Broadband News
Thu, 02nd Apr 2015
My Net Fone mops up NZ international voice carrier
Communications provider My Net Fone has acquired the global wholesale voice business of Telecom New Zealand International (TNZI) from carrier Spark New Zealand.
Source: iTWire
Japanese companies demo 40Gbps passive FTTP tech
Two Japanese companies have combined three key fibre optics technologies to develop a solution that provides 40 gigabit per second fibre to the premises connectivity, in order to meet ever-increasing customer traffic capacity demands.
Source: iTnews Australia
Defence radar could interfere with NBN
The Department of Defence has raised concerns that a critical radar system could interfere with planned deployments of NBN Co's fixed wireless network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 01st Apr 2015
ACCC calls for competition feedback on bandwidth auction
The Australian competition watchdog is calling for industry feedback on whether the proposed auction of unused 1800MHz spectrum bandwidth in regional Australia should be subject to competition limitations.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Rights holders could get sites blocked without evidence
Lawyers have warned that under legislation before the Australian parliament, copyright owners could face no challenge to cases brought to the court seeking to block sites, meaning that sites could be blocked without the court determining whether the sites actually infringe on copyright.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC considers limiting sales of 1800 MHz spectrum
Australia's competition watchdog is considering whether or not to limit the amount of 1800 MHz spectrum that bidders can snare in an upcoming auction.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dial-up is still not dead (yet)
The latest statistics on Internet activity in Australia, released this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that while dial-up is dying it's still not dead.
Source: Computerworld
Aussie appetite for fast broadband proves to be insatiable
Australians crave faster Internet speeds, and their need for it is ever increasing, if you go by the latest findings of national statistical agency, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Source: ARN
NBN Co targets 4 million premises by September 2017
NBN Co has said that the 'multi-technology mix' network will reach close to 4 million premises by September 2017.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co starts work on 550,000 new premises
NBN Co is set to begin work on 550,000 additional Australian premises in Queensland, Victoria, NSW and Western Australia.
Source: ARN
Tue, 31st Mar 2015
Telstra boosts data on broadband, mobile
Telstra is looking to give its customers more data for less money across broadband and mobile in a bid to bring it into line with its competitors.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Federal government moves ICON communication network sale a step closer
The sell-off of the federal government's high speed communication network has taken a step closer with private sector players hired to carry out a scoping study on a possible deal.
Source: SMH
NBN Co launches FTTB offering
NBN Co has formally launched its fibre to the basement (FTTB) product, the company announced early this morning.
Source: Computerworld
Inside Telstra's digital contact centre
Deep inside Telstra's Adelaide office, a team of 30 has been recruited to answer between 1,000 and 1,500 tweets, Facebook comments, and Crowdsupport posts as the company looks to become truly digital.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Data retention has created a giant risk to our privacy
The great irony of the Abbott government’s plan enforce the mandatory data retention legislation is that while this is being done to make us safer, in fact it creates new data security risks for us all.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co goes live with fibre-to-the-building product
NBN Co's commercial product for fibre to the basement (FttB) will be available from Tuesday, with just under 2,000 premises now able to connect to the service.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co releases FTTB product for sale
NBN Co today announced the commercial launch of its fibre-to-the-basement technology, with 2000 premises across Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne set to receive the first connections.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 30th Mar 2015
Telstra readies for Galaxy S6 launch with bonus data and bundled Presto
Customers buying a Samsung Galaxy S6 from Telstra can bundle the smartphone with plans that offer up to 10GB in data and a free subscription to the video-on-demand service Presto.
Source: ARN
Telstra brings data, Presto upgrades to mobile plans, too
Last week it was more data for fixed broadband, now select mobile plans are getting more data and six months free Presto - but no unmetering.
Source: iTWire
iiNet data points to big start for Netflix in Australia
Netflix has scored an early win with its hotly anticipated launch into Australia, with the subscription video-on-demand service already accounting for 15 per cent of iiNet's internet traffic, according to the internet service provider.
Source: SMH
Fri, 27th Mar 2015
Telstra begins preparing for data-retention regime
Following Labor and the government teaming up to pass mandatory data-retention legislation in the Senate on Thursday night, Telstra has announced plans to store the encrypted data in Australia.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone re-signs Nokia to run network from India
Vodafone Australia has signed long-term managed services partner Nokia Networks to continue running the telco's network operations for four more years.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus admits to three big data breaches
Optus has admitted to three data breaches affecting more than 300,000 customers and promised the Australian Privacy Commissioner it will complete an independent review of its IT security systems and implement any recommendations.
Source: iTnews Australia
Data retention: Telstra to keep customer data within Australia
Telstra will store data that it is forced to retain under the government's new data retention regime within Australia, the telco has revealed.
Source: Computerworld
Major flaw in metadata bill, says top silks
The public interest advocate, a key aspect of the renegotiated metadata laws, would be unable to do anything more than “sermonise” when seeking to maintain the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, two silks have warned.
Source: The Australian
Smart criminals can get around metadata laws admits Brandis
Attorney-General George Brandis has conceded “smart criminals” may be able get around the government’s new metadata laws but defended data retention as a “very important source” in investigations.
Source: The Australian
Mandatory data retention passes Australian parliament
The government and Labor have jointly ensured that the telecommunications data of all Australians will be retained for two years for warrantless access by law-enforcement agencies.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Data retention now the law of the land
Australian now has one of the most draconian mass surveillance regimes in the Western world. Yesterday the Senate passed the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014.
Source: iTWire
Soul Patts chief takes aim at TPG founder Michael Malone
TPG Telecom’s second-biggest shareholder has hit out at criticism of its takeover bid for iiNet, saying company founder Michael Malone had been prepared to sell most of his shares for a lot less than the current takeover bid.
Source: The Australian
Thu, 26th Mar 2015
Industry warns site blocking could have unintended consequences
Australia's internet and telecommunications industries have warned the Government's plan to allow content holders to apply for piracy websites to be blocked could have negative unintended consequences.
Source: iTnews Australia