to attain speeds of 1Gbps across the commercial network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACMA promises ‘easier access to spectrum’ for Internet of Things

ACMA’s newly proposed changes to regulatory arrangements will ensure operators of M2M wireless comms links used for IoT will ‘find it easier to access spectrum.’

Source: iTWire

Mon, 21st Dec 2015

NBN to pay Telstra to fix telco's copper network

Telstra will be paid by NBN to fix faults in its copper network under a new deal signed by the pair today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra signs NBN HFC design, copper maintenance deals

NBN has entered an MoU with Telstra for managing the designing, engineering, and construction of its HFC network, with Telstra also awarded two maintenance contracts worth AU$80m in the first year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra to take charge of NBN’s HFC rollout

Telstra and NBN are in the final throes of negotiations for a contract that will see the telco take charge of design and construction management for the majority of the National Broadband Network hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) rollout.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra's future on the line

As Telstra prepares for the next stage of its transformation, its 1.3 million shareholders must make an important call – to back management through riskier investments in places like Asia aimed at growing profits or sell out now.

Source: SMH

Sat, 19th Dec 2015

Telstra activates first three mobile blackspot cell towers

Telstra has switched on services in the first three communities to receive coverage under the government's mobile blackspot program.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 18th Dec 2015

Malcolm's Mess: How The Coalition's NBN Came Unstuck

It’s been a tough few weeks for the Prime Minister’s record on the national broadband network (NBN), though you might have missed it amid all the talk about “innovation” and “the ideas boom”.

Source: Gizmodo

Vodafone expands 4G footprint in NSW and ACT

Vodafone has made enhancements to its 4G network for areas of regional New South Wales and the ACT.

Source: ARN

Australian broadband sees least growth in APAC

Australia's peak connection speed for Q3 was 41.9Mbps, the smallest gain in the entire APAC region, while its average speed stood at only 7.8Mbps.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 17th Dec 2015

Optus slugged $51,000 over 'NBN-like speeds' claim

Optus has been hit with a $51,000 penalty by the consumer watchdog after the telco claimed it could offer cable broadband services with ‘NBN-like speeds’.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus fined $54k for duping customers on Internet speeds

Optus has been slapped with a fine for misleading customers following the issue of five infringement notices by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Source: ARN

Wed, 16th Dec 2015

After 14 months of construction, NBN has 1,000 FttN customers

Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has proudly announced that in 51 days, 1,000 customers have signed up to FttN services, far below the current activation run rate of around 8,000 a week on fibre.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Federal Court Throws Out Dallas Buyers Club Piracy Case

The Federal Court has dismissed an attempt by a major film studio to access the private details of thousands of iiNet customers who they believed had illegally shared copies of the movie Dallas Buyers Club.

Source: Gizmodo