Broadband News

Thu, 26th Sep 2013

Turnbull's tone change and the demise of the big red NBN button

Free of the hyperbole that goes with running a three-year election campaign, Turnbull's attitude to the NBN already seems very different.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Ziggy Switkowski to face challenges leading the NBN: academic

Former Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski is tipped to become NBN Co’s newest chief executive, but one academic has predicted he may struggle in the role.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra's NBN migration plan receives ACCC approval

Telstra measures to migrate customers to the fibre National Broadband Network (NBN) have been approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Source: Computerworld

Telstra may cut more staff

Even more job cuts could be on the horizon at Telstra after a decision to fire more than 1000 workers.

Source: ARN

Wed, 25th Sep 2013

iiNet-owned ISPs revamp on-net ADSL plans

ISP iiNet and its subsidiary brands Internode, Westnet and TransACT have revised a range of on-net ADSL2+ plans with increased quotas or price cuts.

Source: iTnews Australia

Government to temporarily continue NBN rollout

More than 600,000 homes, businesses and schools across the country still have a chance of being connected to fibre-to-the-premises broadband despite the coalition's vow to abandon the former government's plan.

Source: ARN

Labor MP Ed Husic warns Coalition Government NBN will disadvantage regional Australia

Federal Labor MP Ed Husic is warning the Coalition's pro-competition stance on broadband could see people in regional areas miss out.

Source: ABC News

Tue, 24th Sep 2013

4K video streaming will choke Malcom's NBN

According to Netflix's US CEO, Reed Hastings – naturally a self-interested proponent of 4K video streaming – "with H.265 hardware compression 4K video streaming is not 'too bad' at 15Mbps but if you have around 50Mbps you will be fine."

Source: iTWire

NBN Co downgrades 2014 target as Turnbull commences revamp

The NBN Co has proposed to cut in half its most recent target forecast for premises past by 30 June next year, communications minister Malcolm Turnbull has revealed.

Source: ARN

Malcolm Turnbull moves to put Coalition's stamp on NBN Co

An NBN Co commitment to begin connecting around 900,000 premises to high-speed internet access within a year has been put on hold by the Federal Government, pending a strategic review of the network.

Source: ABC News

NBN fibre keeps rolling until review: Turnbull

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has instructed NBN Co to continue rolling out fibre to the premises in existing construction locations until the 60-day review is completed.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co to roll fibre to 300,000 more premises

NBN Co will complete the rollout of fibre to 300,000 premises where building works are contracted, but there are no guarantees of fibre-to-the-premises work being completed beyond that.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN deal transfers network ownership: Telstra

Telstra CEO David Thodey has said that the AU$11 billion NBN deal is about moving the ownership of the fixed network to the government, regardless of whether it is fibre or copper.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus to accept phone trade-ins for credit

Optus will accept some smartphones as credit towards a new mobile contract, but customers won't know what they'll get for their phone until they take it to a store.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Coalition to reveal expectations for NBN Co

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull will release the text of an interim statement of expectations given to NBN Co this afternoon.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 23rd Sep 2013

Malcolm Turnbull asks NBN Co board to resign after cost blowouts and delays

The ABC has confirmed the board of NBN Co was asked to resign by the Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.Mr Turnbull has been severely critical of the board in the past, particularly its chairwoman, Siobhan McKenna, over cost blowouts and delays.

Source: ABC News

Optus lets its customers 'trade in, trade up'

Optus has launched what it describes as an Australian mobile first in 'Trade In, Trade Up', a deal where customers can receive credit on their next phone bill for trading in their old working smartphone.

Source: iTWire

Shorten slams 'undermining' of NBN Co board

Opposition leadership aspirant Bill Shorten has lashed out at the Government for "effectively undermining confidence" in NBN Co's board.

Source: iTnews Australia

Comms Alliance revises VDSL2 and vectoring standards

The Communications Alliance will help facilitate the rollout of a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) National Broadband Network (NBN) by revising industry standards around VDSL2 and vectoring.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra last and least to reduce roaming charges

Telstra has finally unveiled its own global roaming price cuts, but Telstra customers will still pay more than Optus or Vodafone customers.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Cabinet to consider NBN board resignations

Federal cabinet is expected to consider the resignations of most of the board of NBN Co ahead of a review of the Labor government's broadband plans.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra and Alcatel-Lucent trial FttN for Coalition NBN

Telstra and Alcatel-Lucent are testing out fibre-to-the-node technology in what will no doubt be a pitch for construction work on the National Broadband Network under the Coalition government.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Mobile broadband - 'the fastest growing technology in human history'

Mobile broadband is the fastest growing technology in human history, according to the 2013 edition of the United Nations 'State of Broadband Report'.

Source: iTWire

Sun, 22nd Sep 2013

Vodafone CEO Bill Morrow confident company's fortunes will improve by 2014

Australia's number three mobile phone player Vodafone says it is still losing customers, but the situation should start to turn around next year.

Source: ABC News

Sat, 21st Sep 2013

Trans-Pacific cable plans mired in geopolitics

Rivalry between the US and China for dominance in the Pacific will determine the structure of any new trans-Pacific cable linking Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the United States.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 20th Sep 2013

One competitor is enough, says Telstra

Telstra is hoping to redefine what makes a transmission route 'competitive', believing it could mean having as few as one rival operator present.

Source: iTnews Australia

Service Stream records $19.5m loss due to Syntheo JV

Service Stream has incurred a $19.5 million loss due to its 50 per cent stake in Syntheo, which is rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN) in Western Australia and South Australia.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra overhauls process to kill duplicate sessions

Telstra has found a new way to deal with duplicate internet sessions on its network, where two users connect with the same login credentials.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus taps Visionstream for 4G LTE build

Visionstream has won a $240 million contract with Optus to build and upgrade mobile sites for the number-two telco's LTE network in Australia.

Source: Computerworld

Open access networks and the NBN – the winners and losers

A Coalition NBN could allow more private companies to develop networks that compete with the National Broadband Network (NBN), with TPG announcing this week that it was launching fibre-to-the-basement (FTTB) plans.

Source: Computerworld