Broadband News
Thu, 06th Sep 2012
Coalition could revoke Optus and Telstra NBN agreements
Malcolm Turnbull, shadow minister for communications and broadband, has said he would try to overturn existing National Broadband Network (NBN) agreements with Optus and Telstra if a Coalition government was in power.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co hands out contracts worth $142m for network installation and maintenance
NBN Co has awarded contracts for network installation and maintenance worth $142 million.
Source: ARN
Australia ranks 8th in first global web index
Sweden is the most effective at using the internet to improve people's lives, ahead of the United States and Britain, while Austraila places eighth, according to a global survey launched by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.
Source: SMH
Pipe Networks to upgrade Sydney Guam cable to 100Gbps
TPG subsidiary, Pipe Networks, is to upgrade its PPC-1 Sydney-Guam submarine cable to 100gbps per wavelength operation using Infinera's DTN-X platform, increasing capacity on the cable to more than 3Tbps.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 05th Sep 2012
Telcos to pay levy to keep ACCAN ticking
Telecommunications companies will be levied by the Gillard Government to ensure the continued existence of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
Source: ARN
Conroy announces new funding plan for ACCAN
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital economy, senator Stephen Conroy, has introduced a new funding plan for the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), right through to 2017.
Source: ARN
Telco users shocked by average $169 bill excesses
Bill-shocked users of postpaid telecommunications and internet services are being slugged an average $169 over their usual monthly bill amount, according to new research.
Source: iTnews Australia
ISPs need to step-up customer service on the NBN
Mark Gregory, a senior lecturer at RMIT university, believes ISPs should be providing greater transparency over National Broadband Network (NBN) processes for customers.
Source: Computerworld
Virgin Mobile announces 4G, will sell Galaxy S III 4G
Australian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Virgin Mobile has announced the immediate availability of 4G network coverage and revealed it will sell the Samsung Galaxy S III 4G smartphone.
Source: ARN
NBN Co selects Quintiq for workforce optimisation
Software vendor to provide rostering, time and attendance, and activity-based costing software to NBN Co.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA gets new back-up telco powers
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has been handed new back-up powers that allow it to quickly intervene in cases where telecommunications self-regulation fails.
Source: iTnews Australia
AAPT trials free wifi service
AAPT has deployed a handful of free wifi hotspots in Sydney shopping centres, pubs and cafes to inform its development of a commercial service.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra installs 1000th ADSL2+ 'Top Hat'
Telstra has passed the halfway point in a project to upgrade homes and businesses to ADSL2+ fixed broadband, the telco announced on its blog. The project, which Telstra calls “Top Hat,” places broadband boxes on top of the telco’s existing street-side cabinets.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 04th Sep 2012
Conroy serves it up to Turnbull over NBN - yet again
The great National Broadband Network (NBN) debate between the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and Opposition shadow minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has reached a new level of lengthy press release and sleep-inducing politicking with Conroy's latest serve.
Source: ARN
Telstra suffers BigPond email outage
Telstra is slowly recovering from a nationwide issue with its BigPond email servers that has left it dealing with a backlog of undelivered emails.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN business plans heat up with 'enhancements'
NBN Co has announced its first business-focused enhancement for NBN for Business, with four RSPs pegged to offer business services on the National Broadband Network (NBN) so far.
Source: Computerworld
Roxon edges toward keeping online data for two years
Attorney-General Nicola Roxon appears to have swung her support behind a controversial plan to capture the online data of all Australians, despite only six weeks ago saying "the case had yet to be made" for the policy.
Source: SMH
Optus launches consumer 4G
Optus has today launched its consumer 4G services in Sydney, Newcastle, and Perth close to a year after Telstra launched its 4G services.
Source: ZDNet Australia
By the numbers: iiNet's Malone knew when to sell
iiNet's founder Michael Malone has sold off four million shares of the company he founded, just at the right time.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Galaxy S III 4G coming to Optus, then Telstra
Optus and Telstra have today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Galaxy S III 4G smartphone.
Source: ARN
NBN Co finds ordering system 'issue'
NBN Co has blamed an "issue" in its ordering system for the network connection issues of residents in Maroochydore's Emporio apartment complex.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus 4G network goes live (+ maps, plans, images)
Optus has launched its 4G network in Sydney, Perth and Newcastle. 4G services in Melbourne will start from September 15.
Source: ARN
Mon, 03rd Sep 2012
Eftel's DSLAM write-down results in AU$2.08M loss
Eftel's decision to write down its DSLAM equipment saw the company report a loss of AU$2.08 million for the last financial year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra attacks ACCC's wholesale ADSL proposal on all fronts
Telstra is demanding that it should be exempt from being required to provide regulated wholesale ADSL services in at least 289 exchange services areas; that it should not be required to provide wholesale naked ADSL services and that wholesale prices should be set based on retail prices so that it is able to manage network congestion by adjusting retail prices without discriminating against wholesale customers.
Source: iTWire
Telstra invokes NBN in Naked DSL row
Telstra has stepped up its battle against potentially being forced to offer Naked DSL services on a wholesale basis, arguing that meeting the requirement could hurt the National Broadband Network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 31st Aug 2012
FttP half-truths mask whole-NBN deception
Malcolm Turnbull has been spruiking 12Mbps minimum broadband for years. Suddenly, it’s "just not satisfactory" - and it's OK for him to continue to dodge any substantive questions around the Coalition’s plan. Maybe that’s because nobody's asking them.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus launches usage alert service for customers
Optus has jumped in quickly, just ahead of the new consumer Telecommunications Protection Code coming into effect tomorrow, by launching its new usage alert service which will give customers greater transparency in managing spending on their mobile accounts.
Source: iTWire
Telstra trialling Samsung 4G network equipment
In a surprise revelation, Telstra has confirmed that it is trialling Samsung LTE 4G network equipment in Brisbane, as the telco giant pushes forward with plans to cover 66.6 per cent of the Australian population by June 2013.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Audit tick for fibre backhaul blackspot scheme
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy has won praise for its handling of the $250 million regional backbone blackspot program.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN seeks to bridge urban, rural legal services
Communications minister Stephen Conroy and Attorney-General Nicola Roxon announced $400,000 for the first round of successful applicants to share the NBN legal assistance partnerships.
Source: Computerworld