Broadband News

Wed, 15th Jan 2014

ISPs secure second strike against net neutrality

A US appeals court on Tuesday rejected rules that required Internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, a decision that could allow mobile carriers and other broadband providers to charge content providers for faster access to websites and services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra pressures Boost to cut data allowance

Telstra has put pressure on one of its last standing mobile retail partners to cut its monthly data allowances in a move analysts say is designed to control competition and encourage customers onto Telstra's 4G network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Southern Cross Cable embarks on major capacity increase

International data pricing may come down further this year after the Southern Cross cable system operator said it would add a further 500 gigabit/s to both of its circuits for a total increase of 1 terabit/s, in its largest capacity increase to date.

Source: iTnews Australia

Capacity upgrade for Australia-Japan submarine cable

Australia Japan Cable has expanded capacity on its submarine cable connecting Australia, Guam and Japan.

Source: Computerworld

Tue, 14th Jan 2014

Southern Cross cables to receive further 500Gbps capability

The Southern Cross Cable Network has unveiled it aims to utilise the WaveLogic 3 platform from US-based telecommunications networking equipment company, Ciena, to add an additional 500 Gigabits per second (Gbps) to its two Trans-Pacific cables by July 2014.

Source: ARN

Mon, 13th Jan 2014

Don't panic: The Internet is not collapsing, despite a spike in global 'attack' traffic

It turns out the definition of "attacks" and "malicious activity" might be to blame. And a little enthusiastic over-egging of the panicky pudding.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN picked up steam through the back end of 2013

After a couple of years of wheel spinning, the NBN has finally started going through the gears towards a theoretical ramp-up speed that will never be reached.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Virgin adds 1GB bonus data to all plans

Virgin Mobile is looking to turn a slow smartphone sales period into a positive, offering 1GB bonus data on all plans $40 and above until the end of February.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co reveals mobile backhaul trial

NBN Co plans to conduct a technology trial to determine whether its fibre infrastructure can be used to haul traffic to and from mobile phone towers.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 10th Jan 2014

iiNet investigates TransACT network attack

iiNet's engineers have launched an investigation following an attack on servers in the TransACT network yesterday.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra pays fine for tardy new connections

Telstra has been fined $510,000 by the communications regulator after failing to meet legislated standards for making new fixed-line connections in urban areas.

Source: iTnews Australia

Australia leads OECD on wireless broadband

Australia has moved into first place among the 34 OECD countries for wireless broadband penetration, with 114 subscriptions per 100 people, the OECD has announced.

Source: Computerworld

Yahoo malware turns "millions" of PCs into Bitcoin network

Hackers use malware to install Bitcoin-mining software on European PCs.

Source: PC Authority

Thu, 09th Jan 2014

NBN Co pulls interim satellite from sale

NBN Co is no longer taking orders for its interim satellite service after reaching a 48,000 user limit late last year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 08th Jan 2014

ISPs put on notice to fix the big issues

Australia's communications regulator has urged ISPs to identify and address the underlying source of customer complaints they receive, rather than simply dishing out service credits to compensate for poor performance.

Source: iTnews Australia

Second wave of online growth hits Australian retailers

Australian retailers are maintaining their share of the online shopping pie as the second wave of growth sweeps the country.

Source: ARN

NSW Central Coast eyes NBN fibre 'pilot' status

Gosford City Council has petitioned the Government to consider making the NSW Central Coast a "pilot region" for full fibre deployment under the rejigged National Broadband Network project.

Source: iTnews Australia

Adam internet partners with tour down under

Adam Internet has become one of the latest sponsors of the Tour Down Under. The cycling event has become the most recent sponsorship investment for the iiNet subsidiary.

Source: ARN

Vodafone Australia adds Asia to AU$5 roaming deal

Vodafone has added six Asian countries to its Red plan customers to use their phone overseas as they would at home for an extra AU$5 per day.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 07th Jan 2014

Australian government blocks Conroy's 2007 Red Book release

After blocking the release of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull's incoming ministerial briefing documents, the Department of Communications has also blocked the release of Conroy's incoming ministerial briefing documents from 2007.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Lindsay quits iiNet

The chief technology officer of iiNet, John Lindsay, has quit the Perth-based Internet provider after less than two years in the role.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 06th Jan 2014

Optus silent on network outages

Most of us are back to work today, but Optus isn't. Serious and unexplained faults have been dogging the carrier's mobile and broadband networks over the weekend, but Optus has said nothing officially.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 02nd Jan 2014

Australian broadband speeds inconsistent, patchy: study

More than a third of the Australian premises with access to fixed broadband never get more than moderate speeds of 9 megabits per second (Mbps), according to a summary of broadband availability and quality released by the government.

Source: SMH

Fri, 20th Dec 2013

Hockey misleads on NBN cost and rollout

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey has incorrectly stated that Labor's NBN would be rolled out to fewer premises and be slower than the Coalition's proposed alternative.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC demands Telstra offer faster outage notices

Australia's competition watchdog has demanded Telstra notify its wholesale (ISP) customers in under two hours on those occasions when it is instructed by NBN Co to connect a fibre customer to the national broadband network using a process called 'pull through'.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 19th Dec 2013

Optus tests TD-LTE carrier aggregation in Melbourne

Optus has put LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation technology to the test on part of its TD-LTE network in Melbourne.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus gets 520Mbps speeds on 4G TD-LTE network

Optus combined four 20MHz spectrum bands on its TD-LTE network in a test in Western Sydney that saw the network achieve speeds of over 500Mbps.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 18th Dec 2013

NBN Co execs and board allowed to keep Telstra shares

NBN Co executive chairman Dr Ziggy Switkowski has said that NBN Co board members and executives will be allowed to keep shares in Telstra as long as they are not 'material' in amount.

Source: ZDNet Australia

FttB success unearths skeletons in Labor's NBN basement

The Coalition is stealing easy runs with a fibre-to-the-basement (FttB) approach to delivering broadband to multi dwelling units (MDUs) that Labor could and should have implemented long ago.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra predicts record Christmas

Telstra is tipping record traffic on its mobile network this Christmas. In a survey it conducted, nearly half of people said they will be apart from some of their family.

Source: iTWire