Broadband News
Wed, 23rd Dec 2015
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
iiNet Has Almost Won Its Dallas Buyers Club Piracy Case
iiNet has almost won its case against Dallas Buyers Club LLC in the Federal Court, marking the start of the final stage in what will be a landmark judgement for copyright infringement law in Australia.
Source: Gizmodo
Dallas Buyers Club downloaders safe for now
The latest attempt by the rights holders of Dallas Buyers Club to obtain the details of alleged movie pirates has failed.
Source: Computerworld
Optus scores 10-year Olympics deal
Optus is extending its sports remit with a sponsorship deal with the Australian Olympic Committee for the next 10 years.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN appoints chief network engineering officer
NBN has appointed its interim chief network engineering officer into the permanent role, with the executive to oversee the network's design, engineering, and rollout.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 15th Dec 2015
Telstra opens Wi-Fi network to mobile customers, offers free Wi-Fi
Telstra is allowing its mobile customers to access Telstra Air for the first time, as well as offering free Wi-Fi for the next six months to all customers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telcos get credit for improved performance, drop in services complaints
The Communication Alliance has lauded the telecommunications industry for an improved performance in delivery of services to customers as new figures published today show that consumer complaints to telcos about services have dropped significantly.
Source: iTWire
Telco complaints hit nine-year low as NBN migration bares fruit
Telecommunications consumer complaints to the industry ombudsman have fallen to their lowest level in nine years during the most recent quarter according to figures released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).
Source: ARN
Slow internet speeds top complaints list
Slow data speed has topped the list of most complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
Source: CRN
Mon, 14th Dec 2015
Telstra trumpets ABC iview’s arrival on Telstra TV plus other stats
ABC iview can now be viewed on the Roku-powered Telstra TV from 15 December with Telstra customers watching ‘over 34 years of entertainment in just four weeks.’
Source: iTWire