Broadband News

Mon, 05th Jul 2021

TPG Telecom and Nokia launch 5G standalone 700MHz service

Nokia and TPG Telecom announced that they have switched on a live 5G standalone (SA) network in Australia on the 700MHz spectrum band.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 02nd Jul 2021

Optus will give you $300 for your old iPhone 7 (and has cut iPhone 11 & 12 prices)

Optus has started the new financial year with a couple of Apple-focused offers, including a trade-in deal that's great for old iPhone owners.

Source: WhistleOut

Optus outage stretches into Friday afternoon

A Friday morning outage is quickly turning into a full day outage, with some Optus customers left without mobile or fixed connectivity.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus hit by widespread network outage

Optus suffered a widespread outage of its mobile and internet services on Friday, with users in cities across Australia experiencing problems for several hours.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus achieves 300Mbps uplink speed on a commercial 5G network

Optus said it has achieved another Australian 5G record, smashing 5G upload speeds as part of its mmWave testing on its live commercial network, together with technology partner Nokia, as it continues to push the possibilities of its super-fast 5G network.

Source: iTWire

Optus still the fastest provider in ACCC NBN speed report

The ACCC has put out the latest Measuring Broadband Australia report, with Optus still on top.

Source: WhistleOut

Wed, 30th Jun 2021

Higher NBN speeds and changing retailers does not make web browsing faster: ACCC

If you are thinking that you need to jump from an NBN 50Mbps speed plan to 100Mbps because your web browsing seems slow, the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has a simple piece of advice: Don't.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACCC uncovers small number of NBN gigabit users seeing only 100Mbps

The ACCC's first attempt to understand how up to gigabit NBN plans perform has uncovered a subset of users getting only 100Mbps speeds due to limitations with their modem or home gateway.

Source: iTnews Australia

Former amaysim director picked as Circles.Life Aussie lead

Singapore-headquartered mobile virtual network operator MVNO Circles.Life has appointed former amaysim director Maik Retzlaff as its new Australian lead.

Source: ARN

Telstra offloads 49% of Towers business for $2.8B

In conjunction with the sale, Telstra has entered into a 15-year agreement with the InfraCo Towers business to secure ongoing access to existing and new towers.

Source: ARN

Mon, 28th Jun 2021

Telstra to start 5G 'slicing' trials with enterprises

Telstra is anticipating the first enterprise trials of 5G network “slices” that are tuned for specific use cases to begin “in the next quarter or two”.

Source: iTnews Australia

Swoop swallows Perth telco ComComs

Fixed wireless and wholesale network infrastructure provider Swoop has acquired Perth-based NBN provider ComComs, marking its second acquisition in the space of a week.

Source: ARN

Telstra and Ericsson make world’s longest 5G call

Telstra, in collaboration with Ericsson, announced the successful completion of a 5G Standalone (SA) data call 113km from a Telstra commercial mobile site in Gippsland Victoria.

Source: iTWire

Telstra announces 75% coverage in major 5G rollout milestone

Three-quarters of all Australians now can now access Telstra 5G where they live, and Telstra’s 4G network now covers more than two million square kilometres of the Australian continent.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 23rd Jun 2021

NBN Co opens door for co-investment at all levels of government

NBN Co, established with a mandate to ensure all Australians have access to fast broadband, has opened the door for governments at all levels to help it further develop its infrastructure.

Source: ARN

NBN Co opens $300m regional co-investment fund

NBN Co is now inviting expressions of interest for its $300 million regional co-investment fund, which will part-pay broadband infrastructure upgrades in areas served by either fixed wireless or satellite.

Source: iTnews Australia

Over the Wire joins Tier 1 voice providers and now offers full-service voice capabilities

Telecommunications company Over the Wire joins Tier 1 voice providers such as Telstra, Optus, TPG, MyNetFone, and Vocus after it completed its Carrier Interconnect project. The said project, the company says, is a milestone and laid the foundation for a new phase of growth.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 22nd Jun 2021

New regulatory model for NBN a ‘step closer’ says ACCC

Australia’s competition regulator the ACCC says a new regulatory model for the National Broadband Network is one step closer after a telecommunications industry roundtable last week brought together NBN Co, broadband retailers, industry groups, consumer representatives and government.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 21st Jun 2021

TPG Telecom brands ACCC "out of touch" over mobile competition claims

TPG Telecom called the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) “out of touch” for suggesting that the major telcos had raised prices and stopped competing for customers after TPG and Vodafone merged.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC says ‘I told you so’ over TPG-Vodafone merger

​Australia’s competition body has wagged its finger at the country's biggest telcos after mobile plan prices soar, year-on-year, following the Vodafone and TPG merger.

Source: ARN

ACCC blasts less competitive mobile market after TPG-Vodafone merger

Australia's competition watchdog claims its fears of less mobile competition in the wake of the TPG-Vodafone merger have become a reality, with price hikes now seen across the board.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 18th Jun 2021

Future NBN pricing may have more options and constraints

NBN Co may be required to offer internet retailers more ways to differentiate the services they resell, and may also be prevented from withdrawing products or making them more expensive, under ideas to be canvassed at a roundtable today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Akamai routing error caused widespread outages

Akamai has apologised for the routing error within the company's Prolexic distributed denial-of-service mitigation platform that saw users in Australia and New Zealand unable to access bank accounts and other services over the internet yesterday.

Source: iTnews Australia

iiNet now has an unlimited home wireless broadband plan with a one-month free trial

iiNet has expanded its range of internet plans with a new 4G-powered home wireless broadband option. While 4G-based home wireless broadband plans typically max out with 500GB download allowances, iiNet's plan comes with unlimited data.

Source: WhistleOut Broadband News

Thu, 17th Jun 2021

Major banks' online services, airline systems go down

Major banks’ internet services and payment terminals, as well as websites for other major brands, went offline on Thursday afternoon in what appears to be an issue with a widely-used DDoS mitigation service.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra's $328m NSW schools project has flow-on benefits for business

Telstra said that a $328 million project upgrading fibre connectivity to NSW schools will also benefit businesses in regional areas, with access to up to 10Gbps speeds now possible.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 15th Jun 2021

Telstra comes down harder on suspected scam calls

Telstra said it has more than doubled the number of suspected scam calls it is blocking every month.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 11th Jun 2021

ACMA sees 15% drop in total telco complaints even though they're taking longer to resolve

Latest figures from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has indicated there was a 15% year-on-year drop in telecommunications complaints from 323,804 to 274,290 during the January to March 2021 quarter.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra tops Aussie telcos, tech companies in renewables report card

Telstra has been ranked ahead of other Australian telcos, data centre and tech companies for their renewable energy commitments in new report card from Greenpeace Australia.

Source: iTnews Australia

Why does my internet connection play up when it's raining?

When your Netflix stream drops out in the middle of a rainstorm, can you blame the wild weather? James Jin Kang and Paul Haskell-Dowland investigate.

Source: ABC News