Broadband News
Thu, 28th Nov 2013
Telstra copper network an 'absolute disgrace': Comms Union
A communications union official has said that Telstra is 'hiding behind the statistics' for the quality of its copper network, and that the network is much worse than even Telstra knows.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Coalition's slower NBN will 'make less money'
The Abbott government expects to make less money from the NBN because of slower speeds available under the Coalition's copper-based network, a Senate committee has heard.
Source: SMH
Clare warns of Gonski-like backflips on the NBN
Ahead of the completion of NBN Co's strategic review, Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare has told ZDNet that Labor is concerned the government will rescind its NBN promises, as it did for education funding.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 27th Nov 2013
Senate compels NBN Co execs to front committee
The newly-formed senate committee examining the NBN said it has been forced to summons NBN Co executives to appear as witnesses at planned hearings this week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus claims global innovation award
Optus has taken home two global awards for its use of social media and call centre solutions at the recent Contact Centre World’s annual global award ceremony.
Source: ARN
NBN battery backup needs regulating: ACMA
Unsatisfied with NBN Co requiring ISPs to get informed consent from users who don't want battery backup for their NBN services, the media regulator is seeking to step in and oversee the process.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 26th Nov 2013
NBN protest an epic fail
Australia's FTTP future is in serious doubt after a not-so-impressive turnout at Malcolm Turnbull's office for the NBN day of 'action' today.
Source: iTWire
ACMA tries to overrule ISPs on battery back-up
The communications watchdog today said it urgently needs to regulate the way ISPs seek permission from end users to buy fibre services without battery back-up.
Source: iTnews Australia
AARNet upgrades backbone to 100 Gigabit Ethernet
Australia's massive academic research network will be given a massive 30-fold capacity boost to serve a million users.
Source: iTnews Australia
FTTP NBN supporters lobby Turnbull
Around 15 supporters of Labor's vision for the national broadband network turned up at Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull's Sydney office this morning to hand over a petition in favour of a fibre-to-the-premises NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACMA consults on NBN battery regulations
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has dismissed industry self-regulation as unlikely to be an effective way of making sure that consumers can make informed choices about backup power supplies for NBN connections.
Source: Computerworld
NBN petitioners deliver signatures to MPs' premises
National Broadband Network campaigners are delivering a petition with 270,000 online signatures to MPs across the country as they fight for a fibre-to-the-premises plan.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus joins Voice over LTE race
Optus has confirmed it is also testing out technology that would allow customers to make voice calls over its 4G network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 25th Nov 2013
National day of action for FTTH NBN campaign
A petition with more than a quarter of a million signatures calling for a fibre to the premises NBN will be delivered tomorrow, Tuesday 26 November.
Source: iTWire
Telstra relies on public to inform on asbestos-infested pits
Due to the age of some of the millions of pits in its fixed network, Telstra has no full indication of the number of pits containing deadly asbestos material, according to the company's chief risk officer Kate Hughes.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Singapore, South Korea revealed as Five Eyes spying partners
Singapore and South Korea are playing key roles helping the United States and Australia tap undersea telecommunications links across Asia, according to top secret documents leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. New details have also been revealed about the involvement of Australia and New Zealand in the interception of global satellite communications.
Source: SMH
Site to stop NBN turning into insulation batts debacle
Industry groups have joined forces to stop the national broadband network (NBN) project turning into another insulation batts debacle.
Source: SMH
Mixed messages on Telstra copper complicate FttN NBN case
Is Telstra's copper network dead or isn't it? Experts just can't seem to agree - nor can those people that were supposed to be Malcolm Turnbull's allies, who are compromising his Telstra renegotiations and his case for rural FttN at the same time.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Lifting the veil on the NBN as industry initiative launched
Australia's telecommunications infrastructure industry has banded together to launch a new initiative to address what it says is the problem of 'public confusion' about what to do to make the most of the NBN at home.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 22nd Nov 2013
Telstra turns to data to reduce customer churn
Armed with up to three years of historic data and a suite of analytics tools, Telstra is making sure that it does not waste a cent of its marketing budget in order to attract customers - and keep them - on its books.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 21st Nov 2013
Telstra tests Voice over LTE
Telstra has confirmed it is conducting lab tests of technology that would allow voice calls to be carried over its 4G LTE network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Indonesian hackers target Australia, again
A hacker claiming to be an Indonesian member of the loose hacking collective Anonymous has claimed responsibility for attacks on the AFP and Reserve Bank websites, which were down for a number of hours this morning.
Source: iTWire
TPG suffers critical outage
TPG Telecom has suffered a critical outage affecting a range of its services across Australia.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 20th Nov 2013
Telstra's copper is 'nearly beyond repair' and 'an absolute disgrace': union
The union representing Telstra field staff says the telco's copper-wire network is "beyond repair" and "an absolute disgrace", casting new doubts over the federal government's plans to use it to deliver faster broadband in its mixed-technology national broadband network (NBN).
Source: SMH
End in sight for long-running NBN access negotiations
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is edging close to making a decision on whether to accept NBN Co's crucial special access undertaking.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co agrees to varied SAU
NBN Co has accepted changes requested by the ACCC to the document which will set out the minimum terms and conditions for services supplied over the NBN.
Source: iTnews Australia
KFC Australia continues free Wi-Fi rollout
KFC Australia has plans to extend its free Wi-Fi service to all stores around the country following a successful deployment to 190 restaurants in 2012.
Source: Computerworld
Optus home wireless broadband trial kicks off
Telecommunications provider, Optus, is poised to begin a trial of a premium home wireless broadband product in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane which promises ADSL2+ speed to all homes and small businesses.
Source: ARN
Ziggy quizzed - it's FTTP for now
Despite the Abbott LNP Goverment's fervour to remake the NBN into a cheaper FTTN version, NBN Co executive chairman Dr Ziggy Switkowski says the network will stay with fibre to the premises (FTTP) construction for another year.
Source: iTWire