Broadband News

Wed, 15th Dec 2021

TPG Telecom to replace Internode-built free wi-fi network in Adelaide

TPG Telecom will replace the Internode built-and-operated free wi-fi network in Adelaide after winning a $4.8 million contract.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN Co tables new 'price construct' to industry

NBN Co has tabled an "indicative price construct" to its key retail service providers that proposes flat wholesale prices initially just for high-tier services, with potential “expansion” - presumably to lower speed tier services - "over time".

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 14th Dec 2021

HyperOne starts to build 2300km diverse fibre loop on east coast

HyperOne, the new fibre transmission network project by telecommunications entrepreneur Bevan Slattery, has started construction of “phase 1a”, comprising a 2300km diverse fibre loop.

Source: iTnews Australia

ACMA research shows COVID accelerated internet use

The COVID-19 pandemic has helped drive rapid growth in Australians' online activity, increasing data downloads and heightening demand for high-speed internet plans, according to recently released research from the ACMA.

Source: iTWire

Fri, 10th Dec 2021

NBN Co says not 'all' brownfields premises will have attainable 25Mbps speed by the end of 2022

NBN Co said there would not be a time that “all” premises in brownfields areas would have access to minimum line speeds of 25/5Mbps before the end of 2022, owing to a variety of factors that could impact an end-to-end connection.

Source: iTnews Australia

Outcome of 850/900MHz band spectrum auction

Two companies, Optus and Telstra, have won spectrum in the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) latest spectrum auction.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 09th Dec 2021

NEXTDC launches edge data centre network

NEXTDC has launched an edge data centre network after acquiring its first regional data centre site in Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Source: iTnews Australia

Tue, 07th Dec 2021

TPG Telecom scores multimillion-dollar Qantas network revamp deal

TPG Telecom has scored a five-year, multimillion-dollar contract with Qantas to supply a new fibre network as part of a communications network modernisation.

Source: ARN

Mon, 06th Dec 2021

Optus takes crown for most stable broadband speeds during ‘busiest’ hour

Optus has taken the crown for being the NBN retail service provider with the most stable plan speeds during its “busiest hour”​ in September.

Source: ARN

Gov plots new telco data access or surveillance powers for ATO, Border Force, others

The federal government is considering giving Border Force, the tax office and other agencies either access to telecommunications data or other electronic surveillance powers under reforms planned to be brought before parliament in 2023.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 02nd Dec 2021

Aussie Broadband makes formal $344m bid for Over The Wire

Aussie Broadband has made a formal proposal to buy Over The Wire for $344 million, to be paid out in a mix of cash and shares.

Source: iTnews Australia

Aussie Broadband stakes $390M on Over the Wire

​Aussie Broadband looks set to fork out $390 million for cloud, IT and telco services provider Over the Wire in one of the biggest channel deals of the year.

Source: ARN

We fact checked Anthony Albanese on Australia's broadband speed rankings. Here's what we found

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says Australia's has slipped to 59th in the world in the average broadband speed rankings. Is he correct? RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 01st Dec 2021

NBN 1000 (Ultrafast) plans: Fastest internet in Australia

NBN 1000 is the fastest speed tier available on the NBN, but is it worth it? Can you even get it? Find out.

Source: WhistleOut

Tue, 30th Nov 2021

Optus starts its own 5G standalone trials

Optus has started “limited trials” of 5G standalone services ahead of a planned commercial launch of the network in 2022.

Source: iTnews Australia

Aussie Broadband and YourDC partner for Adelaide dark fibre build

​Telecommunications provider Aussie Broadband has teamed up with data centre operator YourDC to roll out 112km of dark fibre across Adelaide.

Source: ARN

Mon, 29th Nov 2021

Telcos get new powers to block malicious SMS scams at scale

Australian telcos have been handed new powers to prevent malicious SMS messages from being sent, by automatically detecting and blocking them at a network level.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 19th Nov 2021

When NBN promo deals end, customers and telcos revert to old speeds

The latest edition of the NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has revealed the number of connections on NBN's 250/25Mbps Superfast and 500-1000Mbps/50Mbps Ultrafast plans has dropped by nearly 200,000 lines.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Telstra vs. Optus 5G home internet plans: How do they compare

How do Telstra and Optus 5G home internet plans compare?

Source: WhistleOut

TPG Telecom makes fresh play to be a 'more robust competitor to NBN Co'

TPG Telecom has set in motion a plan that would release it from rules that curtailed its fixed-line infrastructure ambitions and "likely" make it a “more robust competitor to NBN Co”.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 18th Nov 2021

TPG Telecom paves way for functional separation

Australia’s national competition watchdog is seeking feedback on a proposed joint functional separation of TPG Telecom.

Source: ARN

Labor to give 30,000 families free NBN for a year

Federal Labor has pledged to fund an NBN service for 30,000 families currently without a home internet connection for a year, while a longer-term strategy is created.

Source: iTnews Australia

Wed, 17th Nov 2021

The NBN has been 'fully operational' for almost a year, but some Australians still don't have reliable internet

Fixed wireless connections are typically used in regional and rural areas, but many Australians are still struggling with access and reliability issues.

Source: ABC News

Labor commits to making AU$2.4b 'investment' to extend on-demand FttN upgrades

The Australian Labor Party has said that should it win government at the next election, it would be spending AU$2.4 billion to extend the existing NBN fibre to the node (FttN) upgrade plan to a further 1.5 million premises.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Vandals topple second Vic NBN wireless tower in four years

Saboteurs have caused an NBN fixed wireless tower in Victoria’s Gippsland region to collapse, the second such incident in the area in the past four years.

Source: iTnews Australia

You now have three new choices for 5G home internet plans

Following on from TPG and Vodafone launching 5G home internet plans, sibling brands iiNet, Internode, and Westnet have followed suit. The trio are all offering identical plans, but the pricing varies slightly from TPG and Vodafone's offering.

Source: WhistleOut

TPG Telecom and Samsung complete 5G virtualised RAN trials with 26GHz mmWave

TPG Telecom and Samsung Electronics Australia have expanded their 5G mmWave technology collaboration to more trial sites after successfully completing the first 5G virtualised, radio access network (vRAN) trials with 26GHz mmWave in Australia.

Source: iTWire

Fletcher says, Labor can't be trusted on the NBN

Based on the reported leaked Labor NBN policy, the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher issued a statement.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 16th Nov 2021

Labor's early election pledge to offer fibre to "nearly 7 in 8" FTTN users

Federal Labor has pledged an extra $2.4 billion of NBN upgrades if it wins the 2022 election, enabling 90 percent of Australians in the fixed line footprint to order gigabit speed services by 2025.

Source: iTnews Australia

Analyst puts Labor NBN plan in same basket as govt efforts

Labor's announcement that it would provide $2.4 billion for an additional 1.5 million homes to be provided with fibre if it were elected to office has been dismissed as "a continuation of the muddling-on process seen over the last decade."

Source: iTWire