Broadband News
Wed, 16th Dec 2020
Facebook privacy app spied on users for market research, ACCC says
The consumer watchdog is taking the social media giant to court over a security app that fed insights and data back to Facebook.
Source: SMH
ACCC takes court action against Facebook over VPN service
Australia's competition watchdog accuses the social media giant of acting "completely contrary to the promise of protection" by using its VPN service to log details of users' online activity.
Source: ABC News
Telstra sells Velocity, South Brisbane fibre networks for $140m
Telstra has finally found a buyer for its residential fibre networks with Uniti Group set to pay $140 million for the Velocity estate and South Brisbane assets.
Source: iTnews Australia
Uniti bags 50,000 FTTP services in $140M Telstra Velocity deal
Uniti Group has acquired Telstra Velocity and South Brisbane Exchange assets in a landmark deal worth $140 million.
Source: ARN
Uniti picks up Telstra Velocity for AU$140 million
Uniti Group announced on Wednesday it has struck an agreement with Telstra to purchase its Velocity and South Brisbane exchanges for a purchase price of AU$140 million.
Source: ZDNet Australia
TasmaNet links 100 schools to NBN fibre
TasmaNet has rolled out NBN fibre network infrastructure to 100 schools in Tasmania, claiming to give them speeds of up to 1Gbps.
Source: ARN
Telstra improves the Triple Zero Emergency Call Service with Advanced Mobile Location
Telstra has improved the Triple Zero Emergency Call Service with Advanced Mobile Location on Android and Apple smartphones that have the latest OS updates, assisting emergency services operators to work out where you're calling from.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 15th Dec 2020
Best WiFi dongle and pocket WiFi plans (December 2020)
If you're looking for portable internet, you're going to need a WiFi dongle or pocket WiFi hub. And there are a few providers that offer them. So how do the plans compare?
Source: WhistleOut
NBN Co disables instant online quotes for user-pays fibre upgrades
NBN Co has pulled its instant online quote generator that could be used to price an upgrade to fibre after a fortnight, saying the experience around the tool needed to be further “optimised”.
Source: iTnews Australia
New subsea cable system planned between New Zealand and Australia
Connectivity between Australia and New Zealand could receive a further capacity boost after plans for a new data centre build and cable system were revealed today.
Source: iTnews Australia
Over 4,000 privacy complaints made about Aussie telcos in FY20
During the 2020 financial year, consumers made over 4,000 complaints about telecommunications providers related to a user's privacy.
Source: ZDNet Australia
New satellite ground station coming to Dubbo
Australian telco Pivotel and content and connectivity provider SES have agreed to construct a new satellite ground station at Pivotel's Dubbo teleport. The ground station will enable the delivery of enhanced telecommunication services to regional communities.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 14th Dec 2020
Telstra scores $130m WA schools internet upgrade deal
Telstra will deliver a significant bandwidth boost to Western Australia’s public schools under a $130 million extension to its existing telecommunications deal with the state government.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 11th Dec 2020
Optus kills excess data charges on postpaid plans
Optus has quietly axed excess data charges on its postpaid mobile, tablet, and mobile broadband plans, effectively bringing it in line with Telstra and Vodafone.
Source: WhistleOut
Thu, 10th Dec 2020
The fastest NBN providers according to the ACCC (December 2020)
Don't want slow NBN? Since 2018, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been speed testing Australian NBN connections. The resulting quarterly report, Measuring Broadband Australia, details the average speed of connections offered by major providers during peak hours.
Source: WhistleOut
Optus filed half of all network change notifications under security laws
Optus was singlehandly responsible for over half of all network change notifications filed with the government in the first two years of telecommunications national security laws that were passed in late 2017.
Source: iTnews Australia
Improved access to key online services during COVID, says ACCC
Increased broadband speeds have improved performances of popular streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube during mid-September and October when compared to a pre-COVID baseline of February 2020, according to the ACCC.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 09th Dec 2020
NBN Co to undertake $200m IT transformation
NBN Co is set to embark on a $200 million project to simplify and modernise its IT architecture, touted as the “largest IT transformation” it has ever undertaken.
Source: iTnews Australia
Huawei Australia still waiting for 'formal' NBN, 5G ban notifications
Huawei Australia says it is still awaiting “formal notification” of its bans from the NBN and 5G networks, reiterating long-standing calls for its equipment to be “independently tested” and its cyber security processes reviewed.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co starts rollout of Disaster Satellite Service
National broadband network operator NBN Co has unveiled the first NBN Disaster Satellite Service in Namadgi ACT, designed to boost the support offered to communities and emergency services personnel during and in the aftermath of emergency events, such as bushfires and floods.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 06th Dec 2020
'Privacy is making a comeback': Nine in 10 worried about personal data online
The research comes a decade after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg declared "privacy is no longer the social norm".
Source: SMH
Sat, 05th Dec 2020
Optus tops ACCC's speed report for fifth consecutive quarter
The ACCC has put out the eleventh Measuring Broadband Australia report, with Optus taking the top spot for the firth quarter in a row. Optus customers were found to receive 98.5% of their plan's maximum speeds during peak hours (between 7pm and 11pm) putting the telco ahead of TPG, Aussie Broadband, MyRepublic, Telstra, and more.
Source: WhistleOut
Fri, 04th Dec 2020
NBN overprovisioning makes lowest two speed tiers faster than advertised
Thanks to the National Broadband Network (NBN) overprovisioning its plans by between 10% and 15%, it is very likely that customers on NBN's lowest two fixed-line speed tiers -- 12Mbps and 25Mbps -- are getting speeds faster than what is on the label.
Source: ZDNet Australia
RSPs deliver 'highest' recorded average plan speeds during October
Retail service providers (RSP) delivered the highest recorded average maximum NBN plan speeds during October at over 94 per cent, according to Australia's consumer watchdog.
Source: ARN
Tue, 01st Dec 2020
Telstra outages trigger anxiety for still-suffering bushfire survivors
Mallacoota residents who survived last summer's bushfires say two outages in the past month have caused extreme distress for people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.
Source: ABC News
NBN Co opens instant quote generator for user-pays fibre upgrades
NBN Co has soft-launched the instant quote generator for its user-pays upgrade program Technology Choice.
Source: iTnews Australia
50 RSPs join NBN Co new wholesale broadband deal
The fourth iteration of NBN Co’s wholesale broadband agreement has come into action today following months of negotiations.
Source: ARN
Mon, 30th Nov 2020
Optus just wants to be loved
Optus unveiled an interesting target for a telco on Monday during a business strategy update: To become "Australia's most loved everyday brand".
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus will go ahead with plans to sell towers, says CEO
Telco Singtel Optus will go ahead with plans to sell 70% of its "passive" towers, which are estimated to be worth $2 billion, to help pay for its rollout of 5G infrastructure.
Source: iTWire
Govt makes another bid to put lipstick on a pig aka the NBN
Any time the NBN Co is taking a hammering over the abysmal speeds on the network which it is building at a cost of $57 billion — and still counting — there is a bid to make things look better.
Source: iTWire