Broadband News
Mon, 18th Mar 2019
Telstra and Optus secure round four mobile blackspot sites
Telstra and Optus are set to build out 180 new base stations under the fourth round of the government’s mobile blackspots program.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra says expanded investment will eliminate more mobile black spots
Telstra says it will eliminate black spots at 131 locations under Round Four of the Federal Government mobile black spot program, “expanding its investment to bring new or improved coverage to more communities in regional Australia”.
Source: iTWire
ISP Activ8me hit with fine over false advertising
Internet service provider Activ8me has been fined $250,000 by the Federal Court for false and misleading advertising about its services and not displaying a single price in these ads.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 17th Mar 2019
Exploiting existing NBN potential can improve situation: expert
Writing down the value of the NBN to take the pressure off NBN Co trying to increase the average revenue per user and allowing more of the performance potential, that exists, to be made accessible, are steps that could improve the existing situation, a network expert has suggested.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 15th Mar 2019
NBN reseller Activ8me fined $250K over misleading ads
Telecommunications provider Activ8me has been fined for a second time in a year for making inflated claims about its internet service.
Source: ARN
OVO launches mobile broadband plan as ‘real alternative’ to NBN
Mobile telecommunications company OVO Mobile has launched a new mobile broadband product, Boom XL 500GB, which it has cast as a “real alternative” to the NBN and other fixed broadband offerings.
Source: iTWire
Telstra vows to speed up rural landline repairs
Telstra has pledged to act faster to fix landline outages in regional Australia after being criticised in a report last year.
Source: ARN
Labor says fixing NBN will be a long process
The Australian Labor Party will not make any quick changes to the rollout of the national broadband network if it comes to power in the Federal Election later this year, but will take a "responsible" approach to the project.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 14th Mar 2019
Tangerine Telecom claims a first with discount NBN ‘new development’ fees
Small South Melbourne based NBN provider, Tangerine Telecom, is claiming it is the first telco to offer discounted new development fees for NBN connections which reduces costs for new homeowners.
Source: iTWire
Optus calls for NBN Co to provide minimum service levels
Singtel Optus has called for the NBN Co to be made responsible for delivering services that can meet the minimum service levels required by retail standards or 50Mbps services on lines that can support such speeds, as part of a submission made to the ACCC's NBN wholesale service standards inquiry.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 13th Mar 2019
Telstra to act faster to fix copper faults
Telstra will be forced to repair copper lines used for vital voice services much faster and to keep a higher inventory of spare parts handy after a review last year that was critical of its handling of faults.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra kicks off regional upgrade
Telstra will repair or replace 1,000 cable joints, migrate hundreds of customers onto NextG Wireless Local Loop services, increase stocks of replacement equipment to bring down fault repair time frames, and replace 200 batteries in exchanges and cabinets.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus: NBN should face ‘real consequences for poor performance’
In its submission to the ACCC, Optus has joined Telstra, Vodafone, and Vocus in arguing that a AU$25 one-off rebate is not enough to incentivise NBN to repair faults in a timely way and stop missing connection appointments.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Sydney man charged over Netflix, Spotify credential-stuffing, stolen accounts
A Sydney man has been charged by the Australian Federal Police for allegedly selling stolen subscription credentials for online streaming services including Netflix and Spotify.
Source: iTnews Australia
Government, regulators move to disrupt scam telephone calls plaguing Australians
New research on unsolicited calls in Australia shows that more than half of Australian adults have received scam calls daily or weekly, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Source: iTWire
Tue, 12th Mar 2019
NBN Co launches 'STEMpreneur' initiative for Australian students
NBN Co, builders of the National Broadband Network, has launched its annual STEM program, this year focusing on helping young Australian students develop a combination of STEM and entrepreneurial skills.
Source: iTWire
Optus switches on another site to overcome Qld mobile black spot
Optus has switched on a new tower in the South Burnett region in Queensland as part of round 2 of the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot program to bring dedicated coverage to the town of Maidenwell and surroundings for the first time.
Source: iTWire
Telstra workers set to strike over pay, conditions
Telstra employees are set to strike work on Tuesday after the company failed to reach an accord on pay and conditions with the union which represents the workers.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 11th Mar 2019
Telstra and Vodafone don’t like proposed NBN rebates system
Submissions to the ACCC on its NBN rebate inquiry have shown that Vocus, Telstra, and Vodafone all have issues with the current wholesale service standards.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone starts re-purposing 2100 MHz spectrum to 4G
Vodafone Australia is starting to re-farm metropolitan 2100 MHz spectrum currently used for 3G services to its 4G network.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 08th Mar 2019
Vodafone says NBN Co still providing dodgy speed data
Retail internet providers are in no better position to judge the maximum attainable speed of NBN services than a year ago when most were shamed for “overcharging” consumers, Vodafone has claimed.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co argues 'no strong basis' for fixed wireless fines
NBN Co says there is “no strong basis” to make it pay penalties when its fixed wireless network fails to meet minimum busy hour speeds, in part because those speeds aren’t guaranteed.
Source: iTnews Australia
Australia 7th most affordable for broadband, NBN Co claims
A study carried out by AlphaBeta for NBN Co, the company rolling out Australia's national broadband network, has found that this country is the seventh most affordable market for broadband.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 07th Mar 2019
Labor claims govt will miss own NBN speed mandate
The Federal Government's national quality benchmark of 90% of premises being able to obtain speeds of 50Mbps in the fixed line footprint of the NBN will be achieved in only two states and the NT, according to evidence provided to the NBN Joint Standing Committee.
Source: iTWire
Telstra prepares to face strike of 10 per cent of its workforce
Telstra has been informed by the Communications Workers Union (CWU) of a proposed strike and has taken measures to prevent disruption for customers and those not participating in the action.
Source: ARN
NBN says no, actually, Australian internet prices are not too high
NBN Co has commissioned and published research suggesting our country is actually one of the most affordable markets for broadband in the world.
Source: SMH
Wed, 06th Mar 2019
ACMA hits 31 telcos for non-compliance with consumer rules on NBN
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has completed 38 investigations and issued enforcement notices against 31 telcos for non compliance with new rules designed to help consumers moving to the National Broadband Network.
Source: iTWire
Australian mobile data costs rank 50th out of 230 nations
Australia ranks 50th for the average cost of a gigabyte of mobile data among 230 countries which were studied by the British website cable.co.uk. Data from 6313 mobile data plans was collected, prices were computed in US dollars and local currencies and the countries were ranked.
Source: iTWire
Facebook says people, not regulators, should decide what is seen
The social media giant has fired shots at the ACCC for misunderstanding almost all of the conclusions it has drawn, concerned that the regulator's new tough love approach is almost exclusively focusing on protecting certain publishers, rather than consumers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co reveals uneven spread of 50Mbps-capable premises
NBN Co has revealed that five out of Australia’s eight states and territories are expected to fall short of the promise to have 90 percent of fixed line premises capable of at least 50Mbps peak speeds.
Source: iTnews Australia