Broadband News
Wed, 20th Feb 2019
NBN Co faces calls to endorse good quality modems
NBN Co is facing calls to endorse modems that work best on its network after internal tests uncovered some retail service provider-supplied devices that weren’t performing to specifications.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN flags frozen HFC connections thawing over the coming months
Cable premises still ring-fenced by NBN due to its HFC pause, which will be released to market in the next four months.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co plans four-month HFC blitz
NBN Co is planning to release just shy of 200,000 HFC premises a month from April to June this year, purging a great deal of the footprint that is currently listed as unserviceable.
Source: iTnews Australia
AI firm claims its software will help ISPs reduce NBN CVC use
Australian AI firm Canopus Networks claims to have developed new technology to change the way in which network operators and ISPs classify Internet traffic leading to a reduction in costs and a better user experience.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co eyes new ways to fend off mobile challenge in apartment blocks
NBN Co executives say they are examining ways to address challenges faced by short-term renters, including potentially introducing an arrangement for broadband services similar to that offered by utilities for electricity.
Source: Computerworld
Tue, 19th Feb 2019
NBN Co wants a broadband product to attract renters
NBN Co is exploring product options that would make its services more appealing to transient users such as renters.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co will reach $52 ARPU only if RSPs pay for CVC 'overage': claim
The only way that the NBN Co, the company rolling out the Australian national broadband network, can achieve its stated aim of reaching its goal of $52 average revenue per user by the time the rollout ends, is by earnings from what is called CVC "overage", the head of a small RSP claims.
Source: iTWire
Labor slams govt over 'ridiculous' NBN target claims
The Australian Labor Party has described as "ridiculous" a claim made by the government that the NBN Co - which released its half-yearly results on Monday - was continuing to exceed its targets.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 18th Feb 2019
Nine telcos had no metadata interception plan by mid-2018: ACMA
The ACMA's 2017-18 report also reported almost 2.3 million disclosures of customer information by carriers under legal obligations to assist government agencies and departments.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co's actual cost per premises for FTTC is $3058
NBN Co has revealed its first actual cost per premises for the fibre-to-the-curb portion of the network, coming in at $3058.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN half-year revenue jumps to AU$1.3b as CEO confident of positive cash flow by FY22
9.5 million premises are now ready for service, while NBN announced revenue of AU$1.3 billion and negative EBITDA of AU$477 million for the first half of FY19.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone offers incentives for those who take up 100Mbps plans
Vodafone Hutchison Australia is offering customers who sign for its 100Mpbs NBN plan a Vodafone TV and a Google Home Mini which costs $150.
Source: iTWire
NBN scales-up release of HFC premises after ‘pause’
NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue says the company will conduct a “significant release of optimised HFC premises over the next six months”.
Source: Computerworld
NBN Co active premises grow 38 per cent
NBN Co, the company behind the roll out of the National Broadband Network, has reported 4.6 million premises had an active service over the network by December 2018.
Source: ARN
Fri, 15th Feb 2019
Optus disables My Account site after users complain of privacy breach
Optus said it is speaking with third-party vendors to look into how the issue happened.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 14th Feb 2019
Vocus eyes FTTP unbundling with Vodafone NZ
Vocus and Vodafone's New Zealand operations have teamed up to unbundle the Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) national fibre-optic broadband service, funded as a public-private partnership.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN affects Optus too, as profits fall
Australia's second largest telco Optus suffered a fall in net profit for its third quarter, with a fall of 32% year-on-year from $254 million to $172 million.
Source: iTWire
Telstra racks up 3200 job losses
Telstra has cut 3200 staff since the middle of June last year under its massive T22 restructure, and has indicated it will use automation to increase cuts to customer-facing roles.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra half year profit takes a hit
The roll out of the NBN has impacted Telstra's net profit after tax, which dropped 28 per cent to $1.2 billion in the half year ended 31 December 2018.
Source: ARN
Wed, 13th Feb 2019
Michael Malone reappointed to NBN Co's board
iiNet founder and former CEO Michael Malone has been reappointed as a non-executive director of the NBN Co board for a further three years.
Source: ARN
NBN write-down no solution; what about upgrade, asks ISP
The head of a small Internet service provider has questioned whether a write-down of the value of the national broadband network will end up being the panacea it is increasingly painted as, pointing out that the main problem facing the network is how it should be upgraded to full fibre after the initial build is over.
Source: iTWire
NBN blamed for ruining heritage-listed footpaths
NBN Co is accused of making a poor effort to repair footpaths in inner Sydney, including some that are heritage-listed, after ripping them up to install internet cables.
Source: ABC News
Tue, 12th Feb 2019
The Inside Story Of Aussie Broadband's Anti-Racism Hold Message
We're all familiar with the automated messages that play on loop when you're stuck on call waiting. They tend to alternate between assurances of how important your time is to them, and information regarding where you can submit your query online and thus free up the queue. Last week my partner and I were sitting on hold with Aussie Broadband and experienced a message unlike any other we had before. It informed customers that racially-motivated abuse from customers was unacceptable.
Source: Gizmodo
NBN finally has a 50Mbps or quicker majority network
People will move to higher speeds on the National Broadband Network if its prices are cut.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN 12Mbps plan sellers come under scrutiny
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has finally moved to shore up internet performance for users of NBN 12Mbps services, 10 months after concerns were first raised.
Source: iTnews Australia
Almost a quarter of NBN-connected households still opting for 12Mbps
New figures released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reveal that efforts by NBN Co to promote the take-up of higher speed broadband plans have had an impact, but a significant proportion of households are still opting for the slowest speed tier.
Source: Computerworld
Mon, 11th Feb 2019
People calling for NBN write-down actually want dramatic price cut: NBN CEO
NBN claims that should a wholesale price cut occur, Australia's digital future is over.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Aussie Broadband predicts long wait for affordable gigabit speeds
Aussie Broadband managing director Phillip Britt believes affordable gigabit speeds in Australia are still “a while” away, requiring - in part - “a change of mindset at NBN Co” to become a reality.
Source: iTnews Australia
Long wait times as Australian telcos get 88 million customer calls
Australia’s five telecommunications companies received more than 88 million enquiries from customers in the 12 months of the 2017-18 financial year and just over 70% of enquiries were resolved on first contact - but in some cases cutomers had to wait up to 4 to 6 minutes for their call to be answered, according to a new report on the customer service performance of telcos from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Source: iTWire
Tired of waiting on the phone, telco customers opt for web chat
A total of 15 per cent of telco customers in Australia prefer web chat over phone conversations when enquiring with its provider.
Source: ARN