Broadband News
Fri, 12th Jun 2015
Exetel dumps 400 heavy broadband users
Internet service provider Exetel has given 400 of its broadband customers notice that their contracts will be terminated for heavy usage.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra to switch off free wi-fi hotspots from Sunday
Telstra will start turning off its free wi-fi hotspots from Sunday in preparation for the official launch of its national wi-fi network, which it will charge non-Telstra home broadband customers a fee to access.
Source: iTnews Australia
CHOICE bawls out politicians over support for Internet filter Bill
Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has delivered a harsh rebuke to the two major political parties for uniting to support the Internet filter Bill, accusing them of opposing ‘online competition’.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 11th Jun 2015
Labor falls in to support piracy site-blocking Bill
The Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee has recommended that legislation to introduce a filter to block overseas-based piracy sites in Australia be passed.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co under Labor was an unrealistic glee club: Turnbull
Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled the behaviour of NBN Co under the former Labor government as detached from the reality of the rollout and having a culture where bad news was buried.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Bill to block pirate websites gets tick of approval
A bill that will in some circumstances force ISPs to block access to websites linked to online piracy looks almost certain to become law.
Source: Computerworld
Australians ditching the landline for mobile phones: ACMA
A growing number of Australians are disconnecting their fixed-line telephones and opting to rely on their mobile devices for voice communication and internet access.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC raises competition concerns over TPG deal to buy iiNet
The competition regulator says TPG Telecom's $1.56 billion takeover of iiNet may substantially lessen competition in the broadband market.
Source: SMH
Telcos offered more time to comply with data-retention scheme
Australian telcos that are not able to get systems in place to store all data related to the communications of their customers by October will be able to ask for up to 18 months' extra time to comply.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 10th Jun 2015
NBN makes contractors fight for six-month packets of work
The national network builder has reworked its historically troubled approach to contractor partners by building in performance metrics which will force providers to prove their worth every six months.
Source: iTnews Australia
New NBN construction contracts to spur multi-technology rollout
The National Broadband Network (NBN) has agreed to a new contracting model with the Australian construction industry and had inked construction contracts that will enable the delivery of the NBN network to another four million homes and businesses.
Source: ARN
Data retention: Government yet to reveal details of funding arrangements
The Attorney-General's Department has warned Internet service providers they must start preparing to meet their new obligations under the data retention regime, but the government is yet to spell out some important details of how the policy will operate.
Source: Computerworld
Australia's data retention obligations become law
The Attorney-General's Department has announced that from October 15, 2013, telecommunications service providers that use communications infrastructure in Australia to provide any of their services may be required to retain and secure specific telecommunications data for two years.
Source: ARN
Messaging: 200% traffic increase but revenues to decline by $600 million
Revenue from the messaging market is set to decline by $600 million over the next 5 years according to Juniper Research despite big traffic from WhatsApp et al.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 09th Jun 2015
Third NBN rebrand could cost close to $1 million
The third rebranding of NBN Co is expected to cost close to $1 million and an additional $4.5 million will be spent on regional television advertising.
Source: SMH
iiNet investigates alleged Westnet data breach
iiNet has said it is investigating a potential database hack on its subsidiary Westnet that could have seen passwords, email addresses, and other personal information compromised and sold to the highest bidder.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet investigates alleged theft of customer database
An unknown hacker claims to have breached iiNet subsidiary Westnet and accessed a large database of information including customer data.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 05th Jun 2015
Telstra gets ACCAN red card over delay in response to outages
Telstra is in trouble again over outages to its network, just a few days after outages in New South Wales disrupted mobile, landline and Internet use for thousands of its customers, and caused problems with communications on the state’s rail network.
Source: iTWire
NBN ownership, cherry-picking rules challenged by trade agreement
A WikiLeaks leak of documents from a new international trade agreement has raised potential consequences for NBN ownership and cherry-picking legislation should Australia sign the agreement.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Australian government slammed for public safety broadband inaction
The current and former Australian governments have come under fire from the Police Federation of Australia for delaying a decision on whether to build out a public safety mobile broadband network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 04th Jun 2015
TPG creates new retail arm for FTTB
TPG has created a new retail arm to sell its wholesale fibre-to-the-basement product to residential customers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dark fibre connectivity provider, Superloop, joins ASX
Dark fibre connectivity provider Superloop has become an ASX listed company following its Initial Public Offering, which raised of $17.5 million.
Source: ARN
Wed, 03rd Jun 2015
FirstPath to lay new Sydney Harbour cable
Network operator FirstPath will today lay a new two-segment cable across Sydney Harbour to service commercial, government and residential customers.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN will only guarantee 12Mbps speeds during FttN transition
The government-owned company formerly known as NBN Co has said it will only guarantee speeds of 12Mbps for fibre-to-the-node services while transitioning from ADSL.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN hits million premises mark
The national network builder has come in ahead of its self-imposed deadline to enable one million premises to order NBN services by June 30.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN hits the million mark
The National Broadband Network is now available to more than a million premises, the government announced today.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 02nd Jun 2015
Government should be able to block websites, says report
Government agencies should have the right to block access to any websites they wish, says Parliamentary Committee, provided there is an adequate oversight mechanism in place.
Source: iTWire
Telstra leans on partners as telco margins erode
CTO Vish Nandlall is looking to bring a Google-like approach to Australia's biggest telco.
Source: iTnews Australia
Hong Kong exposes Australia’s high-speed internet hype
Australia is miles behind Hong Kong when it comes to internet speeds and even areas lucky enough to get full fibre have premises where consumers get little more than ADSL2 speeds.
Source: The Australian
Thousands of Telstra customers left without mobile service in Sydney
Telstra apologises to thousands of customers who were unable to use their phones for calls or internet in Sydney overnight after a technical problem caused an outage.
Source: ABC News