Broadband News

Thu, 03rd Nov 2022

'It's a concern': Government demands answers over Australia Post and NBN Co bonuses

The federal government has sought an explanation from government-owned businesses about executive salaries and bonuses worth tens of millions of dollars.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 02nd Nov 2022

Huawei ban hobbled competition, Optus claims

The Turnbull government’s decision to ban Huawei equipment from Australian 5G networks has become part of the context behind Optus’ objections to the Telstra-TPG multi-operator carrier network (MOCN) deal.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus backs 'likelihood' of TPG deal if Telstra-TPG tie-up rejected

Optus says a tie-up with TPG Telecom should be considered “at least a real commercial likelihood” if a proposed TPG-Telstra network and spectrum sharing deal is rejected.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 21st Oct 2022

How Medibank joined Optus in hack hell

As the private health insurer deals with the fallout, clues are starting to emerge about how hackers were able to break into the company.

Source: SMH

Medibank reveals 200GB of data stolen in cyber hack

Cyber criminals have stolen 200 gigabytes of sensitive information, including medical details, from the private health insurer Medibank.

Source: ARN

ATO receives 3M hack attempts per month

​The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is being hit by 3 million attempted cyber security attacks every month and is facing a growing threat from data-sharing by banks and superannuation funds.

Source: ARN

Thu, 20th Oct 2022

NBN taps Nokia for its fixed wireless network upgrade

The NBN has selected Finnish telecommunications vendor Nokia to supply 5G fixed wireless access mmWave customer premises equipment for its fixed wireless network upgrade.

Source: iTWire

Optus hack overloads credit monitor Equifax

Credit monitoring firm Equifax is scrambling to register new users after being inundated with Optus customers caught up in last month’s data breach.

Source: SMH

Fed govt hands NBN Co $2.4B for fibre rollout

​The federal government is to hand over $2.4 billion to NBN Co in order for it to replace more copper-based services with fibre.

Source: ARN

NBN Co to receive $2.4 billion to extend FTTN overbuild

The government has kept its pre-election pledge to back NBN Co with another $2.4 billion so that the network builder can replace more copper-based services with fibre.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 19th Oct 2022

NBN Co reveals final batch of suburbs to get free FTTP upgrades

NBN Co has revealed even more areas that will be upgraded from Fibre to the Node.

Source: WhistleOut

Fri, 14th Oct 2022

Netflix to launch discounted service with ads after subscribers drop

The streaming giant's latest offer includes four to six ads per hour for a discounted price, in a bid to turn around a decline in subscriber numbers.

Source: ABC News

A whole bunch of Telstra providers are offering cheap 5G mobile plans with 100Mbps speeds

A number of Telstra-powered mobile providers are now offering 5G connectivity on cheaper SIM-only mobile plans. These include Exetel, Woolworths Mobile, numobile, and MATE, with plans starting as low as $28 per month on Exetel.

Source: WhistleOut

Thu, 13th Oct 2022

Medibank takes systems offline after 'cyber incident'

Medibank has taken two customer-facing systems offline “to reduce the likelihood of damage to systems or data loss” stemming from a cyber security incident.

Source: iTnews Australia

A-G says privacy reforms may be fast-tracked after Optus breach

The federal government is considering breaking some urgent reforms out of the Privacy Act review in the wake of the Optus data breach, attorney general Mark Dreyfus said yesterday.

Source: iTnews Australia

Home Affairs boss: Optus breach is not a model for policy debate

Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo has suggested the Optus breach, while driving much discussion about cyber security policy, isn’t necessarily a good model for policy debates.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 12th Oct 2022

Community Fibre secures $1.7 billion facility to ramp full-fibre broadband network rollout

London-based internet service provider Community Fibre has secured £985 million ($1.7 billion) facility to launch a full-fibre broadband network to 2.2 million London homes by the end of 2024.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 10th Oct 2022

After Optus, a second SingTel company discloses data breach

Dialog, an Australian IT services company recently bought by the Optus parent, has said its employees and clients are affected by a breach it detected last month.

Source: SMH

NBN Co offers $125K for regional innovation

NBN Co has launched the third round of its regional Australian grants program, tabling a total of $125,000.

Source: ARN

Data from old attack on Optus parent Singtel surfaces on Web forum

Data stolen from Singapore's multinational telecommunications conglomerate Singtel on 20 January last year, during an attack through a file-sharing system from Accellion that was close to end-of-life at the time, has surfaced on a forum on the clear Web. Singtel owns the Australian telco Optus which recently suffered a massive data breach.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 07th Oct 2022

Class action firm files claim against Optus

The claim lodged by Maurice Blackburn is seeking compensation on behalf of millions of Optus customers for alleged privacy law breaches.

Source: SMH

Optus ups number of Medicare cards breached

Optus has revised the number of its customers whose Medicare card numbers were exposed in a recent data breach to 43,000.

Source: iTnews Australia

New Telstra and NBN Co agreement goes live

​A new definitive agreement between Telstra and NBN Co comes into effect today following approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Source: ARN

Thu, 06th Oct 2022

Sydney man charged for allegedly trying to scam Optus breach victims

A 19-year-old Sydney man has been charged with allegedly trying to blackmail Optus customers whose data was leaked onto the internet as proof of a data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Gov to update telco regulations to help protect Optus breach victims

The federal government has announced emergency regulations designed to help banks and agencies protect customers caught up in the Optus data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sun, 02nd Oct 2022

Australian telco sector security sweep comes up clean, so far

A sweep of the Australian telecommunications sector for vulnerabilities or evidence of a coordinated campaign following the Optus breach had not uncovered anything of major concern, cyber security minister Clare O’Neil said Sunday.

Source: iTnews Australia

Services Australia struggles to gauge exposure to Optus data breach

Services Australia is unaware of the extent to which Medicare numbers or other credentials have been exposed in the Optus breach, because the telco hasn’t responded to the agency’s queries.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sat, 01st Oct 2022

Did Optus suffer another data breach before the big one?

Did Optus suffer another data breach before the big leak, one that has gone generally unmentioned and unnoticed? At least one security professional who has been closely following the incidents at the telco appears to think so.

Source: iTWire

Australian police, banks join forces to monitor leaked Optus dataset

Federal and state authorities have set up a new operation aimed at protecting the identities of 10,200 Optus customers whose details were published to an online forum following a massive data breach.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 30th Sep 2022

All Belong mobile plans now have 5G, but there's a catch

All Belong mobile customers can now get 5G connectivity at no extra cost.

Source: WhistleOut