Broadband News
Tue, 15th Oct 2019
Telcos would have delivered fast broadband without NBN project, Telstra chair says
Without the NBN, over the last decade Australia’s big telcos would have delivered 100Mbit broadband services for the majority of the nation, Telstra’s chair has argued.
Source: Computerworld
Union slams Telstra chief's $5M pay packet as 6,000 jobs axed
The union representing Telstra workers has attacked CEO Andy Penn’s “exorbitant” $5-million-dollar paycheque following a year of mass lay-offs.
Source: ARN
Mon, 14th Oct 2019
Telstra 'reassured' as ACCC looks into NBN pricing
Telstra has called a fresh Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry into NBN Co’s wholesale pricing “reassuring”, renewing its hopes of less “costly and complex” wholesale products.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co ‘welcomes’ ACCC inquiry into broadband pricing
NBN Co, the operator of the National Broadband Network, says it welcomes any additional options the ACCC may identify through its Access Pricing Inquiry to promote competition and the interests of customers.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co faces ACCC challenge to set prices
NBN Co is facing a formal challenge to its ability to set its own wholesale prices with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) opening a new inquiry with a particular focus on entry-level pricing.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACCC mulls regulation of ‘unfair’ basic NBN pricing
The competition watchdog has set its sights on potentially “unfair” NBN prices for consumers on basic speed packages.
Source: ARN
NBN Co to revive HFC self-installation option
NBN Co is set to revive a self-installation option for the internal ‘NBN connection box’ in the HFC footprint, with up to a quarter of premises anticipated to be eligible.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 11th Oct 2019
NBN Co reinvents broadband speed test rankings
NBN Co will launch its own broadband speed ranking system - while “debunking” existing ones - in Amsterdam next week, escalating a long-running beef over third-party rankings that place Australia’s internet speeds alongside those of developing countries.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACCC loses prepaid fee slug case against TPG
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission has walked away from the Federal Court with another shiner after its case alleging misleading and deceptive conduct against mobile provider TPG's prepaid fee slugs was dismissed with costs.
Source: iTnews Australia
TPG cleared of allegedly misleading customers over 'prepayment' fee
A legal challenge by the ACCC against TPG Telecom over alleged misleading conduct relating to a $20 ‘prepayment’ fee has been dismissed.
Source: ARN
Internet Australia lambasts Australian Government over Facebook encryption letter
Lobby group Internet Australia has told the Australian Government it is “deeply concerned” over its request to Facebook to halt plans to introduce strong end-to-end encryption in its messaging systems.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 10th Oct 2019
Vocus wants NBN to stick to its original wholesale remit
Vocus CEO Kevin Russell has hit out at the National Broadband Network (NBN) for the tactics it has used to ramp up its number of enterprise customers, calling on the government to hand the national wholesaler a new statement of expectations.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra's Belong to expand intelligent automation
Telstra-owned Belong is setting up an intelligent automation guild to power an expansion of the technology across the organisation.
Source: iTnews Australia
Vocus calls for rewrite of NBN statement of expectations
Vocus chief executive Kevin Russell has called on the government to issue a new statement of expectations for NBN Co on how it should behave in the enterprise market.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 09th Oct 2019
Vodafone flags 130 job cuts at Hobart call centre
Vodafone Australia is proposing cuts of 130 roles at its Hobart contact centre under a restructure.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co gave Macquarie Telecom pricing details months before competitors
The ACCC has formally warned NBN Co for offering materially different commercial terms to different RSPs and giving preferential treatment to Macquarie Telecom.
Source: ARN
ACCC warns NBN Co over playing favourites with RSPs
The Australian competition watchdog has warned NBN Co, the company rolling out broadband in the country, about discriminating between retail service providers when it comes to supplying upgraded infrastructure to business customers.
Source: iTWire
Telstra to switch off 3G network in June 2024
Telstra will shut down its 3G network in June 2024 amid efforts to free up infrastructure and bandwidth resources to ramp up its 4G and 5G presence.
Source: ARN
Telstra flags 3G switch off planned for 2024
Australia's incumbent telco Telstra has announced it is planning to switch off its 3G network in June 2024 and refarm the spectrum for its 5G network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co wants to fix your home wi-fi
NBN Co is hoping to add a “tool, firmware agent, or feature” to wi-fi gateways in selected people’s homes to collect telemetry that can help it troubleshoot the in-home portion of internet connections.
Source: iTnews Australia
Aussie Broadband automates enterprise NBN ordering
Aussie Broadband already processes automatically almost 90% of its residential and small business NBN orders, and is now extending this capability to enterprise NBN services.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 08th Oct 2019
Telstra cuts uplink speeds early in NBN fixed wireless shift
Internet providers are starting to move 151,000 users from the old NBN 50Mbps fixed wireless product to a new “best effort” service, but some customers will get more constrained uplink speeds from day one.
Source: iTnews Australia
Australians attracted to connecting tablets to mobile networks
Two in five Australians (46%) are interested in connecting their tablets to mobile networks, especially if it can be connected using a mobile data sharing plan, according to a new forecast from technology analyst firm Telsyte.
Source: iTWire
Spirit of Tasmania passengers get new high-speed satellite internet service
Passengers on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry service between Devonport and Melbourne now have access to high-speed internet, with a partnership by the ferry operators with Australian satellite internet provider, IPSTAR Broadband.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co rezones businesses for cheaper pricing
NBN Co is hoping to encourage more businesses to switch to its enterprise products by lowering their connection costs from Wednesday this week.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 04th Oct 2019
Telstra brings free station wi-fi to NSW Central Coast
Commuters should start to notice isolated improvements to mobile coverage along the NSW Central Coast rail corridor, with the first stretches of track now fitted with new mobile base stations and free station wi-fi.
Source: iTnews Australia
Netflix jacks up Australian prices
Bad news everyone, Netflix is getting more expensive in Australia. The streaming giant today increased its Premium plan pricing from $17.99 per month to $19.99 per month. Mercifully, pricing hasn't changed on Netflix's Basic and Standard plans, which are still $9.99 and $13.99 per month, respectively.
Source: WhistleOut
Thu, 03rd Oct 2019
Telstra officially holds 25 per cent of Southern Cross NEXT
Spark New Zealand has announced that Telstra now holds 25 per cent of shares in the Southern Cross NEXT.
Source: ARN
Australians hold on to $8 billion worth of secondhand mobile phones
Mobile phones worth $8.08 billion are sitting unused in Australian homes with owners missing out on cashing in by selling their old phones and putting the cash towards a new replacement mobile, according to online retailer eBay.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 02nd Oct 2019
Huawei supports VHA-TPG merger
Huawei Australia has submitted four affidavits to TPG Telecom in order to support its joint application with Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA) in the matter of the proposed merger.
Source: Computerworld