Broadband News

Tue, 12th Nov 2013

Internet entrepreneur Simon Hackett joins NBN Co board

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has appointed the internet entrepreneur Simon Hackett to the board of the company in charge of the National Broadband Network rollout. Mr Hackett founded and internet service providers Internode and Agile Communications.

Source: ABC News

Hackett picked for NBN Co board

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has tapped industry veteran and Internode founder Simon Hackett for the new NBN Co board, along with former NBN Co head of construction Patrick Flannigan and ex-Telstra executive Justin Milne.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Mon, 11th Nov 2013

Remote Australia seeks mobile services through NBN

NBN satellite service is not enough for Australia's most remote areas, according to the Broadband for the Bush Alliance.

Source: Computerworld

IPTV multicast trial ends before NBN review deadline

NBN Co's nearly year-long trial of IPTV services over the National Broadband Network will end this month, with the company not saying whether the service will continue.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 08th Nov 2013

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7

Microsoft has extended access to the latest version of Internet Explorer, which previoulsy only came with its newest Windows 8.1 operating system, to users of Windows 7 the company said today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra makes signal control changes in IP core

Telstra is rolling out new controllers to manage the increase in diameter signalling on the core IP network underpinning 4G LTE mobile services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 07th Nov 2013

NBN Co hires former Telstra contract negotiator, Greg Adcock

Another ex-Telstra employee has joined the NBN Co leadership team with Greg Adcock becoming the new COO.

Source: ARN

Wed, 06th Nov 2013

Microsoft urges rethink of NBN plan

Software giant Microsoft has said that the Abbott government should reconsider its National Broadband Network policy.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tas Govt tries to resurrect NBN over power lines

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings wants to roll out fibre optic cables over power poles in order to get the NBN rollout in Tasmania back on track.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 05th Nov 2013

Regulation not needed for enterprise competition: Telstra

Telstra has argued that competition for telecommunications services for government and corporations is strong enough without the need for further regulation.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN 2.0: What future for Australia's National Broadband Network?

The Liberal-National Coalition may have won the federal election, but whether it ever won the argument over the National Broadband Network is open to debate.

Source: Computerworld

Vodafone's Christmas promotion will double data until January

Vodafone will double the data allowance on its $30 prepaid cap from 500MB to 1GB as part of a Christmas promotion, but the deal is a limited one that will only run until the end of January 2014.

Source: ARN

Mon, 04th Nov 2013

FttP or FttN, the NBN is already slipping from Turnbull's grasp

As if a slowdown in the NBN rollout weren't problem enough, communications minister Malcolm Turnbull's NBN Co has been hit by lawsuits, subcontractor chest-beating, and protracted timeframes for its Telstra renegotiations. Has he already lost his grip on the NBN?

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus launches unlimited broadband bundles

New package deals from Optus include unlimited calls and data.

Source: iTWire

Optus serves up throttle-free unlimited broadband

Optus customers can get unlimited broadband data - with apparently no throttling - for $115 under new bundle plans announced today.

Source: Computerworld

Visionstream must meet NBN contract terms to keep Tasmanian rollout

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that Visionstream asking for more money for NBN fibre network construction in Tasmania could be grounds for breaking the contract.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Broadband view out of whack with experts

Tony Abbott recently pronounced the former government ''wacko''. The Prime Minister was not referring to Rudd's campaign of Count of Monte Cristoesque vengeance, or to Gillard's bizarre ''real Julia'' gambit, or abandonment of single parents to Newstart. No, for Abbott, what's certifiable is the Labor Party's national broadband network.

Source: SMH

More than 100 Australian websites attacked by activists

Hackers claiming links to international activist group Anonymous defaced dozens of websites belonging to Australian businesses and Philippine government agencies on Sunday.

Source: iTnews Australia

Government seeks advisor for renegotiation of Telstra-NBN Co deal

As the NBN Co conducts its strategic review, the Commonwealth has put out a call for a commercial and strategic advisor.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra trial to bring solar power into exchanges

Telstra is working on a new way to feed solar power into its telephone exchanges, one of several initiatives underway to reduce its reliance on coal-fired electricity.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 01st Nov 2013

Huawei's NBN ban becomes a diplomatic spat

China has criticised the Australian Government's decision to continue Labor's ban on Huawei supplying the NBN.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co to bring fibre to 150k more homes

NBN Co has confirmed it will bring fibre connections to an additional 150,000 brownfields premises following approval from the new government.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 31st Oct 2013

NBN rollout 'stalled' on asbestos issue, not Turnbull

Claims that Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has 'stalled' the NBN after the election are inaccurate, according to NBN Co, which is laying the blame for the post-election slowdown on the asbestos issue.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vocus extends dark fibre service into North Sydney

Vocus Communications (ASX: VOC) has announced plans to extend its dark fibre service into North Sydney suburbs to improve connection speeds for customers.

Source: Computerworld

Turnbull removes thousands of homes from NBN map

Welcome to the new NBN world. Thousands who thought they were about to get it are likely to be disappointed.

Source: iTWire

Telstra pulls NBN rollout data file offline

Telstra Wholesale has culled access to a spreadsheet of NBN ready for service data that identified the locations of 506,850 premises in danger of missing out on fibre-to-the-home as a result of the change of government.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 30th Oct 2013

ACCC claims broadband speed audit provides needed oversight

The ACCC is forging ahead with a proposal to audit broadband speeds, while telcos believe that the Australian competition watchdog is targeting a non-issue.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co unveils high-level overview of rollout stats

NBN Co will publish a weekly dashboard charting its rollout progress and how it is tracking with key metrics as part of a transparency drive announced today.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co posts loss of nearly $1 billion

NBN Co has posted a loss of nearly $1 billion in the last year - well below the projected $1.3 billion loss it forecast in its corporate plan.

Source: ARN

NBN Co cleanses rollout website

NBN Co has removed key rollout data from its website, leaving hundreds of thousands of premises that had been scheduled to get the NBN in the next three years in doubt.

Source: ZDNet Australia