Broadband News

Wed, 21st Oct 2020

ACCC watching US monopoly case against Google, hits back at tech giant's 'popularity'

Australia's competition chief Rod Sims says he's "delighted" that the US Government has Google in its sights in one of the biggest anti-trust lawsuits of the past 20 years.

Source: ABC News

Labor latches onto AU$57 billion figure as NBN cost

The Australian Labor Party has latched onto admissions from representatives of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications that AU$51 billion plus AU$6 billion does indeed equal AU$57 billion.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Consumers, telcos to benefit from new NBN consumer experience rules: ACMA

Australia’s telecommunications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has taken action to enhance NBN consumer experience rules to protect Australians during the final phase of the National Broadband Network migration.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 20th Oct 2020

Telstra drops extra large discount on XL mobile plan

Telstra discounted its Extra Large Mobile Plan by $50 per month, skyrocketing it to the best value plan from the provider.

Source: WhistleOut

Fri, 16th Oct 2020

Aussie Broadband lists on the ASX one week early

Aussie Broadband has begun trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) after raising $40 million in an oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO).

Source: iTnews Australia

Aussie Broadband lists on ASX in $40 million IPO

​Telecommunications provider Aussie Broadband has listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) with a $40-million initial public offering.

Source: ARN

Port Macquarie gets improved mobile coverage with Optus tower

Mobile phone coverage in the NSW town of Port Macquarie has been boosted with Optus switching on a new tower in the area which it says will deliver even better mobile coverage and connectivity.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 15th Oct 2020

Comms Minister weighs in on watchdog's regulation of the NBN

​NBN Co’s wholesale prices, business market competition and spectrum are some of the issues highlighted in federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher’s Statement of Expectations to the ACCC.

Source: ARN

Amaysim pays $126K penalty for ‘unlimited’ mobile data ad

Telco provider amaysim has paid penalties totalling $126,000 for alleged false or misleading representations about its mobile phone plans in an advertisement posted to Twitter.

Source: ARN

Wed, 14th Oct 2020

Optus says it achieved 2.5Gbps download on new ultra-fast 5G site

Telco Singtel Optus has fired the next shot in the ongoing Australian 5G speed wars, saying it has achieved a download speed of 2.5Gbps using a Samsung Galaxy S20 device on the first of its ultra-fast 5G sites.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 09th Oct 2020

Optus’ NBN 100 plans are now faster

Optus has officially upped it’s typical evening speeds on NBN 100 plans to 90Mbps making it the second fastest provider available.

Source: WhistleOut

Thu, 08th Oct 2020

NBN Co to deploy more fixed wireless cells to improve uplink speeds

NBN Co is set to deploy more fixed wireless cells in areas of high demand to resolve problems with slow uplink speeds on the network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra's 5G speed self-test opens itself up to ridicule

Telstra is opening itself up to ridicule by touting figures collected by its own staff to "prove" that its 5G service is faster than a competitor – which, in this case, is Optus.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 07th Oct 2020

Telstra Velocity fibre rebuild or exit 'not practicable' before August 2021

Telstra is still no closer to an “exact date” to either upgrade or offload its residential fibre networks, but says it won’t be before the end of July 2021.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 06th Oct 2020

Optus opens ‘most sophisticated’ flagship store in Brisbane

Optus has opened a new store in Brisbane which it says is its “most sophisticated” national flagship store, giving customers and visitors a taste of its “vision for the future” of its retail stores.

Source: iTWire

Australian telco security coordinator concerned at network virtualisation plans

Australia's Communications Access Coordinator (CAC) is concerned by the level of understanding within the nation's telcos about the risk that network virtualisation can introduce.

Source: ZDNet Australia

TPG calls for NBN protectionism to end

TPG Telecom wants to see the era of NBN protectionism end, allowing it - and others - to provide a greater degree of infrastructure-based competition in NBN fixed-line areas once more.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus supports 5G phone sales with price guarantee

Optus has introduced a price guarantee on sales of its 5G phones, guaranteeing to match retail prices offered by competitors.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 02nd Oct 2020

Optus Game Path courts PC gamers with low lag promise

Optus today announced a new add-on for NBN plans that it claims can reduce in-game lag by 30% on average.

Source: WhistleOut

Optus offering NBN users the chance to pay AU$10 for fewer hops

Optus announced on Friday a new routing product named Game Path where NBN users will be able to pay AU$10 a month for fewer hops of their traffic.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 01st Oct 2020

Optus introduces eSIM through the My Optus App

You can now sign up to the Optus mobile network and be connected within minutes using eSIM.

Source: WhistleOut

Wed, 30th Sep 2020

Telstra's Belong backs its 'micro' business decisions with data

Telstra’s challenger brand Belong rebuilt its data infrastructure and culture over the past two years to make it clearer how “micro decisions” made by staff impact customers and therefore the telco’s profitability.

Source: iTnews Australia

Complaints from customers who can't reach their telco up 1,500 per cent, report finds

Frustrated consumers are flooding the ombudsman with complaints about internet and phone providers who are unable to solve their problems, with one telco blaming the shutdowns in India for their inaction, a customer says.

Source: ABC News

Telstra is all but promising congestion free NBN for speeds as fast as NBN 100

Telstra is all but promising congestion free NBN, having upped its typical evening speed guidance for plans as fast as NBN 100. Big T is now saying customers can expect typical evening speeds of 100Mbps on NBN 100 plans, 50Mbps on NBN 50 plans, and 25Mbps on NBN 25 plans.

Source: WhistleOut

Tue, 29th Sep 2020

The fastest NBN providers according to the ACCC (September 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

Telstra expands optical network capacity by 400%

Telstra has gone live with a network capacity upgrade quadrupling the speed in its optical transmission network between data centres over a year.

Source: ARN

Telco problems cost Australians millions of dollars in lost time

Resolving phone and Internet issues costs Australians over $150 million per year in lost time, according to new research from Australia's communications consumers peak body, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).

Source: iTWire

Telstra takes wraps off 5G fixed wireless service

Telstra has announced that it will launch its 5G fixed wireless service from Wednesday, with the initial glut of customers to be invited to take part.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra sets conservative speed expectations for 'up to gigabit' NBN add-on

Telstra is set to offer NBN Co’s "ultrafast" broadband product with up to gigabit speeds, but has set a conservative expectation of 250Mbps speeds for the evening peak.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACCC says fixed-line NBN connections held up well in May and June

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says fixed-line NBN broadband services have held up well in May and June despite the increased demand.

Source: iTWire