Broadband News

Tue, 21st May 2019

Three-fifths of NBN users now on higher speed plans: ACCC

Nearly 60% of the 5.2 million Australian households connected to the NBN at the end of March are on plans that offer 50Mbps or higher download speeds, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says in its quarterly Wholesale Market Indicators Report.

Source: iTWire

Game and shame: Internet providers called out again on NBN speed claims

Internet providers are under renewed pressure to scale back their advertised “typical” evening speed claims for NBN services following the release of a new metric that shames alleged under-performers.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co targets July for bursty Sky Muster services

NBN Co is set to make its Sky Muster Plus satellite service - capable of bursting above 25Mbps - generally available in July following commercial trials that start this month.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 20th May 2019

Australian telcos blindsided by US trade war hit to Huawei

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are trying to work out the implications of the latest hit to Huawei, this time through the Android operating system.

Source: SMH

Add a recovery phone number to block automated hijack attempts: Google

Study finds adding a phone number to a Google account blocks all automated attempts, 99% of bulk attacks, and 66% of targeted attacks.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus claims 100Mbps average speeds on 5G fixed wireless

Optus is set to invite more customers to connect to its 5G precursor fixed wireless service after getting the first crop of users to achieve average speeds of 100Mbps.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus to offer 5G to selected users, top speed 295Mbps

Australia's second biggest telco Singtel Optus will give select customers in five suburbs the opportunity to sample its 5G Home Broadband product by the end of the month.

Source: iTWire

Indigo consortium's subsea cables 'about to go live'

The Indigo consortium’s subsea cables connecting Singapore-Perth and Perth-Sydney are “about to go live”, entrepreneur Bevan Slattery says, adding a new route option for Australian internet traffic.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 17th May 2019

Telstra launches customer rewards program

Telstra has launched its loyalty program - Telstra Plus – claiming a ‘first of its kind' loyalty program for an Australian telco.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 16th May 2019

ACCC blames CMS error for leaking TPG-Vodafone decision

​The ACCC has conducted a full investigation into the incident that occurred on 8 May whereby the merger information between TPG and Vodafone was leaked prematurely.

Source: ARN

ACCC happy with competition level in NBN aggregation

Competition watchdog will not require dark fibre providers and NBN aggregators to report pricing data.

Source: ZDNet Australia

No need for dark fibre, NBN aggregation providers to report to ACCC

Competition in the market for NBN aggregation services is developing as the rollout of Australia's broadband network continues and there is, therefore, no need to ask dark fibre and wholesale aggregation service providers to provide pricing and supply data, the ACCC says.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 15th May 2019

Optus cracks AU$9 billion in operating revenue as profits drop for fiscal year

Fourth quarter jumps help stem full year profit reductions.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Tue, 14th May 2019

Telstra launches new Plus rewards program

The new rewards program is aimed at making Australians bring all of their services into Telstra.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Most Australians on less than 24Mbps download speeds

The majority of Australian consumers are accessing the internet on download speeds of less than 24 Mbps, according to the ACCC.

Source: ARN

Australians downloading 1.7 exabytes a month

The first of a new series of reports from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) detailing Internet usage confirms that downloads are continuing to soar. In the three months ended 31 December, Australians downloaded 5,061,987 terabytes of data according to figures compiled by the ACCC.

Source: Computerworld

Mobile handsets preferred by Australian consumers to access Internet: report

Mobile handsets continue to be the most common way Australian consumers are accessing the internet while the largest volume of data is downloaded over fixed lines, according to a new data report on internet activity by the ACCC.

Source: iTWire

Australia's broadband speeds concentrated under 24Mbps

Over six in ten Australian consumers see “estimated” download speeds on broadband of less than 24Mbps, new numbers show.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 13th May 2019

Optus details NSW and Victorian suburbs to get Ericsson 5G

Victoria to get 30 sites, while New South Wales will get 20.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus reveals first Ericsson 5G site locations

Optus has revealed the list of the first 50 5G site locations to be built by Ericsson across Sydney and Melbourne as part of its multi-vendor 5G rollout.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 10th May 2019

Could blocking the TPG-Vodafone merger leave phone users worse off?

The ACCC says consumers will benefit from it blocking the TPG-Vodafone merger. But there are plenty of reasons why that could be wrong, writes Stephen Letts.

Source: ABC News

Thu, 09th May 2019

ISP chief demystifies the NBN – in plain English

Along with miserable broadband, the NBN has brought into our lives a number of terms that sound like words from a foreign language that are designed to prevent one from ever understanding what the whole thing is about. The head of one ISP is trying to demystify the network using simple language and everyday analogies.

Source: iTWire

Vodafone Australia and TPG head to court for merger approval

Following the ACCC rejecting its deal, Vodafone and TPG will file in Federal Court for approval.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra mum, Optus guarded in response to ACCC merger move

Australia's biggest telecommunications provider Telstra says it has no comment on the decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to oppose the proposed merger of TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 08th May 2019

TPG and Vodafone to file legal action in response to ACCC’s decision

TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchinson Australia (VHA) plan to file legal action in the Federal Court on the basis that the potential merger will not substantially lessen competition.

Source: ARN

TPG share price crashes as ACCC blocks Vodafone merger

The ACCC says it will oppose the $15 billion merger of Australia's third and fourth biggest telcos, TPG and Vodafone, arguing consumers may end up paying higher prices for less innovative mobile plans.

Source: ABC News

ACCC opposes TPG and Vodafone merger

The ACCC has decided it will oppose the proposed merger between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia.

Source: ARN

TPG says ACCC report shows it still leads market in delivering on NBN speeds

Telco TPG is touting its lead position for NBN average download speeds in the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia program by the competition watchdog, the ACCC.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 07th May 2019

TPG is still king of NBN speed report

TPG still delivers on its download speed promises the most often, while Exetel won on upload speeds, Telstra on latency, and Optus on the highest number of daily outages, according to the fifth ACCC report.

Source: ZDNet Australia

ACMA warns TPG, Foxtel, Aussie Broadband on priority assistance

TPG, Aussie Broadband, MyRepublic, Foxtel, Activ8me, Exetel, Dodo, Skymesh, Southern Phone, Spintel, and V4 Telecom have been formally warned to provide accurate information on priority assistance services.

Source: ZDNet Australia