Broadband News

Thu, 14th May 2020

Broadband demands hit a record high for NBN Co during COVID pandemic

Broadband demand remains high in Australia with the operator of the National Broadband Network NBN Co revealing data demands on its services are well above pre-COVID pandemic baseline levels as Australians continue to observe social distancing and remote working requirements.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 13th May 2020

LTE and 5G router market expecting growth despite COVID-19

The global 5G and LTE router and gateway market is expected to see considerable growth over the next four years even when factoring in the effect of the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: ARN

Govt should consider manufacturing 5G equipment in Aust

The House Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts has put forward its 5G Inquiry Report to Parliament, signalling the government should investigate ways to manufacture 5G infrastructure within Australia.

Source: ARN

Commonwealth claims NBN has capacity to handle IoT and smart transport initiatives

The Australian government has said managing the country's population growth to ensure Australia's cities remain liveable and workable, such as through ensuring the National Broadband Network (NBN) can handle new initiatives including Internet of Things and smart transport, is high on its agenda as part of its response to the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport, and Cities's inquiry into the Australian government's role in the development of cities.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 12th May 2020

Fed funnels $37M into telco disaster relief

The federal government has pumped $37.1 million into strengthening Australia’s telecommunications resilience in the wake of the summer bush fires.

Source: ARN

NBN Co sources $6.1 billion from banks

NBN Co has secured access to a total of $6.1 billion from Australian and international banks, well above the $2 billion it had initially sought.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 11th May 2020

Foxtel Begins Beta Testing For New Streaming Service, Binge

Foxtel's new streaming service, expected to be called 'Binge', has entered beta testing, according to AdNews, the upcoming Netflix and Stan competitor is currently being beta tested and due for a release in weeks.     

Source: Gizmodo

Australian government releases outline for 5G allocation of 850MHz and 900MHz in 2021

The Australian government has laid out its policy outline to reallocate 850MHz and 900MHz for 5G services.

Source: ZDNet Australia

'Bush' telecoms group calls for bi-partisan political support for telco reforms

Australia’s 'bush' communications group - the Rural Regional and Remote Communications Coalition (RRRCC) - has called for all sides of politics to support the passage through the Senate of The Telecommunications Reform Package legislation.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 08th May 2020

Telstra to take $300M hit thanks to Foxtel woes

Telstra expects to recognise an impairment charge of about $300 million against its investment in a 35 per cent stake in the Foxtel joint venture with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Source: ARN

Telstra takes AU$300 million write-down on Foxtel stake

The value of the Foxtel business had a combined AU$1.2 billion wiped from it on Friday morning, following the release of News Corp's third-quarter earnings.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 07th May 2020

TPG-Vodafone merger passes foreign investment review

TPG and Vodafone have received final regulatory approval for their planned $15 billion merger, with the Foreign Investment Review Board indicating it would not object.

Source: iTnews Australia

Final hurdle cleared for VHA-TPG merger

Vodafone Hutchison Australia and TPG Telecom's $15 billion merger has officially gained the green light to go ahead following its final regularity clearance.

Source: ARN

NBN downloads set new record

NBN Co has revealed that download throughput reached a new high in the week of 27 April 2020.

Source: iTWire

Warning: Scams on the increase, threaten remote workers during COVID 19 crisis

There has been a marked increase in predatory scammers attempting to steal personal details and commit fraud, taking advantage of Australians during the COVID 19 crisis, with National Broadband Network operator NBN Co warning of heightened security threats for remote workers.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 06th May 2020

Telstra steps up DNS filtering to fight malware

Australia's incumbent telco Telstra announced on Wednesday it has stepped up its DNS filtering capabilities in an effort to fight malware passing through its network.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Foxtel 'threatened with extinction' within a few years as streaming services cannibalise revenue

Under siege from much cheaper rivals and with lenders unwilling to support it, pay TV operator Foxtel is increasingly looking like a threatened species.

Source: ABC News

Tue, 05th May 2020

NBN Co must hand over more data on 'impaired' fixed-line services

NBN Co will soon have to hand over much more detailed information to regulators about the number of fixed-line services it operates that are “impaired” by congestion or other technical limitations.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vodafone trials 5G services in 700MHz spectrum in Sydney

Vodafone Hutchison Australia is starting to trial 5G services using 700MHz spectrum at an undisclosed number of 5G sites in and around Parramatta in Sydney’s west.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 04th May 2020

Vocus gets green light to settle $35M class action

​Vocus Group has been given the go ahead by the Federal Court of Australia to proceed with the $35 class action million settlement it flagged late last year.

Source: ARN

Vodafone Australia testing 700Mhz spectrum for 5G

Vodafone Australia has teamed up with Nokia to conduct what the pair are calling the first field test of 700Mhz spectrum in Australia and APAC.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Nokia, VHA team up on Australian 5G spectrum test deployment

Nokia and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) have jointly announced the first deployment of low-band NR700Mhz spectrum in a field test environment in a 5G network in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 01st May 2020

Govt says 2GB to 20GB a month 'enough to participate in digital economy'

The Government has estimated an individual’s basic data needs in Australia to fall between 2GB and 20GB, which it says is enough for them “to participate in the digital economy”.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra 5G network no longer reliant on 4G

​Telstra is claiming to have upgraded its network to enable 5G standalone devices to operate without defaulting 4G.

Source: ARN

Aussie Broadband claims NBN ethernet service milestone

Broadband retail service provider Aussie Broadband has claimed a new milestone, reaching its 100th NBN Enterprise Ethernet active connection.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 30th Apr 2020

NBN Co extends temporary bandwidth and quota boosts to July

NBN Co will extend its free bandwidth boost offer for internet providers and extra quota for Sky Muster users for a further two months.

Source: iTnews Australia

TPG eyes fresh routes to Singapore 5G network

TPG’s hopes to build a 5G network in Singapore have met with a snag, after the city-state decided to grant radio frequency spectrum to deploy nationwide 5G networks to two other operators.

Source: ARN

Telstra reveals facility outage numbers from bushfire crisis

Telstra has revealed that 329 network facilities suffered over four-hour outages due to bushfires over six weeks last summer, though only around five were the direct result of fire damage.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co extends free offer of 40% additional capacity to Internet providers during COVID 19

National Broadband Network operator NBN Co has extended its offer to provide up to 40% additional capacity to Internet providers at no extra cost for another two months as part of its support for telecommunications retailers during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 28th Apr 2020

Telstra’s new mobile broadband plans could replace your NBN

New and existing customers will now receive up to double their previous data limit, at no extra cost.

Source: WhistleOut