Broadband News
Thu, 06th Mar 2014
Telehealth could save "unsustainable" federal health budget, according to a white paper
A national strategy for Telehealth could save the federal government about $4 billion and help rein in an unsustainable health budget.
Source: ARN
Cloud growth drives network upgrade at Brisbane ISP
Growth in demand for Metro Ethernet services has driven a program of ongoing upgrades at Brisbane Internet service provider APEXnetworks over the last 12 months, according to chief technology officer Ryan Crouch.
Source: Computerworld
Aldi gets wrist slap over 'unlimited' plans
Aldi Mobile has been forced to rename one of its 'unlimited' prepaid mobile plans after the consumer watchdog accused the company of misleading customers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Comms union backs Tasmanian pro-FTTP NBN bill
Tasmanian Senator Anne Urquhart's pro-fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) bill has been welcomed by the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU).
Source: ARN
Wed, 05th Mar 2014
Labor tries to force NBN Co to keep Tasmanian fibre rolling
Labor will introduce legislation into the Senate today aiming at forcing NBN Co to keep rolling out fibre to 200,000 Tasmanian premises.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wholesale VoIP to create new revenue streams for Optus partners
Optus wholesale clients are now able to access voice over internet protocol (VoIP).
Source: ARN
Telstra doubles Cyclone Dylan outage impact
Telstra has revised upward the number of damaged fixed line services in North Queensland to over 10,000 after a more complete assessment of the aftermath of January's Cyclone Dylan.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telco industry questions ACCAN's role
The Communications Alliance has asked the Australian government to review the telco-funded consumer lobby organisation ACCAN as part of its red tape reduction review.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 04th Mar 2014
Optus, Vodafone call for repeal of roaming laws
Optus and Vodafone have called on the Australian Government to pull back regulation introduced less than a year ago that was designed to prevent overseas travellers incurring excessive roaming charges.
Source: iTnews Australia
How Telstra plans its digital makeover
Telstra's head of digital, Gerd Schenkel, plans to make dealing with Telstra online so appealing that customers will flock to it in droves.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Look past NBN for Australia's digital future: AIIA
Australia's peak ICT industry body is urging the federal government to look past the NBN when considering investment in Australia's digital future.
Source: ARN
Mon, 03rd Mar 2014
Telstra adopts Qantas pitch on opening mobile network
Telstra CEO David Thodey has said the foreign-owned mobile companies Optus and Vodafone could invest as much in their own networks as Telstra has.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra to offer real-time billing, tracking of technicians
Telstra is set to launch a real-time view of customer billing and payments, as well as a new digital service for customers to track the schedule of a Telstra technician assigned to work at their premises.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra to bolster digital customer interaction
Telstra is revising its product and services portfolio in a bid to become more digital on the customer interaction front.
Source: ARN
Telstra vans to be fitted with GPS for customer tracking
Telstra chief executive David Thodey says the company is sick of "being the incumbent" telecommunications provider and embarked on a three year strategy to become a global technology player.
Source: SMH
NBN-Telstra deal must be part of copper network prices: iiNet
iiNet has told the ACCC that it should consider Telstra's AU$11 billion deal with NBN Co in setting wholesale line rental prices.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus in 4G speed lead with 2.4Gbps 'Gigasite'
Optus has achieved a 'world first' 2.3 Gbps total site throughput on its custom built 'Gigasites', partially through use of its TDD technology.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 28th Feb 2014
Telecom completes $A450m sale of AAPT to TPG
Telecom New Zealand has completed the sale of AAPT to TPG for $A450 million.
Source: ARN
Optus gets 2.3Gbps in Gigasite mobile trial
Optus' Gigasites trial saw spectrum and mobile technologies combined to achieve a 2.3Gbps throughput speed on its mobile network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 27th Feb 2014
Woolworths Mobile customers to switch to Optus
Customers using Woolworths-branded SIMs will need to begin recharging their prepaid accounts with Optus from March 23, and pay AU$1 extra.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus Australia boss steps down
Optus' local country chief and CEO of its consumer division Kevin Russell will leave the telco at the end of March, after just over two years in the role.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telecommunications Ombudsman reorganises into single board
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has merged its board and council into a united board of directors.
Source: ARN
NBN Co throws resources at held service order backlog
NBN Co has beefed up its field force to overcome a backlog of stalled orders caused by technical problems and contractors missing appointments for last-mile connections to NBN services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 26th Feb 2014
Tassie NBN contractors in huge uproar
The NBN is facing fresh controversy this time from Tasmanian contractors, who say they have lost millions of dollars after the federal government altered its rollout plans.
Source: iTWire
Turnbull's Tasmanian NBN trials a political distraction: CEPU
The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) has accused Federal Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, of wastefully duplicating National Broadband Network (NBN) fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) trials in Tasmania.
Source: ARN
Alcatel-Lucent walks fine NBN fibre line
As a network vendor that stands to profit from both fibre to the premises and fibre to the node, Alcatel-Lucent walks a fine line in the NBN debate.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra announces LTE category 6 device
Huawei and Telstra are partnering to launch the world’s first long term evolution (LTE) category six-compatible mobile broadband device in Australia.
Source: ARN
AAPT CEO departs ahead of TPG takeover
AAPT CEO David Yuile will leave the company at the end of this week, as Telecom New Zealand finalises the sale of the Australian business to TPG.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Three in four Australians buy online
The number of users making purchases online is accelerating, having increased 8 percentage points from last year, according to to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Source: Computerworld
When 'simple' means 'expensive' - Telstra roaming
Bucking the international trend, Telstra's recent 'simplification' of its international roaming rates means - in most cases - higher prices.
Source: iTWire