Broadband News
Mon, 08th Apr 2019
Competition regulator wants entry-level NBN plans at ADSL prices
The chair of the ACCC has expressed alarm about the affordability of the NBN for lower income households, citing the erosion of RSPs willing to offer base-level broadband products.
Source: ARN
How Netflix and bingeing has changed TV production
New technology and a binge-focus makes on-demand streaming a different beast for the writers and producers behind the scenes, as well as for viewers.
Source: SMH
Optus wants new mobile tower rules to steam roll obstinate councils and owners
Current rules are unfit for the deployment of small cells expected with standalone 5G.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus switches on mobile tower in Wharparilla
Singtel Optus has switched on a new mobile tower in Wharparilla as part of the Victorian Government's Mobile Black Spot Project.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 05th Apr 2019
Telstra puts $13M into Central Coast mobile network
Telstra has revealed a $13 million investment to improve mobile network coverage for commuters travelling from Hornsby to Wyong.
Source: ARN
Optus roasts 5G small cell property placement rules
Telecommunications carrier Optus has hit out at a lack of coordination between federal, state and local regulations that govern how mobile phone cells and towers are deployed, branding current arrangements as unfit for the 5G era.
Source: iTnews Australia
VHA-TPG Merger Would Provide Competition Boost: Analyst
The proposed merger between telecommunications company TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) will add mobile capabilities and greater scale to allow TPG to compete with Telstra and Optus more effectively, according to one analyst firm.
Source: iTWire
Amazon plans to launch over 3,000 satellites to offer broadband internet
Amazon.com has confirmed its plan to build a network of over 3,000 satellites through "Project Kuiper" to provide high speed internet
Source: ARN
Thu, 04th Apr 2019
Full fibre the least faulty NBN technology
Fibre-to-the-node and HFC lead the way in complaints for year to July 2018.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co opens hundreds of new complex remediation cases
NBN Co has seen a massive jump in the number of users in need of complex “custom remediation” of their services, up from 52 in April last year to 723 today.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co reveals 183,000 FTTN users don't get over 25Mbps
NBN Co has revealed that 183,000 fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services aren’t hitting minimum peak speeds of 25Mbps.
Source: iTnews Australia
Atlassian's Farquhar: social media laws will 'cost jobs, damage tech'
Atlassian's billionaire co-founder has joined the chorus of tech and media executives expressing concerns about Australia's new social media laws.
Source: SMH
Optus overcomes blackspot problem to deliver mobile coverage to Pomonal
Australia’s second largest telco Optus has switched on a new tower in Pomonal in regional Victoria as it continues to provide dedicated mobile phone coverage in more areas as part of its mobile blackspot program.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 03rd Apr 2019
Music industry seeks to block stream-ripping services as part of piracy fight
Major record labels are seeking to have Australian telcos block access to a collection of online ‘stream ripping’ services that between them generate hundreds of millions of pageviews every month.
Source: Computerworld
NBN has purchased almost 30,000 kilometres of copper
It is well on the way to hitting the 40,000km milestone of being able to circle the planet at the equator.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Labor won't stand in way of Morrison government's social media laws
The new laws could result in executives at social media platforms facing up to three years in jail, and multi-billion dollar fines for tech companies.
Source: SMH
Tue, 02nd Apr 2019
Budget 2019-20: Government revises regional NBN subsidy
Budget documents reveal the government will revise the cap on its yet-to-be-legislated Regional Broadband Scheme subsidy for the NBN.
Source: Computerworld
Vocus drops 12Mbps NBN plans from iPrimus and Dodo
Vocus has stopped selling 12Mbps NBN services via its retail brands iPrimus and Dodo following a change made by NBN Co to wholesale bandwidth fees.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACMA releases draft spectrum outlook for next five years
The Australian Communications and Media Authority ACMA has released this year’s draft five-year spectrum outlook (FYSO), with an overview of its spectrum management priorities and plans through to 2023.
Source: iTWire
Telstra ditching Thanks scheme for Plus rewards store
Details are scant for the new program, and business customers need not apply.
Source: ZDNet Australia
How Netflix decides what you want to watch
Netflix uses its huge store of data not only to pick which shows it thinks you'll like, but to decide how to promote those shows.
Source: SMH
Telstra unveils rewards program for customers
Telstra has unveiled a rewards program called Telstra Plus that will give its customers points for the money they spend with the telco and they can then use these to obtain discounts on new products and technology.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 01st Apr 2019
NBN Co technicians now missing 469 appointments a day
NBN Co’s technicians are now ‘missing’ 469 appointments a day, though in about one-third of cases the technician is early or late but still completes the work.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 29th Mar 2019
ACCC, Telstra back price stability for copper services
Telcos that sell voice and broadband services using Telstra’s copper network look unlikely to get a price cut, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) saying it’s inclined to maintain the current regulated pricing levels.
Source: Computerworld
Rats, cables and NBN: One journo's tale of 48 days without internet
This is the story of an exhaustive battle to remain connected to the internet via ageing infrastructure, two rat attacks along the way and the bumpy transition to the NBN, writes Malcolm Sutton.
Source: ABC News
Small ISP attempts to undercut the rest on 100/40 NBN plans
South Melbourne-based NBN provider Tangerine Telecom is claiming to offer the cheapest 100/40 plan, offering a price of $69.90 for the first six months. The ISP has now said that this plan includes unlimited data.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 28th Mar 2019
Optus funded to build 49 new mobile sites in blackspot program
Optus says it has successfully secured funding to build 49 new mobile sites as part of Round 4 of the Federal Government's mobile black spot program.
Source: iTWire
Telco sales practices called into question by ACCAN
Telecommunications customer service representatives are being encouraged to concentrate on selling over service, with the result that consumers are confronted by questionable sales tactics.
Source: iTWire
Why the fax machine refuses to die
The fax, with its 170 years of history, is a symbol of obsolete technology long superseded by computers — but it's far from dead. So who is keeping it alive?
Source: ABC News
Aussie Broadband releases support app on iOS, Android
Small ISP Aussie Broadband has launched a support app for its customers and created a matching version on its online portal.
Source: iTWire