Broadband News
Wed, 14th Oct 2015
Optus accuses telco regulation of failing to keep pace with technology
Optus has argued in favour of a single telco-specific regulator rather than the current split between the government, the ACMA, and the ACCC.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone offering VoLTE before Christmas, but only for Samsung users
Vodafone Australia will become the second Australian telco to offer voice over LTE for general use, but it will be restricted to four Samsung devices to begin with.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Greg Adcock exiting NBN
The chief operating officer of the NBN, Greg Adcock, is leaving the broadband network after just one month less than two years in the job.
Source: iTWire
Telco coalition slams Telstra over reaction to drop in access charges
Telstra has been accused of a “dummy spit of the highest order” for its criticism of the ACCC after the competition watchdog ruled that access charges other telcos and telecommunications providers pay to use their network be dropped by 9.4%.
Source: iTWire
Telstra mobile network fastest, highest quality: Benchmark report
A mobile benchmarking report has named Telstra the top mobile provider in Australia thanks to high call quality, fast data speeds nationwide, and quick call set-up times.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Clare expects NBN to move to G.Fast FttDP
Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare has admitted that even if Labor wins the next election, he will not be able to return the NBN to how it was when Labor lost power.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Australian data breach notification laws will not be passed in 2015: Brandis
The Australian Attorney-General has ruled out the passage of any laws to legislate for data breach notification for this year, with the government only intending to introduce such legislation.
Source: ZDNet Australia
One in five Aussie emails never reaches the inbox
According to Return Path only four out of five commercial emails land in the inbox. One gets sent to a spam folder or goes missing—most likely blocked by the mailbox provider.
Source: iTWire
1-in-4 Internet users have account hacked this year: Kaspersky Lab
New research by Kaspersky Lab shows that in the last 12 months, 25 per cent of Internet users had at least one of their online accounts hacked. Despite this figure, another study shows just 38 per cent of consumers create strong passwords for every account and 57 per cent store passwords insecurely.
Source: ARN
Tue, 13th Oct 2015
Telstra reveals data retention extension
Telstra has revealed the Attorney-General's Department approved the telco's request for an extension to the compliance deadline for its data retention obligations.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra: We could be the only Australian telco with an approved data retention plan
In its annual general meeting held today, Telstra revealed that it has received approval for its data retention plans.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Australia's data retention goes live, but ISPs say they're still in the dark
Australia's telecommunications providers will from today be required to store the non-content data of all customers for up to two years, but many claim to be unsure whether they have been granted an exemption.
Source: iTnews Australia
The Ultimate Guide To Avoiding Australia's Data Retention Scheme
Happy Data Retention day! Greens Senator Scott Ludlam gave us all some great advice on what is being tracked by the Government’s metadata retention scheme, as well as a few basic ways to get around the legislation. This is the master class in dodging data retention from Pirate Party Australia members. Here’s how to get around metadata retention using everything from encrypted calls and messaging services on mobile and desktop platforms, using Tor and keeping your email safe.
Source: Gizmodo
Telcos not ready, don't understand data retention: Comms Alliance
Almost 40 percent of telcos don't understand data retention, while 84 percent will not be compliant by the implementation date, according to a survey by Comms Alliance.
Source: ZDNet Australia
VIDEO Interview: MyNetFone CEO talks plans, VoIP, NBN, mergers and more
While MyNetFone’s business and residential VoIP service makes it Australia 5th largest voice provider, the company’s ISP plan for renters has seen impressive sales since launching.
Source: iTWire
Majority of ISPs not ready to start collecting metadata
The vast majority of Australian internet service providers are not ready to start collecting and storing metadata as required under the country's data retention laws which come into effect today.
Source: ABC News
Metadata retention changes explained
Starting on Tuesday, October 13, Australian telcos such as Telstra and Optus are required to start storing metadata logs pertaining to people's email, internet, mobile and landline use for up to two years.
Source: SMH
Mon, 12th Oct 2015
DBC pushing for 472 account details to trial piracy notices
Dallas Buyers Club LLC wants a federal court judge to release the account details of around 10 percent of the 4726 alleged pirates identified in its legal fight with iiNet so it can test out its notification process.
Source: iTnews Australia
WikiLeaks: ISPs to hand over copyright infringer details under TPP
The TPP will force ISPs to give up the details of customers who allegedly infringe copyright and allow rights holders to seek both compensatory and punitive damages as well as loss of profit, according to WikiLeaks.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Turnbull's mutual respect campaign to kick off with taking away privacy
Try as they might to secure the new honeypots of personal data being created, there will be breaches, and your data will appear online eventually.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Last minute call on Data Retention Act from Internet Australia
On the eve of the Data Retention Act coming into effect, Internet Australia has renewed calls on the federal government for the act to be reviewed and again reiterated that security issues and the costs for ISPs still need to be ironed out.
Source: iTWire
The numbers are in and not looking good for Foxtel
To paraphrase former Prime Minister twice removed Julia Gillard, the the science is in and the death of cable TV is real. What’s more, equally real is the market disrupting surge into the mainstream of streaming video on demand (SVOD).
Source: iTWire
Fri, 09th Oct 2015
NBN complaints up 70 percent for the year
While overall telco complaints were down 10.5 percent, consumer complaints about NBN services skyrocketed by almost 70 percent.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus, iiNet, M2 skyrocket in TIO complaint numbers
Consumer complaints to the Telecommunications Ombudsman about Optus were up by over 30 percent, while iiNet's numbers were up by 26 percent, and M2's by almost 75 percent.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telco complaints fall but still “huge”
Australians made more than 124,000 complaints about their mobile, internet and landline services last financial year with NBN one of the worst offenders.
Source: The Australian
ACCC slashes Telstra’s fixed line services charges
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its final decision on the prices other operators have to pay to use Telstra’s (ASX:TLS) copper network in providing telecommunications services to consumers.
Source: ARN
ACCC overrules Prime Minister Turnbull to cut Telstra phone, internet prices
Telstra is considering its legal options after the competition regulator ordered the telecommunications giant to slash its wholesale network prices by 9.4 per cent in an effort to make phone and internet services cheaper.
Source: SMH
Thu, 08th Oct 2015
Draft legislation for GST on digital purchases unveiled
The Australian government will begin taxing ebooks, streaming services, apps, games, and music downloads should its legislation pass Parliament.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA directs telcos to comply with industry code
The telco industry regulator in Australia has given six telcos directions to comply with the Telecommunications Protection Code.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Amended 'Netflix Tax' Released
Not just focused on streaming providers, the exposure draft of the bill covers GST on digital goods and services sold by overseas vendors in Australia. Netflix will be paying up of course, but so will sellers of e-books, music, apps and other downloaded purchases.
Source: Gizmodo