Broadband News

Fri, 15th Mar 2013

ISPs stare down Telstra backhaul cost increase

ISPs and telco executives have been caught off-guard by a draft plan to raise the price of the transmission backhaul that is bundled with Telstra's wholesale ADSL ports.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 14th Mar 2013

Outback councils keen on fibre optic NBN connection

Two remote Queensland councils say they are continuing with a $20 million plan to get fibre optic laid to their outback communities.

Source: ABC News

Groupon warned by ACMA for spamming

ACMA has issued a formal warning to online retailer Groupon Australia for sending daily emails without the consent of people interested in its deals.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 13th Mar 2013

iiNet disappointed with ACCC’s draft ADSL pricing

Wholesale pricing suggested less than efficient costs when compared to its own cost for provisioning DSL ports.

Source: ARN

Cabotage rules sabotage Perth-Singapore cable repairs

Indonesian bureaucracy has halted repair attempts of the severed Singapore - Perth undersea cable which remains severed while its operators try to obtain government permits.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 12th Mar 2013

Macquarie Telecom prepares for the NBN

Macquarie Telecom has increased its core network bandwidth capacity by 10 following upgrades this year, driven by demand from the NBN and cloud.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra escapes Naked ADSL mandate

Telstra has all but successfully fought off attempts to have Naked DSL mandated as a wholesale service after waging war on the issue last year.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC outlines plan for Telstra wholesale ADSL pricing

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft report on a final access determination for Telstra's wholesale ADSL service that will in part govern pricing for organisations seeking access to the telco's copper network to deliver broadband services.

Source: Computerworld

Daly International to hook up units to NBN in three locations

Infrastructure deployment and project delivery group, Daly International Pty Ltd, has landed a $27.7 million contract with NBN Co to undertake the detailed work of connecting flats and units to the National Broadband Network in Western Australia, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Source: ARN

NBN has 'slowed network investment'

The National Broadband Network has slowed investment by telcos in new backbone infrastructure, says an Australian cloud vendor.

Source: iTWire

Netflix releases global ISP speed index

Google Fibre is the speed king for streaming video according to Netflix, which today released its first global Internet provider speed index.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 11th Mar 2013

What the new Optus retail strategy looks like

The new Optus direct sales strategy, mooted last year, is taking shape.

Source: iTWire

Even with satellites, regional Australia prefers fibre-to-the-home: Conroy

Even as the government is busy setting up deals for orbital satellites as part of the NBN, Minister for Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said small communities in regional Australia would still prefer fibre-to-the-home

Source: ARN

Optus refreshes its retail presence

Optus has refreshed its retail presence in Australia, opening 10 'yes' pilot stores across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in March.

Source: ARN

Leave Telstra last in 4G spectrum extension: Vodafone

Vodafone Australia has said Telstra should be a lower priority in getting extra 1800MHz spectrum in three Australian capital cities under a proposal by the ACMA.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 08th Mar 2013

NBN users won't pay for high speeds, economist says

Former Telstra chief economist John de Ridder has said consumers will not be prepared to pay more for higher speeds on the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: Computerworld

ACMA mulls long-term strategy for LTE spectrum

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has started canvassing long-term options for the 1800 MHz band favoured by mobile telcos for LTE voice and data services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Conroy rejects NBN favours marginal seats

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has dismissed claims marginal electorates in western Sydney are being favoured in the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Source: Computerworld

Telstra to raise a billion Euros to fund spectrum auction

Telstra has gone to the Eurozone to raise more than a billion dollars. It seems the money will be used to buy more spectrum in next month’s Digital Dividend auction.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 07th Mar 2013

TPG's Teoh tops BRW's Rich Women list

TPG's Vicky Teoh takes top spot with an estimated worth of $390 million.

Source: ARN

Australian mobile data boom on back of 4G

The amount of data that Australians are consuming over mobile networks is set to increase six-fold by 2017, with 4G leading the way, according to Cisco.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN will attract firms to Dubbo, mayor says

Dubbo City Council believes a superfast broadband connection will encourage firms to relocate from Sydney to the regional NSW city.

Source: Computerworld

Broadband blues: thousands stuck in the slow lane

Hundreds of thousands of Australians, even in capital cities, are unable to access quality home broadband due to ageing infrastructure and black spots, leading to calls for the government to change the NBN rollout to reach these areas first.

Source: SMH

The great NBN rollout non-debate

There has been a lot of smoke but little fire around the NBN's construction schedule. Ideology has obscured the facts - or the facts are interpreted through partisan eyes.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co responds to fibre delays analysis

Last night (Wednesday evening) NBN Co sent iTnews a detailed statement claiming that our analysis of its rollout progress was "untrue" and "not supported by the facts."

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 06th Mar 2013

iPrimus suffers nationwide broadband outage

Internet service provider iPrimus suffered a half-hour outage nationwide at 5pm AEDT, blaming equipment failure.

Source: iTnews Australia

Liftoff for NSW prison mobile jamming trial

The NSW Department of Corrective Services has approached the market for a trial of Australia’s first mobile jamming system in Lithgow Jail.

Source: iTnews Australia

Unmetered NBN - so long as it's off peak

Exetel is offering unmetered NBN, but only after 1am and before 9am. Download your movies overnight!

Source: iTWire

NBN Co fudges numbers to expand rollout

NBN Co has delayed fibre connections to 69,500 premises in one month alone in order to begin construction activities in a greater number of Australian cities and towns, an iTnews analysis can reveal.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 05th Mar 2013

Turnbull's NBN will cost users $6000 per home to connect: Conroy

Opposition shadow minister, Malcolm Turnbull, wants to charge Australians up to $6000 for Internet access.

Source: ARN