Broadband News
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
Vodafone turns on 4G
Telecommunications provider, Vodafone, has launched its own 4G network in Australia, claiming "demonstrated trial speeds" of up to 100Mbps.
Source: ARN
Conroy targets Australia to be world leading digital economy by 2020
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has released an update to the national digital economy strategy, Advancing Australia as a Digital Economy, which lays out the next steps towards achieving an improved digital economy by 2020.
Source: ARN
NewSat to buy Optus satellites?
Since SingTel announced a ‘review’ of its Optus satellite operation in March, a number of potential buyers have emerged. Now NewSat has thrown its hat in the ring.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 11th Jun 2013
NBN Co should take asbestos responsibility: analyst
NBN Co should take some of the responsibility for the asbestos mishandling issue, according to analyst Guy Cranswick.
Source: Computerworld
NBN contractor halts trading
Telco construction company Service Stream has entered a trading halt in order to "clarify a number of issues" in relation to Syntheo, its joint venture with Lend Lease.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra 4G coverage for skiers
Telstra customers in the NSW and Victorian snowfields now have 4G coverage, with Telstra switching the network in Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Perisher and Thredbo.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 10th Jun 2013
Chinese telco Huawei tries to shake off spy image after NBN ban
The Chinese company blocked from working on Australia's National Broadband Network has set its sights on shaking off its image as a stalking horse for Chinese spies.
Source: ABC News
Opposition 'very troubled' by US surveillance programme
Unease over a clandestine US data collection programme has rippled across the Pacific to two of Washington's major allies, Australia and New Zealand, raising concerns about whether they have cooperated with secret electronic data mining.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mass internet surveillance whistleblower goes public
The United States bulk surveillance scandal is continuing unabated with further revelations about the NSA PRISM programme and the person who leaked information about it.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 07th Jun 2013
Slow work internet 'frustrates' Aussies
Over one-third of Australia's workers get faster internet at home than at work, according to new research.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 06th Jun 2013
ACCAN condemns ASIC block of 250k sites
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has hit out at the revelation that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) accidentally blocked 250,000 legitimate websites.
Source: Computerworld
Internet industry reports progress on IPv6, but work remains
One year after the World IPv6 Launch Day, the Internet industry has reported steady progress moving users around the world to the new Internet Protocol version. However, Australia continues to lag behind other companies in IPv6 uptake, industry figures told Computerworld Australia.
Source: Computerworld
iiNet offers 4G plans with no contracts
Mighty underdog iiNet has proven it wants to be taken seriously in the mobile sector, today launching super-affordable 4G mobile plans packed with no lock-in contracts.
Source: iTWire
iiNet launches 4G mobile plans from $15
iiNet has launched 4G plans starting from $15 per month on a non-contract basis.
Source: Computerworld
Optus 2300Mhz 4G launched to the public in Canberra
Following the unveiling of its multi-band, 2300Mhz TD-LTE 4G network last month, telecommunications provider, Optus, has publicly launched the network and the first compatible devices in Canberra.
Source: ARN
Telstra considering plan to remove asbestos from all pits amid NBN scare
Telstra is considering a long-term plan to completely remove asbestos from all its pits, amid concerns members of the public may have been exposed to the deadly fibres.
Source: ABC News
The NBN stop-work demand that wasn't
NBN Co will meet with the Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) as early as today to discuss the contents of a letter from the union to NBN chief Mike Quigley.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 05th Jun 2013
Labor risks asbestos panic, says Turnbull
The federal government risks stirring up unnecessary panic among communities living near national broadband network (NBN) work sites where asbestos has been discovered, the opposition said.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra stops all NBN pit work over asbestos fears as families demand answers
The union representing workers on the National Broadband Network (NBN) says Telstra has agreed to stop remediation work in pits and pipelines until asbestos fears are allayed.
Source: ABC News
Families issue demands to Telstra over asbestos
Affected families near asbestos-contaminated telecommunications pits in Western Sydney are demanding that Telstra make their properties safe before they return home.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 04th Jun 2013
Optus kicks off mobile broadband bill-shock killer plans
As foreshadowed last week, Optus has gone ahead with plans to remove bill shock on mobile broadband plans.
Source: ZDNet Australia
System 'glitch' raises ire of TPG mobile users
TPG is investigating an apparent system glitch that is skewing mobile account balances and initiating automated top-ups of a deposit set aside to pay excess usage charges.
Source: iTnews Australia