Broadband News
Wed, 13th Jan 2021
Leading Edge enters into wholesale broadband agreement with NBN Co
Data centre network provider Leading Edge Data Centres has entered into a wholesale broadband agreement with NBN Co for facilities access service.
Source: ARN
Tue, 12th Jan 2021
nbn claims '5G long-range transmission world record' for fixed wireless
Claiming a "world-record" for long-range 5G transmission using mmWave technology, Australia's government-owned National Broadband Network company is actively developing "new options to further optimise the performance and customer experience of the nbn Fixed Wireless network".
Source: iTWire
Wed, 06th Jan 2021
Save $10 per month on NBN 100, NBN 250, and NBN 1000 plans on Internode and iiNet
Sibling telcos Internode and iiNet are both slashing $10 per month from their fastest NBN plans. This means you can save $10 per month on NBN 100, NBN 250, and NBN 1000 plans with either provider for their first 12 months. The plans are contract-free, so you're always able to leave after your discount expires.
Source: WhistleOut
Tue, 05th Jan 2021
Qualcomm takes 5G down to budget phones with Snapdragon 480
Qualcomm has taken the wraps off its lower-tier Snapdragon 480 5G, the successor to the 460 used in phones such as the Nokia 3.4.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 04th Jan 2021
Optus, Telstra, TPG press for 'partnership' in $22m 5G test case race
Optus has asked the government to make partnering with a telco a prerequisite to secure funding under a forthcoming $22.1 million program to find new enterprise and industrial use cases for 5G.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 22nd Dec 2020
NBN Co a 'low' threat of overbuilding in greenfields estates
NBN Co is considered a “low” threat of using new powers to overbuild other networks in new housing estates in the short to medium term.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACCC chief Sims says Google and Facebook draft laws 'fair'
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman (ACCC) Rod Sims said proposed laws that will make Australia the first country in the world to force Google and Facebook to pay for news were fair and critical for the survival of the media industry.
Source: iTnews Australia
felix mobile increases unlimited data speeds to 20Mbps
felix's all you can eat plan is now capped at 20Mbps, rather than 5Mbps.
Source: WhistleOut
Mon, 21st Dec 2020
TPG offered sliver of hope in bid to overturn NBN protectionism
TPG Telecom’s bid to be allowed to roll out fixed-line infrastructure that competes with NBN Co again remains a live - albeit limited - possibility after the competition watchdog left the door open to future small-scale proposals.
Source: iTnews Australia
SpaceX Starlink picks up Australian 5G mmWave spectrum
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced on Friday it had offered the first round of its new area-wide apparatus licences to communications providers looking for 5G millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 18th Dec 2020
5G mmWave licence applicants named
Opticomm, Optus, Starlink, Telstra and Field Solutions Group are among the 15 applicants in Australia that have been offered a licence in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands by the ACMA.
Source: ARN
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