Broadband News
Tue, 10th Mar 2015
Turnbull slowing down the NBN? Not so fast
When NBN Co changed its metric to measure brownfields passed last year, the waters were muddied because it was not possible to equate apples with apples.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 09th Mar 2015
Telstra wi-fi put to the test by over 700k users
More than 700,000 individuals have taken part in Telstra’s $100 million public wi-fi network trial since its launch in November, the carrier has revealed.
Source: iTnews Australia
Boost Mobile enters the Age of Ultra: 31 March 2015
Boost is replacing its $10 and $20 UNLTD plans with a $20 ULTRA plan, with good news promised soon for the $40 UNLTD plan too.
Source: iTWire
Telstra to provide metadata to customers – for a price
Telstra has announced it will make available some of the metadata it keeps on its customers.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 06th Mar 2015
MWC: 5G in 2020, and the rise of the machines
While 4G was about offering increased capacity and speeds for data-hungry users, vendors, telcos, and regulators are working to ensure that 5G is all about coping with the rise of connected machines.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC: comms prices fell 2.7% in 2013-14, consumers benefit
The average real prices of landline and mobile voice calls have fallen by around 50% since 1997-98, comms prices were down 2.7% in 2013-14.
Source: iTWire
Telstra offers customers access to metadata for $25
Telstra will allow its customers to access the metadata the telco stores on them for a fee ranging upwards from $25.
Source: iTnews Australia
Cost of telco services falls while NBN plan prices rise
The price of mobile, broadband and fixed-line voice services is continuing to decline in Australia, while the cost of plans for the national broadband network increases, the competition regulator has revealed.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra to allow customers to access their own metadata
Australia's largest telco will allow its customers to access the metadata they generate. Telstra said this morning that its customers will get the same access to their personal data that law enforcement organisations could request from the telco.
Source: Computerworld
Google to become Australia’s next cut price mobile data player?
Search giant Google shook up the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona this week when the company officially confirmed that it intends to sell mobile data plans in the US. The question is whether Google will join other MVNOs, such as Boost, Amaysim and Aldi, and sell cut price mobile plans in Australia.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 05th Mar 2015
Journalist metadata could get special treatment
Law enforcement agencies may be required to treat journalists’ metadata with special care under the federal government’s controversial data retention scheme.
Source: iTnews Australia
Calls for independent oversight of Australia's website blocking laws
The parliamentary committee inquiring into the laws allowing Australian government agencies to block websites has received calls for an independent party to oversee the scheme.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Govt report pins Australia's future on technology, but ignores NBN
Technology and innovation will be at the centre of Australia's continued productivity over the next 40 years, according to the Treasury Department's latest Intergenerational Report.
Source: ZDNet Australia
5G talk heats up, but launch still far off
The 5G hype machine hit a fever pitch this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but wireless services based on the still-to-be-formalised wireless standard are not expected to launch in any markets until 2020 at the earliest.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra joins 4G broadcast group
Telstra is one of the few vendors to join a new group of telco vendors, mobile operators, content providers and device manufacturers to share best practices in LTE Broadcast.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 04th Mar 2015
Bipartisan support sees Senate pass online anti-bullying laws
The Australian government's proposed legislation to establish a children's e-safety commissioner in a bid to help combat online bullying has passed the Senate.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Australia's online retail sales slow to AU$16.6b year on year
Unlike last December, when the total Australian online retail sales index reached 11.9 percent year on year, the total online retail sales index for January 2015 was more subdued, due to a slowdown in domestic sales.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co fibre-on-demand product due this month
By the end of March, NBN Co will launch its fibre co-contribution and fibre-on-demand products, Senator Mitch Fifield has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Abbott wants data-retention law passed this week
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants the government's proposed mandatory data-retention scheme passed into law this week.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Data retention: 'A couple of issues which do require more work' says Shorten
Labor leader Bill Shorten today told journalists there were some issues with the government's proposed data retention legislation but none of them "are too hard to work out".
Source: Computerworld
European group wants 5G to be 100x faster than 4G
5G should go 100 times faster than 4G, connect 1,000 times as many devices and carry 1,000 times as much traffic in a given area, a European Commission group says.
Source: ARN
Telstra leads tech advances by taking risk: Thodey
Telstra CEO David Thodey has said the incumbent has maintained its leadership position in mobile technology advances through risk-taking, and putting its investments on the line.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus to release own brand ‘Cash by Optus’ smartphone
Optus has used the Mobile World Congress to announce a planned extension to its Cash by Optus mobile payments system which includes a credit card on a smartphone.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 03rd Mar 2015
Telstra resells Presto, unmeters it on Telstra/Foxtel fixed broadband
Hey Presto, just like that, Telstra has become a Presto reseller in a move which comes as no surprise given Telstra’s 50% ownership of Presto’s parent, Foxtel.
Source: iTWire
iiNet flicks broadband quotas with quota-free Netflix
iiNet meets Netflix to flick off pesky broadband usage quotas from day one of Netflix’s Australia/NZ launch on 24 March 2015.
Source: iTWire
Govt to adopt all changes to data retention bill
A national data retention scheme is expected to be passed into law after the federal government announced it would adopt all the recommendations made for the bill by a joint Liberal and Labor committee.
Source: iTnews Australia
Data retention: Government agrees to detail data set in legislation
The government has agreed to set out in its data retention bill exactly what customer data telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers will need to store.
Source: Computerworld
iiNet hit with $204,000 ACCC fine
The nation’s largest independent ISP, iiNet, has been forced to pay $204,000 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for its advertising of its naked broadband plans.
Source: ARN
Netflix switches on Australia 24 March
Long awaited online video service, Netflix will finally be available in Australia and New Zealand this month. The popular online service will begin streaming in ANZ on 24 March, the company announced today.
Source: iTWire
NBN completes 3.5 GHz wireless trial
NBN Co, Ericsson and NetComm have completed a trial of 3.5 GHz wireless radio coverage and fixed-wireless service performance.
Source: iTWire