Broadband News

Thu, 09th Jan 2020

NBN Co upgrades small portion of slow FTTN services to full fibre

NBN Co has upgraded 3000 premises originally assigned fibre-to-the-node technology to full fibre in order for them to meet the minimum speeds set out in the government’s statement of expectations.

Source: iTnews Australia

UK targets full-fibre broadband with BT regulation changes

Britain's telecoms regulator said it would "supercharge" investment in fibre broadband networks with major proposals to change regulation of the national Openreach network owned by BT.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 08th Jan 2020

Vodafone claims all NBN services are uncommercial

Vodafone Australia claims high-value NBN connections are in no way profitable enough to cross-subsidise “uncommercial” parts of the rollout, and that a proposed broadband tax won’t address the issue. 

Source: iTnews Australia

Netgear's Nighthawk M5 is a 5G portable modem that can achieve 4Gbps download speeds

Netgear today announced the Nighthawk M5 portable modem, a 5G mobile hotspot that can achieve download speeds of up to 4Gbps over next generation mobile networks.

Source: WhistleOut

Tue, 07th Jan 2020

TPG complains of 'wireless attack' by 5G on fixed line broadband

Australian telco TPG has launched another defence of its fixed line assets, complaining that fixed broadband is under attack from 5G networks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Mon, 06th Jan 2020

NBN Co deploys satellite services to bushfire evacuation centres

NBN Co is expecting to have satellite-powered free wifi services available at 17 bushfire evacuation centres in NSW and Victoria later today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 03rd Jan 2020

NBN Co sends Road Muster truck to NSW south coast

NBN Co has sent one of its Road Muster trucks to a bushfire evacuation centre at Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast, offering free wi-fi and device charging for the community.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 02nd Jan 2020

NBN Co technicians outright missed 350 appointments a day in FY19

NBN Co’s field technicians outright missed 127,746 appointments in the last financial year, about 30 a day more than previously modelled.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 31st Dec 2019

Vodafone Australia partners with Nokia to kick off 5G rollout

​Vodafone's broadband services joint venture with Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) has partnered with Nokia to roll out 5G services in Australia.

Source: ARN

Mon, 30th Dec 2019

Vodafone won't charge extra for 5G

Vodafone today announced that it will switch on its 5G network in the first half of 2020, starting with Parramatta in New South Wales. While the telco has yet to detail its 5G offering, a spokesperson confirmed that Vodafone customers will have 5G network access at no extra cost.

Source: WhistleOut

Sun, 29th Dec 2019

Daniel was overseas when he was alerted to an intruder - it was the NBN

Householders and shop owners are unhappy with the installation of NBN equipment and the treatment of their complaints.

Source: SMH

Sat, 28th Dec 2019

Australian internet users get better at skirting website blocks

Australian internet users have become much more adept at circumventing blocked websites over the past year, new numbers released by the government show.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 20th Dec 2019

One in ten fibre to the node NBN connections is reporting faults

The National Broadband Network has broken down by technology the 501,600 service faults it received during the 2018-19 fiscal year, with fibre to the node being the most faulty.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Thu, 19th Dec 2019

Almost all of Vodafone's plans have "unlimited" data now

Vodafone's "data that never ends" is now available on more plans than ever.

Source: WhistleOut

NBN impersonations most common phone scam in 2019

Scammers impersonating NBN representatives were the most reported scam to the Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) during 2019.

Source: ARN

NBN Co to trial 750/50Mbps as 'near gigabit' HFC tier

NBN Co is set to trial what is effectively a 750/50Mbps tier as a near gigabit plan for the hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) portion of its network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Govt to auction more mobile broadband spectrum in 'late 2021'

The government is set to auction extra mobile broadband spectrum in late 2021 that will be freed up in a reorganisation of the 850MHz and 900MHz bands.

Source: iTnews Australia

Most complained-about telcos revealed in Communications Alliance report

The most complained about telecommunications providers have been revealed in the first 'expanded' Complaints in Context report by the Communications Alliance.

Source: ARN

Australian telcos to provide roaming alerts beyond SMS

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced from July 2020 that Australian telcos will need to alert users of roaming charges through alternative means as well as SMS.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 18th Dec 2019

MyRepublic crowned most complained about in Comms Alliance 'expanded' report

It is the first 'expanded' Complaints in Context report to be released since the Telecommunications Consumer Protections code was enforced in August.

Source: ZDNet Australia

iiNet blames hardware fault for six-day email brown-out

iiNet has revealed that a hardware problem is behind the five-days-and-counting email brown-out experienced by customers of its Netspace sub-brand.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co offers holdouts half-price internet for a year

NBN Co is hoping to drive take-up in the fixed line footprint with a “first timers discount” that gives half-price internet for a year to new users that have so far rebuffed offers to join.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co pitches new incentives to resellers for business boost

NBN Co is planning to introduce new incentives for its channel partners and RSPs from January in a bid to boost business NBN services uptake.

Source: ARN

iiNet hit by five-day mail outage

Customers of iiNet’s sub-brand Netspace have had trouble accessing email for at least five days, and the ISP can’t say when normal service will be resumed.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 17th Dec 2019

Canberra flags wholesale benchmarks for NBN and infrastructure providers in 2020

The Australian government has released the second tranche of its consumer safeguards review, following its first release a year prior.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telco resellers face new rules amid consumer safeguards overhaul

New rules governing how telecommunications RSPs deal with their customers and provide services could come into play under new recommendations.

Source: ARN

NBN Co faces "aggregate" reliability standards

NBN Co’s connection and repair timeframes and keeping of appointments “need to improve beyond what is being currently offered”, a report released by the government says.

Source: iTnews Australia

Exetel hit with ACMA fine over delay in lodging complaints reports

Internet service provider Exetel has been fined $12,600 by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for failing to lodge complaints reports on time.

Source: iTWire

Exetel fined for failing to comply with complaints rules

Exetel has forked out $12,600 for an infringement notice issued by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for failing to lodge complaints reports on time.

Source: ARN

Mon, 16th Dec 2019

It's back: 100GB Optus network phone plan for $28 per month

One of Australia's newest telcos, Circles.Life, is slinging a 100GB plan for just $28 per month.

Source: WhistleOut