Broadband News
Fri, 22nd Mar 2019
MNF Group sells fixed line residential broadband customer base
Sydney-headquartered MNF Group has entered into an asset sale agreement that will see the publicly-listed company sell its fixed line residential broadband customer base to Southern Phone.
Source: ARN
Thu, 21st Mar 2019
NBN Co's on-time connections slip to 84 percent
NBN Co is likely to face fresh questions over new installations after revealing it meets agreed timeframes only 84 percent of the time, compared to 97 percent of the time just four months ago.
Source: iTnews Australia
TPG-Vodafone merger decision set for May
May 9 will see the ACCC’s draft decision be finally handed down on whether TPG and Vodafone will be allowed to merge.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC sets 9 May as decision day for TPG-Vodafone merger
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced that it will hand down its final decision on the proposed merger between TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia on 9 May.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 20th Mar 2019
Netflix claims 11m Australian users, as pay TV/subscription TV market growth soars
Netflix says nearly 14 million Australians now have access to some form of pay TV or subscription TV, up 11.8% on a year ago, with the increase driven by Netflix as well as other SVOD services including Stan, YouTube Premium and Amazon Prime Video.
Source: iTWire
Telstra turns on 10,000th mobile network site
Telstra has turned on its 10,000th mobile network site, throwing the switch on a 5G site in the regional Australian city of Toowoomba.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 19th Mar 2019
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone temporarily block websites after Christchurch attack
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have instituted temporary ISP-level blocks on websites hosting footage of last Friday’s Christchurch attacks.
Source: iTnews Australia
TPG takes a $150M hit to profit after mobile network halt
TPG Telecom has closed the first half of 2019 with $46.9 million in net profit after tax, down 76.4 per cent or $151.2 million less than the previous corresponding year.
Source: ARN
TPG profit smashed by mobile network cancellation
Telecommunications provider TPG Telecom has announced a reported net profit after tax of $46.9 million for the first half of its 2019 fiscal year, which ended on 31 January, a drop of 76.4% from $198.6 million, year on year.
Source: iTWire
Slow internet speeds no roadblock for top-flight Australian gamer
Ashley 'Trill' Powell has overcome slow and patchy internet coverage in Broome to become one of e-sports' biggest athletes in Overwatch.
Source: ABC 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