Broadband News

Fri, 04th Sep 2020

Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ads

Apple said on Thursday that it will delay until early next year changes to its privacy policy that could reduce ad sales by Facebook and other companies targeting users on iPhones and iPads.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co extends additional CVC capacity offer to Internet retailers

NBN Co has further extended its National Broadband Network 40% additional wholesale Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) capacity offer at no extra cost to Internet retailers until the end of November.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 03rd Sep 2020

ACCC partners with five overseas counterparts to tackle global competition concerns

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will partner with five international counterparts to tackle cross-border issues, such as those related to its investigations into digital platforms.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Internet companies urge rejection of new social media regulations

A group representing major internet companies including Facebook, Amazon and Google has urged the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject a Trump administration bid to narrow the ability of social media companies to remove objectionable content.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 02nd Sep 2020

Telstra updates mobile app to handle eSIM changes

Telstra has updated its mobile app, giving customers who have eSIMs the ability to manage them from the app without having to visit a store or requiring an eSIM activation card.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 01st Sep 2020

NBN Co says low FttN speeds due to co-existence of legacy services

The NBN Co has responded to the Australian Labor Party's query as to why many FttN services cannot attain the promised minimum 25Mbps download speeds, by pointing out that the main reason is because of the co-existence of legacy services.

Source: iTWire

ACCC describes Facebook threat on media code as ill-timed

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has described Facebook's threat to prevent Australians from sharing local and international news on the site if the ACCC's draft code on news sharing become law as "ill-timed and misconceived".

Source: iTWire

Mon, 31st Aug 2020

Optus is the latest provider to offer gigabit NBN plans

Optus has joined the likes of Superloop and Aussie Broadband in offering customers NBN plans with speeds faster than 100Mbps. Optus customers can now pick from NBN 250 and NBN 1000 plans, in addition to NBN 50 and NBN 100 plans.

Source: WhistleOut

Huawei cuts ties with Canberra Raiders, citing 5G ban and 'negative' attitude to Chinese companies

The controversial telco deals a huge financial blow to the NRL team by pulling out of its agreement a year early, and a representative says it is a direct result of the Federal Government's 5G ban.

Source: ABC News

NBN Co says 126,000 FTTN users still can't get 25Mbps speeds

NBN Co has revealed there are still 126,000 fibre-to-the-node premises that can’t hit the mandated minimum peak speed of 25Mbps.

Source: iTnews Australia

Amaysim goes to market as Optus network deal approaches expiry

Amaysim is testing the market for its next network services agreement as its current wholesale arrangement with Optus comes up for expiry in mid-2022.

Source: iTnews Australia

ALP asks why FttN users still cannot get promised minimum download speed

The Australian Labor Party has questioned why 139,963 household and business users of fibre-to-the-node connections on the NBN still cannot get the mandated speeds of 25Mbps.

Source: iTWire

Sun, 30th Aug 2020

Telstra passes new ‘milestones’ with 5G rollouts in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania

Telstra has passed new milestones with 400 Queensland 5G sites now on-air and both the 450th Telstra 5G site on-air in Victoria and the 30th Tasmanian 5G site also on air, as the telco’s 5G rollouts continues apace.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 28th Aug 2020

Commander takes its turn as Australia's most complained about telco

The Communications Alliance Complaints in Context report for April to June has a new king to crown in the form of Vocus-owned Commander.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 26th Aug 2020

Get 40GB for $35 per month on Optus and a whole heap of Flybuys points

Optus has teamed up with Flybuys for a new range of SIM-only plans.

Source: WhistleOut

Optus claims first 2300MHz + 3500MHz 5G carrier aggregation call

Australia's second biggest telco Singtel Optus has teamed up with Swedish telecommunications equipment provider Ericsson to make what it claims is the world's first 2300 + 3500MHz 5G non-standalone carrier aggregation call.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 25th Aug 2020

Telstra completes $5.2 million network upgrade on Tasmania’s west coast

Telstra has completed a $5.2 million upgrade of its network on Tasmania’s west coast, with the project completed more than a year ahead of schedule.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 24th Aug 2020

Optus launches new network status map

Optus has announced the release of a new network status map, called Network Experience Maps (NE-Maps), which it claims transforms customers mobile and website experience by enabling them to raise an issue with the mobile network “when and where” a problem is occurring and opt-in to SMS/email updates about a known or reported issue.

Source: iTWire

Uniti urges broadband tax extension to cellular

Uniti Group has urged the government to expand the application of the broadband tax to high-speed cellular broadband networks, partially in the hope of offsetting the size of its own contribution to the scheme.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 21st Aug 2020

Company formerly known as Vodafone Australia ends first half once again in the red

TPG Telecom -- the renamed Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA) that went on to swallow the former TPG in a merger -- reported its first half results on Friday, and they require some history to effectively dissect.

Source: ZDNet Australia

TPG Telecom adds 550 sites to 5G network rollout plan

TPG Telecom is planning to ramp up its 5G rollout over the next 12 months, with more than 85 percent of the population in the country’s six largest cities expected to be served by the end of 2021.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG Telecom weathers revenue decline in first financials since merger

TPG Telecom, the new publicly-listed entity combining Vodafone Hutchison Australia and TPG, has flagged year-on-year declines in revenue and earnings for the six months ending 30 June.

Source: ARN

Thu, 20th Aug 2020

ACMA drafting rules to require telcos pass on NBN fault rebates to customers

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has said it will require the rebates paid by NBN for failing to meet its wholesale service levels to be passed onto customers by retailers.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Co agrees to pay up for slow internet, poor service

NBN Co has agreed to pay daily rebates on slow, congested and underperforming services, as well as for missed appointments and service faults, in a drastic U-turn.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC restarts inquiry into NBN pricing, service proposals

The competition watchdog, the ACCC, has recommenced its inquiry which is considering a proposal from National Broadband Network operator, NBN Co, that aims to address concerns about service standards for wholesale NBN products and the pricing of entry-level NBN services.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 19th Aug 2020

Vocus bucks downward trend on NBN margins

Vocus has reported an $2.30 increase in the average margin per NBN user across FY20, appearing to buck downward pressure experienced elsewhere in the sector through a combination of NBN price reductions and cost-cutting on its own end.

Source: iTnews Australia

NSW seeking approval to put GPS repeaters in Sydney tunnels

Transport for New South Wales is looking for permission to install GPS repeaters in the tunnels under Sydney to test the impact it would have on emergency services, as well as GPS units and smartphones.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vocus profit continues to slide

Vocus Group has ended FY20 with a $178.2 million loss after seeing its profits plummet for the past three years.

Source: ARN

Internet Explorer 11's death march starts now

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11 web browser is headed into the sunset after seven years, with support to be revoked for key online services.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN CO launches community education campaign on scam threats

National Broadband Network operator NNB Co has launched a community education campaign focusing on the threat of scams and warning that scammers are increasing their focus to “deceive Australians”, with new and variations of common NBN themed scams emerging in recent months.

Source: iTWire