Broadband News
Wed, 01st May 2019
Labor will invest AU$245m in regional telco programs if elected
Labor’s promises have mirrored the Coalition’s, with AU$160 million to go to the mobile blackspots program and AU$60 million to work on Connected Community Plans with state, territory, and local governments.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 30th Apr 2019
No info-sharing if you use Huawei, US tells UK
The United States says it sees no distinction between the core of a 5G network and its radio access network, and will reconsider sharing information with any ally that uses equipment made by Chinese vendor Huawei Technologies in its next-generation telecommunications network.
Source: iTWire
Vocus served with class action
Vocus has been served with a class action proceeding filed in the Federal Court of Australia.
Source: ARN
Telstra 4G speeds put it in global elite class: Opensignal
Telstra won on both download speeds and upload speeds while Optus has the best 4G availability, according to Opensignal.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 24th Apr 2019
UK allows Huawei for 5G: Report
According to a report, Huawei will be allowed to provide antennas and non-core infrastructure for the 5G network build-outs across the United Kingdom.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra strike suspended after ‘promising breakthrough’
Union bosses have suspended further strike action by Telstra employees due to a ‘promising breakthrough’ in negotiations.
Source: ARN
Tue, 23rd Apr 2019
Optus switches on four new mobile towers in Mackay, Bowen Basin
Singtel Optus is continuing its quest to provide a better mobile signal with the switching on of four new mobile towers that will boost coverage in Mackay and Bowen Basin.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 18th Apr 2019
Vocus calls for backhaul component to mobile black spot program
Network operator Vocus says that the government should consider funding carrier-neutral backhaul as part of its mobile black spot program.
Source: Computerworld
Fall in telco complaints for January-March quarter
There has been a year-on-year reduction in the ratio of telecommunications consumer complaints in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same three month period in 2018.
Source: iTWire
Telstra and Optus complaints jump: Comms Alliance
A quarterly complaints report from Comms Alliance and the TIO has found that complaints jumped across Optus and Telstra, and rose slightly for Vodafone during the first three months of the year.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone makes aggressive play for 100Mbps NBN users
Vodafone has launched aggressive promotional NBN pricing that cuts its top-tier 100Mbps product by $20 a month for six months.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 17th Apr 2019
NBN Co board urged to resign over competition ‘failures’
Commpete has called for the resignation of the NBN Co’s board for allegedly “failing" to create a level playing field” for smaller players.
Source: ARN
Call for NBN Co board resignation over ‘failure to deliver’ on core mission
Commpete, the former Competitive Carriers Coalition, has called for the resignation of the board of NBN Co, the company rolling out the Australian national broadband network, accusing it of comprehensively failing in its core mission, including driving a more competitive telecommunications sector.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 16th Apr 2019
Foxtel's GOT Game: season premiere up 17% on 2017
With the biggest daily VPM or "video player measurement" audience for 2019 across Australian television, with Foxtel's linear viewing smashing previous season openers, GOT isn't just coming but has arrived at long last.
Source: iTWire
Gympie gets a new mobile tower as Optus continues blackspot program
Optus has switched on a new mobile tower in the Queensland town of Gympie as it continues work on undertaking its mobile blackspot program.
Source: iTWire
US to press allies to keep Huawei out of 5G in Prague meeting - sources
The United States will push its allies at a meeting in Prague next month to adopt shared security and policy measures that will make it more difficult for China's Huawei to dominate 5G telecommunications networks, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 15th Apr 2019
Optus launches NBN plans ahead of ‘new customer initiatives’
Optus has launched three new NBN plans promising more speed for selected home users, and with unlimited data for “data hungry” streamers.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 12th Apr 2019
Telcos wary of ACCC push for scrutiny of dark fibre, NBN wholesale markets
Network operators have called for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to back away from proposed rules that would allow the ACCC to collect a range of new data about the state of Australia’s dark fibre and NBN wholesale aggregation markets.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra, TPG, Vocus and Optus say they aren't an NBN bottleneck
Telstra and Vocus, who are among a handful of telcos that supply dark fibre or backhaul services to and from NBN points of interconnect, say their services are not a bottleneck to the NBN user experience, and that any bottleneck sits with NBN Co itself.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 11th Apr 2019
New wi-fi security standard broken already
Security researchers have discovered multiple bugs in the wi-fi protected access version 3 (WPA3) protocol used to secure wireless local area networks, which allow attackers to intercept and steal sensitive information.
Source: iTnews Australia
China slams Australia over 'double standards' in cyber security
China has taken a swipe at Australia over the country's encryption law, saying it was "baffling" how Canberra could on the one hand claim that other countries posed security threats, while on the other hand engage in acts that endangered the cyber security of other nations.
Source: iTWire
Complaints to TIO over NBN service halved for six months to December 2018
Overall complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman are back to 2016 numbers, sitting at 61,000 made between July 1 and December 31, 2018.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Wed, 10th Apr 2019
First Australia - Hong Kong data cable to be built
Australia's connectivity with Asia looks set to receive a multi-terabit per second shot in the arm as the Singapore-based H2 Cable company signed up Subcom to supply and install a data circuit spanning Sydney to Hong Kong, and onwards to the United States.
Source: iTnews Australia
Up to 6,000 Telstra employees on strike in Australia
In another action against Telstra's plan to let go 9,500 staff by 2022, up to 6,000 Telstra workers are expected to go on strike today.
Source: ARN
How Labor will fix NBN technical woes
Cabling issues, internet access, affordability and an economic review were some of the top line points for Shadow communications minister, Michelle Rowland.
Source: ARN
'I have to reset my password': How the Lincoln Lewis catfish duped Optus
Optus apologises after a stalker in Melbourne's northern suburbs repeatedly tricked the telecommunications giant into giving her the phone numbers and account login details for one of her victims.
Source: ABC News
Telstra workers set to stage second strike today
Telstra workers across Australia will walk off the job on Wednesday (today) following what they claim is the company's continued refusal to provide them with fair pay and conditions.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 09th Apr 2019
NBN Co's wireless congestion likely worse than reported
NBN Co may have under-reported levels of congestion on its fixed wireless network after revealing one in ten - or 250 - microwave and fibre transmission links suffer unacceptable levels of packet loss, and that this isn't captured in publicly-reported numbers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Labor faces reality on NBN but the dream died long ago
Liberal party may crow that its version of the NBN won out, but that's because it oversaw the network for most of its life.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone CEO warns of Huawei ban’s ‘long-term’ impact
There are likely to be “significant long-term implications” from effectively only allowing Australian telcos to choose between two vendors to provide equipment for their 5G rollouts, the CEO of Vodafone Hutchison Australia has warned.
Source: Computerworld