Broadband News
Tue, 05th Mar 2013
Turnbull still confident of Telstra-NBN deal change
Australian Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is confident that Telstra would be willing to renegotiate its AU$11 billion deal for the NBN should there be a change of government in September.
Source: ZDNet Australia
'Fibre-like' satellite broadband promised to Australia
A satellite provider is set to launch a broadband service that covers the Pacific including Australia with gigabit speeds and comparatively low latency.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dodo prepares for life in a post-ISP era
The Australian Internet service provider (ISP) market has continued to go through a process of consolidation. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in October 2012 revealed that the number of 'medium'-sized ISPs - those with 1000-10,000 customers - dropped 25 per cent in the space of a year. ISPs with more than 100,000 customers dropped from 10 to eight in the same period.
Source: Computerworld
Exetel brings unmetered downloads to NBN plans
ISP Exetel will offer eight hours a day of unmetered downloads across its range of National Broadband Network internet service plans, in part to offset a return to higher prices for the services.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 04th Mar 2013
Coalition stuck with $11bn Telstra-NBN contract value
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has latched onto comments by Telstra overnight where the carrier ruled out renegotiating its $11 billion deal with the Government if it meant accepting less money.
Source: iTnews Australia
'We had the same debate': France approves NBN blueprint
Australia's fibre-to-the-home approach for the National Broadband Network is 'the best and most sustainable solution', according to the French minister delegate for small and medium enterprise Fleur Pellerin.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Law firm mum on Vodafone class action sign-ups
The law firm behind a class action lawsuit levelled at Vodafone has refused to provide any details on the number of people who signed up to the suit in the first week of registrations going live.
Source: iTnews Australia
Households use more data with NBN: study
Households that have switched to an NBN service download more data than they did previously, according to a study by the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University.
Source: ARN
Driven by 10G, Ethernet switches buck economic headwinds
The Ethernet switch market eked out modest growth in 2012 against the backdrop of an uncertain global economy, underscored by weakness in Europe and lower public sector spending.
Source: Computerworld
Most households not paying more for NBN internet
A university study has found most early adopters of the NBN are not paying more for their Internet connection.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co satellite launch contract to go to Arianespace
European space company Arianespace will get the $300 milion contract for launching two satellites for NBN Co, The Australian reports.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 01st Mar 2013
TCP code takes effect
The new Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code has taken effect as of today, requiring all Australian service providers to give customers a standardised format "Critical Information Summary" (CIS).
Source: ARN
Gillard government invests $4m in Vodafone
The Gillard government is providing $4 million to Vodafone Hutchison Australia to facilitate the creation of 750 new customer service jobs in Hobart.
Source: ARN
Vocus focuses on fibre as rollout hits halfway
Vocus Communications is crafting strategies to sell more capacity on its burgeoning capital city fibre network as it looks to grow utilisation from the current level of 5.6 percent.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone to add 750 jobs in Tasmania following government cash injection
Vodafone will add 750 new jobs to its customer care centre in Tasmania, following $4.85 million in funding from the federal and Tasmanian governments.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 28th Feb 2013
The NBN isn't a copyright boogeyman
Industries seeking to push their own agenda will really only blame the NBN in a move to try to force the Labor government to see things their way.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Coalition plans to demolish NBN: Conroy
The Coalition is intending to demolish the NBN if elected, according to Minister for Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.
Source: ARN
NBN oversight falls victim to partisanship
Independent MP Rob Oakleshott has lambasted the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network (JCNBN) for becoming more about party politics than about the roll out of the NBN.
Source: Computerworld
Eftel culls staff following Engin takeover
Fixed-line wholesale internet provider Eftel has announced that it has closed its Perth and Malaysian offices following the acquisition of VoIP provider Engin last year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
For cost per Mbit/sec fibre beats copper hands down
Point Topic has released its latest quarterly benchmark of global broadband tariffs, showing that the cost of fibre services per megabit of bandwidth in one fifth that of services over copper and predicting that European nations will need to accelerate fibre rollouts.
Source: iTWire
Vocus revenue and net profit rise
Majority of revenue growth came from its internet, fibre and datacentre business.
Source: ARN
Wed, 27th Feb 2013
Prices down, bandwidth up - Aussie consumers the winners
The ACCC's new Telecommunications Report shows Australian consumers continue to benefit from falling prices for telecommunication services. And Australians now spend more time on mobiles than fixed lines.
Source: iTWire
Australian internet access prices fall for fifth year
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has found internet access prices have fallen for the fifth consecutive year, down 2.7 percent in the past year.
Source: iTnews Australia
So what's wrong with the NBN being unique?
Say what you like about Malcolm Turnbull, his grasp of facts on NBN-like (I use the term loosely) broadband networks and related policies in other countries puts that of most journalists covering the area to shame.
Source: iTWire
iiNet wants to introduce you to a new Budii
iiNet's latest home router - the Budii - features a smartphone and tablet.
Source: iTWire
Small businesses don't see benefit in NBN: report
Forty per cent of small business owners believe the National Broadband Network (NBN) will not help their business, according to a Roy Morgan report.
Source: Computerworld
Trans-Pacific bandwidth prices slow to drop
Australian and New Zealand prices for wholesale bandwidth over optical wavelengths are refusing to budge, despite big price drops on other routes elsewhere around the world.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 26th Feb 2013
2014 the year of the FTTN NBN
It has now reached the stage where even rusted on ALP supporters have accepted the inevitable demise of the current government and the end of the fibre to the door National Broadband Network. The NBN will continue but from 2014, when the new government gets down to business, its nature will be very different, as will the company overseeing its rollout.
Source: iTWire
ACCC keeps eye on network congestion management
Increased data usage will create congestion challenges for network operators, according to a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC).
Source: Computerworld
Vodafone Australia records AU$800m loss
Vodafone Australia's parent company Hutchison has revealed that the troubled company lost AU$817.6 million in 2012.
Source: ZDNet Australia