Broadband News

Wed, 23rd Jan 2019

'Overcharged' NBN FTTN and FTTB users unresponsive

About 95,000 NBN fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-building users have not claimed refunds or other remedies after being sold internet services that could not hit the advertised speeds.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telcos, tech industry call for major changes to encryption legislation

Industry groups representing the telco sector and major tech businesses have called for major changes to controversial surveillance legislation pushed through parliament on the final sitting day of 2018.

Source: ARN

More than 90,000 NBN customers are yet to be refunded for slow speeds

Two in three customers affected by RSPs who promised higher NBN speeds than were able to deliver are yet to be refunded by Telstra, Optus, TPG, iiNet, Internode, Dodo, iPrimus and Commander.

Source: ARN

Tue, 22nd Jan 2019

ACCC delays TPG-Vodafone decision due to lack of information

The date for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to make a decision on the merger between TPG and Vodafone Australia has been pushed out from March 28, to potentially April 11.

Source: ZDNet Australia

TPG-Vodafone decision pushed back to April

A regulatory decision on whether or not to allow TPG and Vodafone’s proposed merger to proceed is now not expected until mid-April due to a delay in receiving information from the two telcos.

Source: iTnews Australia

MyRepublic discounts 100Mbps plans after NBN Co pushes speed tier

Small ISP MyRepublic has announced a new push to sell 100Mbps plans, with a discounted plan of $79.95, a drop of $10 from existing prices, for an unspecified limited period.

Source: iTWire

Mon, 21st Jan 2019

NBN Co makes move to sell more 100Mbps-plus services

NBN Co will look to raise the number of 100Mbps-plus users on its network before the end of the financial year with a $160 rebate offered for each customer that retail service providers sign on.

Source: iTnews Australia

Labor commits to kicking in AU$5m for Sunshine Coast JGA cable landing

Australian opposition party calls on Canberra to support JGA cable landing in Queensland.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra upgrades APAC subsea infrastructure

Telstra has upgraded its subsea fibre capacity by deploying Infirera Infinite Capacity Endine 4 (ICE4).

Source: ARN

Fri, 18th Jan 2019

In 5G play, Vodafone and IBM link up cloud systems for business

Vodafone is teaming up with IBM to offer businesses a way to link different cloud computing systems to support the next wave of digital advances, such as machine learning, on super-fast fifth-generation telecoms networks.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 17th Jan 2019

Telstra's new service to skirt trouble on intra-Asia subsea routes

Telstra is set to offer a new service on intra-Asia subsea routes that it says can redirect customer traffic around trouble in less than half an hour.

Source: iTnews Australia

New Telstra service can rapidly reroute around subsea cable outages

Telstra says that a new ‘continuous connection’ service it is offering on its subsea cable network means that it can swiftly reroute traffic and mitigate the impact of outages in minutes.

Source: Computerworld

Wed, 16th Jan 2019

Busy hour speeds for NBN fixed wireless 'likely to mislead'

Speeds on NBN Co’s fixed wireless network are “extremely variable” and therefore not conducive to being measured and reported on in the same manner as fixed-line services, an internet industry body says.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 15th Jan 2019

Telstra grows Asia-US capacity with subsea cable investments

​Telstra has made two new significant investments into subsea cable infrastructure in order to boost connectivity between Asia and the United States.

Source: ARN

Telstra boosts capacity to subsea cable network

Australia’s largest telco Telstra has added substantial capacity to its subsea cable infrastructure with its first large capacity purchase on the new-generation New Cross Pacific (NCP) cable, and a further investment in the Faster cable.

Source: iTWire

NBN Co eyes faster time to market with programmable network push

NBN Co announced today that it had become the first Australian commercial network operator to join the Open Networking Foundation.

Source: ARN

NBN Co joins Open Networking Foundation

NBN Co has announced it will join the Open Networking Foundation (ONF), a decision that should be both welcomed and feared by the organisation’s detractors – and worry the networking industry.

Source: iTnews Australia

Everything Coming To Australian Netflix This Week

Here is your Netflix binge-list for the week, fresh from the Australian servers! This week's noteworthy additions include season 2 of Marvel's The Punisher, the action thriller Close, a new episode of Star Trek: Discovery, kids' animated series Carmen Sandiego and heaps more! Read on for everything coming to the service for the week of January 14 through to January 21. More »     

Source: Gizmodo

Mon, 14th Jan 2019

Optus prepares to launch 5G-based fixed wireless

Optus today said that it had successfully made a 5G data call on 60MHz of its 3.5GHz spectrum.

Source: Computerworld

Fri, 11th Jan 2019

Telstra says it has cut deals to be first to offer 5G phones

Telstra has announced that it has signed exclusive deals with unspecified companies to offer 5G smartphones to its customers in the first half of the year.

Source: iTWire

Indigo subsea cables' installation completed

The installations of Indigo Central and West subsea fibre optic cables have been completed, resulting in a optical path between landing stations.

Source: ARN

Thu, 10th Jan 2019

Music labels seek to block unauthorised downloads of YouTube audio

Major music labels are seeking to have Australian telecommunications providers block four online services that allow users to download copies in MP3 format of the audio of YouTube-hosted videos.

Source: Computerworld

Telstra signs 'exclusive' 5G deal with smartphone vendors

Telstra has struck exclusive 5G deals with some of the "world's biggest brands", the telecommunications provider announced at CES.

Source: ARN

Telstra claims it will have 5G handsets before other telcos

Telstra has struck agreements with handset makers for what it says will be “exclusive” access to 5G commercial smartphones in the first half of this year.

Source: iTnews Australia

ANU successfully measures light for quantum internet data transfer

The quantum internet will require fast-moving data and the Australian National University believes it has found a way to measure information stored in light particles which will pave the way for a safe "data superhighway".

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 09th Jan 2019

Are Huawei 4G boxes dangerous, or are we worrying ourselves sick?

Residents are raising concerns as Huawei 4G small cell boxes are installed in suburban Sydney. Studies have shown no evidence that mobile phones make us sick, but the debate rages on. Welcome to the nocebo effect, writes Adam Verrender.

Source: ABC News

Mon, 07th Jan 2019

5G versus 4G: How speed, latency and application support differ

5G wireless network technology is set to boost the bandwidth, capacity and reliability of cellular broadband. Are you ready to leave your 4G world behind?

Source: ARN

Thu, 03rd Jan 2019

NBN Co finds FTTB/C users are its biggest advocates

NBN Co’s fibre-to-the-basement (FTTB) and fibre-to-the-curb FTTC) users are the strongest advocates for the network, with around 7 in 10 recommending others join.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co gives itself until September to cut congested cell numbers

NBN Co has given itself until September this year to bring the proportion of congested cells on its fixed wireless network down to less than one percent.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN gives itself until September to get fixed wireless congestion sorted

By late September 2019, NBN wants less than 1 percent of its fixed wireless towers under its 6Mbps in busy hours threshold.

Source: ZDNet Australia