Broadband News

Thu, 11th Apr 2019

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

Telstra CEO defends call to block sites showing terrorist attack videos

Andy Penn says he would make the same decision again, and welcomes abhorrent streaming laws.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fifield claims Labor has adopted Coalition's NBN policy

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield claims the NBN policy announced by the Australian Labor Party on Tuesday is an admission that "the NBN technology debate of the last six years was just about politics".

Source: iTWire

Southern Cross inks deal with Alcatel Submarine Networks for Next project

​Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) has signed a contract to supply the Southern Cross Next submarine cable, based on an open cable architecture, leading to the manufacturing and construction phase of the project.

Source: ARN

NBN Co may fix in-home cabling free for 750,000 homes

NBN Co will foot the bill to upgrade in-home wiring at 750,000 premises in the fibre-to-the-node footprint under a plan floated by the federal opposition today.

Source: iTnews Australia

Another NBN review floated as Labor plan to 'make best of what we have'

A Shorten Labor government would direct NBN to fix in-home cabling for copper connections for free.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Labor’s Rowland pledges digital inclusion drive, action on FTTN performance

Shadow communications minister Michell Rowland has committed a Labor government to waging war on Australia’s digital divide, addressing factors that can degrade fibre to the node performance, and examining the feasibility of co-investment to boost the proportion of fibre in the NBN network.

Source: Computerworld

Labor pledges economic review of NBN if voted in

The Australian Labor Party has said it would review the economics of the NBN, including the implications of the multi-technology mix, on the cash-flow of the NBN Co, the company which is rolling out the network, if it were voted back into office in the forthcoming Federal Election.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 08th Apr 2019

Optus offers to install and repair NBN services itself

NBN Co should train and certify retail service providers to perform installations and repairs to cut down a backlog of work causing delays of up to three months, says Optus CEO Allen Lew.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co's enterprise play catches ACCC's gaze

NBN Co’s shift into the enterprise space is being watched “closely” by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which remains unconvinced the move is not simply “mission creep”.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co 'should' set entry-level broadband prices at ADSL levels

NBN Co “should” be anchoring the price of entry-level broadband services to existing ADSL fees instead of trying to drive up retail costs for consumers, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has said.

Source: iTnews Australia

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