Broadband News

Mon, 16th Feb 2015

NBN Co to get updates on state of the Telstra copper network

NBN Co has revealed the basic steps the company took in assessing the quality of Telstra's copper and HFC networks before agreeing to a new deal to take ownership of the networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 13th Feb 2015

Optus to try luck in world of online streaming

Optus is the latest player to dip its toes in the burgeoning world of online and mobile video streaming as it welcomed a ­second consecutive quarter of revenue growth.

Source: The Australian

Industry needs political stability: Telstra chief David Thodey

Telstra chief David Thodey has called for an end to the leadership ructions in Canberra, saying the business community needs certainty to plan for the next decade and grow new economic areas as the resources sector ­continues to wane.

Source: The Australian

Chinese New Year brings free international calls for Vodafone customers

The Year of the Sheep will bring instant rewards for Vodafone customers as the telco rings in the Chinese New Year with free calls to countries across Asia.

Source: ARN

Thu, 12th Feb 2015

Optus data revenues up on 4G growth

Optus' 4G customer base hit 3.18 million in the quarter ending 31 December, the telco revealed this morning. Optus added 435,000 4G customers in the quarter.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra sees jump in profit and customer growth

Investing in new businesses and growing its telecommunications services across Asia are two key elements for Telstra’s ambitious growth plans this year.

Source: ARN

Optus net profit dips as mobile grows

SingTel subsidiary, Optus (ASX:SGT) has experienced an 8.2 per cent decline in net profit to $208 million for its third quarter ending December 31.

Source: ARN

Wed, 11th Feb 2015

Telstra-NBN deal in the Senate spotlight

Portions of the renegotiated Telstra-NBN deal will be probed by a parliamentary committee.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vodafone targets mobile video

Vodafone Australia has identified the increased use of video on phones as a way of differentiating itself from Telstra and Optus.

Source: iTWire

Coming soon - better 4G for the bush

Australia's regional and rural areas will get better 4G mobile coverage if new spectrum plans are approved.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 10th Feb 2015

Dallas Buyers Club targets wholesaler iseek in new piracy case

Anti-piracy litigant Dallas Buyers Club LLC is targeting broadband wholesaler iseek to find out which of its retailers' customers downloaded illicit copies of the film of the same name.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra, Optus, Vodafone unite in GPS patent dispute

Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone are fighting against patent-infringement claims over the use of assisted GPS and video-streaming services in the companies' mobile networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACMA lobbies to reallocate regional 1800 MHz

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has begun lobbying Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reallocate regional 1800MHz spectrum for use with 4G LTE services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vodafone to launch VoLTE 'later this year'

Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) has announced successful trials of VoLTE (voice over LTE) which it says will lead to a better 4G service ‘later this year'.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 09th Feb 2015

Vodafone sees 650 percent data jump on roaming

Vodafone Australia has seen the amount of data used by customers travelling abroad increase by 650 percent since introducing the AU$5-per-day roam-as-home option.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus enters data analytics market

Optus has partnered with wi-fi driven data analytics firm Skyfii to resell data-driven intelligence about retail habits to its own enterprise clients.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus makes unlimited data cheaper on ADSL, cable and NBN

Unlimited data on ADSL, cable and NBN is now cheaper for Optus subscribers, but we’re still light years away from unlimited data on mobile networks.

Source: iTWire

Vodafone completes trials of voice calls using 4G

Vodafone has completed a successful trial of its first voice calls using 4G - also known as Voice over LTE or VoLTE.

Source: ARN

If you want our metadata, show us yours

With many governments around the world looking to consolidate communications surveillance as a central tenet of society, security expert Mikko Hyppönen has put forward the idea of transparency reports on what governments do with metadata.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co to punish high-volume satellite users

NBN Co has ordered all retail service providers on the interim satellite service to enforce a 50GB four-week usage threshold for customers to combat ongoing congestion on the service.

Source: iTnews Australia

NEXTDC, Telstra test new path to renewable energy

NEXTDC is examining options to use the roof space of neighbouring buildings to run solar arrays in what would be a major expansion of its renewable energy strategy.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co completes build of 10 satellite stations to serve 400,000 Australians

NBN Co has completed construction work on all 10 of the satellite ground stations which will help deliver services to 400,000 Australia in remote and rural areas.

Source: ARN

Fri, 06th Feb 2015

NBN Co and Optus co-build mobile towers

NBN Co and Optus are in the 'early stages' of plans to co-build mobile towers for the company's respective fixed-wireless and mobile networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ISP minors threatened by ‘half-baked’ metadata law

Hundreds of small internet service providers are at risk of collapse under proposed new metadata laws, as industry warns the scheme is “half baked” and will burden business with red tape.

Source: The Australian

Thu, 05th Feb 2015

Telcos reject Abbott's claims on data-retention costs

The telecommunications industry group the Communications Alliance has rejected claims from Australia's prime minister that mandatory data retention wouldn't be costly to the industry.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vodafone frees up weekends for prepaid customers

Vodafone is offering free data at weekends to customers on certain prepaid plans, along with unlimited calls to five countries.

Source: iTWire

TPG's cloud arm wins small victory in stolen data lawsuit

The cloud services arm of TPG Telecom has won a small victory in an ongoing legal battle with rival Core Desktop over the latter's alleged use of confidential business data to steal customers.

Source: iTnews Australia

​Abbott dismisses data-retention cost complaints from telcos

The Australian prime minister and the Australian Federal Police have urged the quick passage of the mandatory data-retention Bill, explaining that it will not be a financial burden for telcos and will assist with criminal investigations.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Abbott wants data retention laws by March

Controversial data retention laws will pass parliament next month if the federal government gets its way.

Source: ARN

Telstra to axe 64 Ballarat jobs

Telstra will axe 64 jobs in Ballarat as part of 78 positions to go across the country in April.

Source: ARN