Broadband News

Thu, 20th Jun 2013

No date to resume NBN work: Thodey

Telstra chief executive David Thodey says he does not know when work will resume on remediation of asbestos-affected telecommunications pits.

Source: Computerworld

NBN Co launches 25/5 Mbps fixed wireless services

NBN Co has introduced a 25/5 Mbps speed tier to the fixed wireless network, with several ISPs already unveiling retail plans.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet cops AU$102K fine for very fine fine print

iiNet has been handed an AU$102,000 fine for a bus ad for naked DSL services with too small fine print.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra announces NBN asbestos requirements

Telstra has announced a number of requirements for its three key NBN rollout contractors about handling asbestos in pit remediation.

Source: iTWire

Vodafone has no plans for 4G modems

Vodafone Australia is unlikely to launch 4G modems for its new Long Term Evolution (LTE) network this year, focusing instead on smartphone users.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN contractors required to take asbestos training

Telstra has reviewed a number of requirements for its NBN contractors and subcontractors to improve asbestos handling in its cement pits.

Source: ARN

Wed, 19th Jun 2013

Transfield wins new NBN contracts

Transfield Services has been awarded one new and one extended contract with NBN Co for network builds in Victoria, the company announced today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Transfield wins $366m in new NBN work

Engineering firm Transfield Services has won $366 million in new work on the national broadband network.

Source: ARN

Telstra opposes 700 MHz for emergency 4G network

Telstra will oppose a last-ditch bid by emergency services to secure unsold 700 MHz spectrum for a national 4G network, arguing the spectrum should be kept for commercial mobile broadband growth.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vodafone unveils new pricing for data add-ons

Telecommunications company, Vodafone, has unveiled new pricing for data add-ons, which it claims will give customers choice when tailoring post-paid plans for smartphones.

Source: ARN

NBN Co could miss revised June fibre targets

NBN Co is facing the very real possibility of missing its revised June fibre rollout targets for built-up areas by as little as a couple of thousand premises, the latest rollout analysis by iTnews reveals.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 18th Jun 2013

Bass Strait limits NBN options

Tasmania may have been the first state in Australia to receive NBN services but customers there have a limited choice of service providers, thanks to the cost of getting data traffic across Bass Strait.

Source: SMH

Mon, 17th Jun 2013

Committee urges NBN Co to prepare for new govt

NBN Co needs to prepare for potential policy changes as a result of the September federal election, according to the NBN joint oversight committee, which recommended an update to the company's corporate plan.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co put rejected apartment alternative in corporate plan

Exclusive: NBN Co originally put an alternative fibre-to-the-basement proposal for apartment blocks in the revised corporate plan in 2012, but it was rejected by the Australian government.

Source: ZDNet Australia

4G shootout: Vodafone vs Optus vs Telstra

How does Vodafone's new 4G network stack up against the competition? PC & Tech Authority took to the streets of Sydney to find out.

Source: PC Authority

NBN Co sinks Telstra's NBN info-sharing plan

Telstra is winning few friends with its attempts to limit restrictions on how it handles NBN information, failing to gain the confidence of even the information source, NBN Co.

Source: iTnews Australia

Armidale hosts fastest wireless NBN in Australia: Fusion Broadband

Armidale, NSW is now the location of the fastest wireless NBN in Australia - four times faster than what the NBN is currently promising - according to broadband service provider, Fusion Broadband.

Source: ARN

Police Federation makes play for unsold 700 MHz

The Police Federation of Australia is making a play for two-thirds of the 700 MHz spectrum passed in at May's digital dividend auction to underpin a planned national 4G network for emergency services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Sat, 15th Jun 2013

Google pilots 'balloon internet' above New Zealand

Google is piloting a mesh network of high-altitude balloons in the skies above New Zealand that it hopes will eventually carry reliable internet services to all corners of the globe.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 14th Jun 2013

Telstra may dodge legal challenge to Sensis cuts

Telstra is a step closer to dodging a legislative bullet aimed at saving the jobs of almost 700 Sensis workers after a Greens-backed amendment to existing laws failed to gain traction with a Senate committee.

Source: iTnews Australia

Aussie telcos mull mixed cellular-Wi-Fi networks

Network equipment makers are pushing technology that enables mobile data traffic to be "steered" in real-time between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, but Australia's telcos are unlikely to have a use for it in the short to mid term.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet, Optus reject Telstra's revised NBN infosec plan

ISPs iiNet, Optus and AAPT are pressuring the competition watchdog to reject fresh revisions to the way Telstra proposes to handle confidential NBN information.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 13th Jun 2013

NBN contractor Service Stream extends trading halt

NBN Co contractor Service Stream will remain in a trading halt for close to two weeks while it reviews its joint venture company Syntheo, which has struggled to meet NBN Co construction deadlines.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Internode launches new business bundles

Internode has launched new bundled business plans starting from $79.95 per month on 24-month contracts.

Source: Computerworld

Telcos issue trans-Tasman cable tender

The three largest telcos in Australia and New Zealand, Vodafone, Telstra and Telecom NZ, will proceed with a cable construction project between the two countries, with a tender issued for the build today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Black vault for a deluge of secrets

The Australian government has been building a state-of-the art, secret data storage facility just outside Canberra to enable intelligence agencies to deal with a ''data deluge'' siphoned from the internet and global telecommunications networks.

Source: SMH

Wed, 12th Jun 2013

Vodafone claims 'superfast' speeds with 4G launch

Vodafone is claiming Australia's fastest mobile data speeds with today's launch of its 4G network in selected areas of Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, and in Newcastle and Wollongong.

Source: iTWire

Aspley switches on to the NBN

Aspley in Queensland has been switched on to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: Computerworld

NBN approach less "chaotic" than US broadband: The Intelligent Community Forum

The growth of broadband in the US was more chaotic and viewed less as a national priority when compared with the NBN, according to The Intelligent Community Forum.

Source: ARN

Vodafone switches on 4G network

Vodafone today announced the launch of its 4G network in Australia, the latest effort in its comeback plan to win back the hordes of customers that deserted the company for poor mobile service.

Source: iTnews Australia