Broadband News
Wed, 20th Nov 2019
NBN Co claims internet providers will milk it for rebates
NBN Co has preemptively accused internet providers of harbouring a desire to milk higher rebates on faulty or slow services for “windfall gains”, even if it prolongs problems for their own customers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 19th Nov 2019
ACCC chief warns digital takeovers of rivals pose threat to consumer choice, privacy
The chief of Australia’s competition regulator, the ACCC, Rod Sims has warned that the takeovers of smaller rivals by digital platforms, including their data sets, may pose a threat to consumers’ choice and privacy.
Source: iTWire
ACMA requests ISPs to block two illegal offshore gambling websites
The telecoms regulator ACMA has requested Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block illegal offshore gambling websites Emu Casino and Fair Go Casino.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co says no need for any ACCC intervention in service standards
The NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's broadband network, has questioned the need for any regulatory intervention into its wholesale service standards at this time as, in its view, the ACCC's draft decision on these aspects had not provided any evidence of market failure.
Source: iTWire
Optus welcomes ACCC draft determination on NBN wholesale service standards
Australia's second biggest telco Optus has welcomed the draft decision by the ACCC stemming from its NBN wholesale service standards inquiry, saying that the inquiry should hold the NBN Co to account for service standards expected by retail service providers and end-users.
Source: iTWire
Under-fire Telstra takes action to buy back debt on remote rip-off contracts
The telco says it will refund debts of more than $1,000 for customers sold mobile phones and contracts they could not afford.
Source: ABC News
Mon, 18th Nov 2019
Some of NBN's 8,000 non-serviceable premises waiting over 36 months: Telstra
The company responsible for deploying the National Broadband Network across Australia is leaving multiple thousands of premises behind in its rollout, Telstra has said.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co is skipping 'thousands' of premises a month
NBN Co is leaving progressively more premises unable to connect to its network for two or more years, new statistics from Telstra show.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vodafone wants NBN connections to match ‘sticker’ speeds
Vodafone has backed an idea floated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that would see NBN Co introducing a speed ‘buffer’ so that a household’s broadband connection more closely matches its wholesale speed tier.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co threatens to halt future FTTN upgrades
NBN Co claims future - presumably discretionary - upgrades of its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services and to “rehabilitation of the copper network” are under threat because of a punitive rebate scheme proposed by regulators.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 15th Nov 2019
Telstra claims policy and framework needed for 5G rollout
Telstra has called for the establishment of a policy and regulatory framework for investment and innovation in business and other use cases.
Source: ARN
NBN increasing 12Mbps connections for first time in a year: ACCC
After peaking at 1.2 million premises at this time last year, and heading downward for the following twelve months, the number of premises on NBN's 12/1Mbps plans is once again headed in an upward trajectory.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN migrations boost Optus revenue, but 1H profit drops
Optus saw an increase in customers and higher NBN migration payments which helped the telco's revenue grow 1.8 per cent, to $4.4 billion for the half year ended 30 September but that was not enough to help Optus' profit.
Source: Computerworld
Uptake of NBN Co’s slowest speed tier grows for the first time in a year
New figures released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner (ACCC) have revealed that services on NBN Co’s slowest wholesale speed tier — which offers downloads of up to 12 megabits per second and 1Mbps uploads — have increased for the first time since mid-2018.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 14th Nov 2019
Google labels ACCC's location data privacy claims as 'out of context'
The Australia Federal Court has directed the ACCC to clarify the issues it wants to have settled in court.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 13th Nov 2019
NBN Co resists calling in reinforcements for FTTC build
NBN Co is standing firm on its resourcing of the fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) build, despite needing to double the number of serviceable premises and active connections in the next nine months to meet its FY20 target.
Source: iTnews Australia
Tue, 12th Nov 2019
NBN Co hits 10.2M premises ready to connect
NBN Co declared an additional 335,000 premises ready to connect in the September quarter, bringing the total to 10.2 million.
Source: ARN
Telstra services impacted by NSW bushfires
Telstra services in over forty areas in NSW have been affected by the bushfires raging throughout the country.
Source: ARN
NBN cost per premises continues to increase while full fibre drops
The cost for NBN's copper based technologies is still to ramping up, as the fibre-to-the-premises option continues to have its price drop, the company said in Q1 earnings on Tuesday
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 11th Nov 2019
Not a typo: 100GB 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
NBN Co slashes transfer fee, rejigs 25Mbps pricing
NBN Co has pushed ahead with two changes foreshadowed in the company’s second round of consultation on wholesale prices.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra uses AI to predict battery failures
Telstra is using artificial intelligence to predict equipment failures on its network, one of three use cases identified for AI in the telco.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACMA to use s313 to block illegal offshore gambling sites
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has warned it is set to get the nation's ISPs to block offshore gambling sites that are in violation of the
Source: ZDNet Australia
Illegal offshore gambling websites ripping off Australians will be blocked by ACMA
The Government estimates Australians spend up to $400 million on illegal gambling websites each year, adding up to $100 million in lost tax revenue.
Source: ABC News
Fri, 08th Nov 2019
Optus dethrones TPG in latest ACCC NBN speed report
The ACCC has put out its seventh Measuring Broadband Australia report, and it's a bit of a shocker. Five-time champion TPG has been dethroned by Optus, which is now top dog when it comes to real world NBN speeds. Optus customers were found to receive 87.7% of their plan's maximum speeds during peak hours (between 7pm and 11pm), putting the telco ahead of TPG, Aussie Broadband, Telstra, and more.
Source: WhistleOut
ACCC to appeal TPG 'prepayment' ruling
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has filed an appeal over the Federal Court’s decision that TPG did not mislead customers with a “prepayment” fee on its plans.
Source: iTnews Australia
Kate McKenzie to join NBN board as Milne and Flannigan depart
The stakeholder ministers of the National Broadband Network -- Communications Minister Paul Fletcher and Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann -- have announced the appointment of Kate McKenzie to the NBN board.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Two new FOX-branded entertainment channels, Fox Sleuth and Fox Sci Fi arriving December
Foxtel has announced "a further step in its major refresh of Entertainment and Movies channels" and is proving this with a coming December 17 launch of two new FOX-branded Entertainment channels – FOX SLEUTH and FOX SCI FI.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 07th Nov 2019
Optus is the new ACCC NBN speed report king
The latest installment of the broadband speed-monitoring report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has landed, and along with it, Optus has taken the speed crown from TPG.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co urged to over-provision downlink on all services
NBN Co is facing renewed pressure to over-dimension all its broadband services to make them capable of reaching the topline speeds that they promise.
Source: iTnews Australia