Broadband News

Fri, 16th Aug 2013

NBN Co kills tracking of unserviceable premises

NBN Co has changed the way it verifies the status of addresses typed into its online rollout map, killing access to a data file being used to track multi-dwelling unit (MDU) connection statistics.

Source: iTnews Australia

Turnbull's NBN policy 'detailed enough' to escape costing

Opposition Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull believes the Coalition's NBN plan is detailed enough to warrant not pushing further for an independent assessment of costings and assumptions.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 15th Aug 2013

Coalition NBN won't be costed

Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that unlike most other Coalition policies, the alternative NBN policy won't be costed through the Parliamentary Budget Office.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co leaks 14 fibre locations

An NBN Co data leak has revealed 14 previously-unannounced fibre rollout areas, some with ready for service dates between 2018 and 2020.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 14th Aug 2013

Telstra blocked from cancelling ispONE service until trial

Telstra has been prevented from terminating mobile services to partner ispONE until the pair go to trial over unpaid bills, with a judge today awarding the full injunction ispONE had pushed for.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC may monitor actual broadband speeds

Australia could follow the US and other countries in releasing a periodic report on broadband performance.

Source: Computerworld

Optus reports revenue decline, customer losses

Optus has reported an operating revenue decline of 5.3 percent year on year to 2.2 billion on the back of a drop in the number of mobile subscribers.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Globalgig lets users globally roam, gulping cheap 3G data: great!

Global telcos who are well known to rip-off global travellers who happen to roam in countries other than their own need to watch out: the Globalgig cavalry has galloped in, offering international 3G data roamers gargantuan savings on overseas and even local gigabytes.

Source: iTWire

TPG: 48 days and 17 calls to fix dropouts

The internet service provider TPG took 48 days and 17 phone calls to fix a customer's dropout issues - and at the end of it all, the customer is still unsure as to the cause of the problem.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co launches new speeds for fixed wireless network

NBN Co has launched new speeds for its fixed wireless service, which enables 25 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload speeds.

Source: ARN

Which part of 'do not call' don't you understand?

ACMA has come down on two more companies for ignoring the Do Not Call Register.

Source: iTWire

Optus to keep its satellites - SingTel can't find a buyer

Negotiations to find a buyer for the Optus satellite business have fallen through, with parent SingTel unable to find a buyer willing to pay what it wants.

Source: iTWire

ispONE pays another $200k to keep Telstra services alive

ispONE will pay a further $200,000 to ensure continuity of service from Telstra for another day while mediation between the two over unpaid bills moves into its second day.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 13th Aug 2013

Telstra, Ericsson test out LTE-Advanced

Telstra and Ericsson are trialling carrier aggregation LTE-Advanced technology combining spectrum in the 1800MHz and 900MHz bands to get up to 300Mbps download speeds.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ispONE restructures in midst of Telstra fight

Troubled Telstra wholesaler ispONE has registered a new business name as part of a company rebrand it says will “secure its ongoing service offering” and “protect its wholesale partners”.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co doubles Telstra liability to $1.8bn

NBN Co has upgraded its financial liability to Telstra under the definitive agreements to $1.8 billion, the majority of it incurred in the past year.

Source: iTnews Australia

Cairns goes live with NBN

Cairns in Queensland is now switched on to the National Broadband Network (NBN), with the fibre network covering 2700 premises in Bungalow, Cairns North, Manunda, Parramatta Park, Portsmith and Westcourt.

Source: Computerworld

Government sitting on NBN report: Turnbull

The government is withholding a report on the NBN so its progress can't be scrutinised by the public ahead of the election, the opposition says.

Source: ARN

One third of NBN premises passed can't connect

NBN Co has revealed to ZDNet that 55,700 of the 163,500 brownfields premises passed by the NBN's fibre network could not order a service.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co funds enterprise test lab

NBN Co has awarded a contract to Enex TestLab to build a dedicated testing facility, which will allow vendors and service providers to test copper-based applications and equipment on an NBN Co fibre network.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co plan may not be released before the election

Communications Minister Anthony Albanese has signaled that the long-awaited NBN business plan will not be released before the election.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Mon, 12th Aug 2013

All aboard the Pirate Bay web broswer

The ongoing NSA privacy scandal and resulting outrage has at least resulted in some cool apps and tools, and The Pirate Bay is the latest group to join the fray with a new private broswer.

Source: iTWire

Abbott's fake Twitter following culled

Tony Abbott's Twitter account has returned to more normal levels but he continues to be bombarded by fake, paid-for followers.

Source: ARN

NBN interim satellite service a victim of its own success

iiNet is preparing to withdraw its 20GB plans on the NBN interim satellite service, citing capacity constraints.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 09th Aug 2013

Telstra not sold on Optus and Vodafone's bill shock killers

Telstra CEO David Thodey has downplayed moves by Optus and Vodafone to combat mobile bill shock, stating that Telstra deserves to charge a premium because of its network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN subcontractors bullied: Turnbull

Subcontractors rolling out the National Broadband Network (NBN) are being subject to "classic bully boy tactics", the federal opposition claimed.

Source: Computerworld

Virgin Mobile tweaks billing system for new TCP code

Virgin Mobile used the commencement of a revised industry code to launch a new self service portal for customers while making changes to its internal billing system to warn customers about voice and data usage.

Source: iTnews Australia

The facts behind News Corp vs the NBN

No-one would describe News Corp Australia's view on the National Broadband Network (NBN) as rosy. But if it's true the company has engaged in repeated attacks on the government because it "hates" its network, as Fairfax columnist Paul Sheehan claimed at the weekend, the big question seems fairly obvious. Why?

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 08th Aug 2013

Telstra jumps to 15.1 million mobile customers

Telstra has continued its customer acquisition streak, adding 1.3 million customers in the last financial year.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra sees first $7m in copper disconnection fees

Telstra has received its first $7 million in government payments to disconnect customers from the copper network as part of the transition to the NBN.

Source: iTnews Australia