Broadband News
Tue, 09th Feb 2016
Telstra giving away data to mobile customers due to outage
Telstra is giving all its customers free mobile data all day Sunday following a mass outage that impacted 3G and 4G services across the country.
Source: CRN
Telstra confirms mass outage for Australian mobile users
Telstra mobile customers are experiencing a mass outage in multiple states, affecting phone calls and data usage, as well as SMS and online warning alerts for residents in a bushfire zone in Western Australia.
Source: ABC News
Major Telstra mobile outage hits nationwide, with calls and data affected
A widespread interruption to Telstra mobile service is being felt across the country, with thousands taking to social media to complain that calls are unavailable, as well as 2G, 3G and 4G data.
Source: SMH
TPG international cable system out for a month
Australia’s number two broadband provider TPG has suffered a major outage of its international cable that connects Australia to the outside world. What’s more, the outage is not expected to be repaired for at least a month, with 7 March the estimated fix date.
Source: iTWire
The NBN Is Making Australia's Country Towns More Appealing
Kiama (NSW), Ballarat (VIC), Toowoomba (QLD), St Helens (TAS), Victor Harbour (SA), Mandurah (WA) and Howard Springs (NT) are highlighted as potential boom towns for the latest lifestyle movement, identified in research from a report commissioned by NBN.
Source: Gizmodo
Mon, 08th Feb 2016
Optus is most complained-about telco
Optus has recorded more new complaints per user in the last quarter than either Telstra or Vodafone.
Source: CRN
Telcos line up with ACCC against Telstra
Three more telcos have been added as respondents to Telstra’s legal action against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Source: Computerworld
TPG submarine cable outage expected to last a month
A fibre fault in the Sydney-Guam submarine cable will persist until March, according to TPG, with the Southern Cross Cable and Australian-Japan Cable system to be used as substitutes.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCAN wants reduction on NBN pricing
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has raised concerns about the affordability of nbn services in the wake of Friday’s announcement by the broadband network of its financial results for the six months to the end of last December.
Source: iTWire
Ovum ‘encouraged’ by NBN progress
Research analyst firm Ovum says the growth in the number of ‘premises ready for service’ from the nbn is encouraging, with figures released by NBN Co on Friday showing the number of premises has more than doubled in 2015 to 1.67 million, with growth accelerating in 2H15.
Source: iTWire
Regional spectrum will help enhance 4G services: Telstra
Telstra says the 57 blocks of spectrum covering 12 regions across Australia it secured at the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) auction last week will be used to enhance the delivery of 4G mobile services.
Source: iTWire
Australian PPC-1 cable cut, out of action until March
The PPC-1 Australian submarine cable running between Sydney and the United States island territory of Guam has been fully severed, with the repair estimated to take around a month to complete.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 05th Feb 2016
nbn chief confident on track to 8 million connections by 2020
Bill Morrow, CEO of the National Broadband Network, is buoyant about the nbn and the progress his team are making in the progressive rollout of the fast broadband network across Australia.
Source: iTWire
Government Just Sold $543 Million Of Mobile Spectrum
The results of the Federal Government’s recent auction of a large chunk of the 1800MHz band of the Australian radiofrequency spectrum have been announced: Telstra and Optus each spent nearly $200 million on securing more bandwidth, while TPG and Vodafone also splashed out with multi-million dollar investments. The 2015 auction should see Australia’s 4G networks in regional areas get faster and cover wider areas.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN revenue continues to climb, with fibre still key
NBN’s revenue has continued to soar as the National Broadband Network rollout continues, but despite the pivot to a ‘multi-technology mix’ (MTM) after the 2013 election it has continued to be fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) connections that contribute the lion’s share.
Source: Computerworld
nbn co faces EBITDA loss of $866 million for 2016 first half results
nbn has released the financial results for its first half 2016, ending December 31, 2015. The company reported an EBITDA loss of $688 million, from $497 million the same time last year.
Source: ARN
Telcos splash $543m on 1800 MHz spectrum
Optus, Telstra, TPG and Vodafone have emerged as the winners of the Australian Communications and Media Authority's $543.5 million 1800 MHz spectrum auction.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN reports AU$1.2b loss for FY16 first half
NBN has grown its revenue by 152.3 percent, to AU$164 million, but with a net loss of AU$1.24 billion for the six-month period.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 04th Feb 2016
TPP regulations near ratification as nations sign
Under the newly signed TPP, ISPs will be forced to give up infringer details, government procurement barriers will be lowered, and cheaper global roaming rates will be encouraged.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra wholesale boss steps down after 45 years at telco
Telstra’s wholesale group executive Stuart Lee has stepped down after five years in the position.
Source: CRN
As 5G approaches, 3G and 4G are still getting faster
Most of the excitement at Mobile World Congress this month will be about 5G, which won't officially exist until 2020. But vendors will also be showing off new ways to speed up the 3G and 4G networks most people are using today.
Source: ARN
Wed, 03rd Feb 2016
NBN refuses to break down FttN, FttB, and FttDP numbers
NBN Co will not reavel to Senators how much FttN or FttDP will be rolled out in Australia, citing commercial in confidence.
Source: ZDNet Australia
One Of Tasmania's Major Undersea Internet Cables Will Be Cut For Over A Month
The major Basslink undersea power and communications cable that connects Tasmania to the Australian mainland will be cut until mid-March, while the company investigates and fixes a failure in its electricity transmission capacity. That’ll leave Tasmanians with severely reduced connectivity to the internet for nearly six weeks, although contingencies are in place.
Source: Gizmodo
New Survey Shows Pirates Are More Willing To Pay For Netflix
Do you or does anyone in your household download films, music or television shows vis the internet for free? Does your household subscribe to TV and content streaming services? These were the two questions asked in an online survey of over a thousand Australians, and the results tell a story long suspected; given the option, those who pirate will pay for content instead.
Source: Gizmodo
Telstra offers its Foxtel customers 3 months free Platinum HD Package
If you’re an ‘eligible customer’ of Telstra’s, you can enjoy Foxtel from Telstra without lock in contracts until ’30th April’ 2016, with all channel packs.
Source: iTWire
Telstra overtakes Woolworths as most valuable brand
Telstra has overtaken supermarket giant Woolworths to become Australia’s most valuable brand.
Source: CRN
Tue, 02nd Feb 2016
Optus outage downs Virgin Australia's check-in system
Virgin Australia passengers across the country were prevented from checking in for domestic flights for two hours this morning after an outage at the airline's telco partner Optus downed its check-in system.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN to trial satellite with 200 regional Vic users
NBN is gearing up for a customer field trial of its first Sky Muster satellite in regional Victoria, as it prepares for the commercial launch of internet services in April.
Source: iTnews Australia
What's New On Stan In February?
Known for its unique and local content, Stan has some pretty sweet TV and movie titles hitting the streaming service in the next month. Here are some of the highlights.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN aims for swift transition to new satellite service
NBN believes that through its partners it will have enough capacity for at least “several thousand” and potentially up to 10,000 activations a month on its Long Term Satellite Service.
Source: Computerworld