Broadband News

Mon, 04th Nov 2013

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

Telstra and NBN Co to face off in court

Telstra is taking NBN Co to the NSW Supreme Court based on a matter concerning renting the telco’s pits and ducts under its $11 billion agreement.

Source: ARN

Half a million NBN fibre connections in limbo

NBN Co has culled ready for service dates for 506,850 premises in brownfields suburbs across Australia, casting doubt on whether those households will ever receive a fibre-to-the-home connection.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 29th Oct 2013

No decision yet on NBN ban: Huawei

Huawei has said the government has indicated that a review on its ban from tendering for the NBN is still underway, despite reports that the ban would remain in place.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN ban on Huawei to stay: George Brandis

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is still hoping to have a federal ban on its involvement in building Australia's national broadband network overturned, despite Attorney-General George Brandis saying it will not be lifted.

Source: SMH

Mon, 28th Oct 2013

Telstra considers LTE-Broadcast for software updates

Telstra has conducted a world-first trial of LTE-Broadcast, which the company says can be used to reduce congestion on the network when software updates are pushed out.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ISPs await invites into new anti-piracy talks

Australia's internet service providers are awaiting official invitation into a fresh round of talks to be convened by the Attorney-General's Department on ways to combat online piracy.

Source: iTnews Australia

M2 to cut staff in post-acquisition restructure

Following the acquisitions of Dodo and Eftel, telecommunications company M2 has announced a restructure of the company, with up to 100 positions being made redundant.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra tests LTE Broadcast tech for more efficient data delivery

Telstra has completed a trial of 4G LTE Broadcast technology, becoming the first telco in the world to do so.

Source: Computerworld

Fri, 25th Oct 2013

MyNetFone may pick up PennyTel customers

VoIP provider MyNetFone has given strong indications that it is moving to pick up PennyTel and iVoisys customers left hanging after the companies were placed into liquidation, but no deal has yet been signed.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Mobile OS updates shape as turf war

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone intend to continue vetting smartphone operating system updates, despite efforts by OS makers to deliver updates directly to users, potentially bypassing OEM and carrier testing entirely.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co chair commits to Suncorp role

The chairman of both Suncorp and NBN Co, Ziggy Switkowski, has said that he will stay the chairman of Suncorp despite his new responsibilities at NBN Co.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 24th Oct 2013

First new gTLDs added to the root

The Internet - or at least its namespace - just got bigger. Early this morning, while most of Australia was eating breakfast or getting ready for work, four new top-level domains were added to the Internet's domain name root zone.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra talks up copper as it prepares for NBN negotiations

Telstra CEO David Thodey has again talked up the value of the copper network as the company begins to lay out what it wants out of a renegotiated deal with NBN Co.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co is one of our top 10 workplaces

NBN Co has leapt into Australia's top 10 most 'InDemand' employers after LinkedIn released its list of most sought-after workplaces today.

Source: iTWire

iiNet sees domestic capacity as new ISP 'choke point'

ISP iiNet believes domestic transmission costs have replaced international capacity costs as the "choke point" for internet service providers.

Source: iTnews Australia