Broadband News

Tue, 16th Nov 2021

NBN providers with 4G backup

NBN outages can and will happen, but there are a number of providers that now offer NBN plans with 4G backup.

Source: WhistleOut

Vodafone triples 5G coverage, but there's a catch

Vodafone today announced it has tripled its 5G coverage, hitting its target of bringing the next generation network to 85% of the population in ten of the nation's biggest cities. These include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong, and the Central Coast.

Source: WhistleOut

Vodafone launches unlimited data 4G Home Internet

Vodafone launched a new 4G Home Internet plan with unlimited data, for existing mobile customers.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 10th Nov 2021

Get a $1,000 gift card if you sign-up to a JB Hi-Fi SIM-only mobile plan

JB Hi-Fi is offering customers as much as a $1,000 gift card if they swap to Telstra via one of its SIM-only mobile plans. $69 per month will get you an 80GB allowance and a $400 gift card, or $99 per month will get you 200GB and a $1,000 gift card.

Source: WhistleOut

NBN Co caps fibre upgrade trial numbers to a maximum of 525 premises

NBN Co has substantially revised down the number of premises that will actually participate in its full fibre upgrade trials from now through mid-March, clarifying that the number is capped at 525.

Source: iTnews Australia

Cheap nbn™ plans for every household

Looking to get the NBN on a budget? The good news is there are some cheaper plans on the market that you can pick from.

Source: WhistleOut

Telstra boosts mobile site power resiliency ahead of disaster season

Telstra has boosted battery back-up power at 341 mobile tower sites in regional Australia, extending power reserves from three hours up to 12 hours for some of the country’s most remote towns. The upgrades were made with assistance from the Australian Government’s Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disasters (STAND) program.

Source: iTWire

Malcolm Turnbull needs to explain dodgy cut-down NBN rollout figures

Malcolm Turnbull has some explaining to do about the costs of the NBN this morning, after Guardian Australia reported figures hidden in a report commissioned by him showed a full-fibre NBN or a multi-technology mix would have cost about the same.

Source: iTWire

Tue, 09th Nov 2021

NBN Co puts broadband tax target back on cellular, LEO operators

NBN Co has renewed calls to have 5G fixed wireless operators pay the $7.10 per user per month broadband tax, while also flagging the possibility of charging low earth orbit (LEO) satellite operators as well.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 08th Nov 2021

NBN Co offers to upgrade up to 6000 FTTN customers from this month

NBN Co intends to take as many as 6000 orders for upgrades from fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) this month as its $2.9 billion program shifts into a trial mode.

Source: iTnews Australia

200,000 premises earmarked for NBN upgrade

NBN Co is to upgrade its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network in more suburbs across the country, adding 200,000 more premises to its higher internet speed connection rollout.

Source: ARN

NBN looking to open FttN upgrade orders in March 2022

The company responsible for the National Broadband Network has said it is expecting users to be able to place orders with retailers in March 2022. Until then, NBN is asking people to register their interest.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Fri, 05th Nov 2021

Telstra will give you a month of NBN for $1, but Aussie Broadband will do it for free

Who doesn’t love a little bit of healthy competition? Right now Telstra will give you a month of NBN for $1, and Aussie Broadband is undercutting the provider to give you the same thing for free.

Source: WhistleOut

TPG Telecom brings business-grade fast fibre offering to regions

TPG Telecom has begun offering its fast fibre broadband product to businesses in regional areas of Australia through its own enterprise-grade fibre network.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra finally wraps up $1.8bn Defence network overhaul

After eight years and more than $1.8 billion, the Department of Defence has finally reached the end of its long-delayed fixed telecommunications network replacement project with Telstra.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 04th Nov 2021

New Hawaiki Nui trans-Pacific cable to offer Indonesia links

New Zealand cable operator Hawaiki Submarine Cable has announced a new trans-Pacific cable system Hawaiki Nui, the first spatial division multiplexing cable linking south-east Asia, Australasia and North America.

Source: iTWire

Telstra 5G home internet launches with a one-month free trial

After around a year in an invite-only preview phase, Telstra has made its 5G home internet offering open to anyone who wants it. Telstra has just a single 5G home internet plan, with a 1TB allowance for $85 per month.

Source: WhistleOut

Fri, 29th Oct 2021

Facebook changes company name to Meta

Facebook is now called Meta, the company said on Thursday, in a rebrand that focuses on its ambitions building the "metaverse," a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the next big computing platform.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 28th Oct 2021

ACCC wants browser choice screen offered to all Android device users in Australia

Google may be compelled to offer a browser choice screen to all new and existing Android devices in Australia in the coming years under a proposal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra in box seat to buy NBN Co after its Digicel deal

After a long time, Telstra has literally hit the jackpot with a business move: the company has fallen in with the Australian Government's wishes and jointly acquired Digicel's business in the South Pacific, something that the US has pushed Australia to do.

Source: iTWire

Wed, 27th Oct 2021

NBN price inquiry 'encouraged' to give 'in-depth consideration' to keeping CVC

A regulatory inquiry examining the feasibility of flat-rate NBN pricing has been asked to give “in-depth consideration” to a heavily tweaked version of NBN Co’s current model pricing model that would retain bandwidth charges but introduce volume discounts.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 25th Oct 2021

NEXTDC to build first NT data centre

NEXTDC is set to build its first data centre in the Northern Territory after purchasing a parcel of land in Darwin from the territory government.

Source: iTnews Australia

Telstra secures deal to buy largest telecommunications company in the Pacific with Canberra's support

The $2.1 billion deal to acquire and run Digicel Pacific will be largely funded by the Australian government, in a move widely seen as an attempt to counter China's influence in the region.

Source: ABC News

Telstra buying Digicel Pacific thanks to $1.3 billion in Commonwealth funds

Telstra announced on Monday morning it would be acquiring Digicel Pacific, ending months of speculation that a deal between the telco and the Australian government was in the works.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN Alternatives: go wireless with 4G/5G home internet

Sick of the NBN? No problem. Try one of these 4G or 5G mobile broadband alternatives instead.

Source: WhistleOut

Fri, 22nd Oct 2021

Aussie Broadband confirms acquisition talks with Over the Wire

​Aussie Broadband has entered exclusive talks to acquire IT and telco services provider Over the Wire.

Source: ARN

Aussie Broadband in talks to buy Over The Wire

Aussie Broadband is in exclusive talks to buy Brisbane-based telecommunications and IT solutions provider Over The Wire.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 21st Oct 2021

Telstra customers impacted by prolonged prepaid system outage

Telstra is experiencing an extended outage of a system that handles activations and recharges for its prepaid services.

Source: iTnews Australia

Mon, 18th Oct 2021

Australia’s Superloop offloads Singapore assets

Australian fibre network operator Superloop has sold off select assets from its Singapore operation, along with its Hong Kong business, in a deal worth A$140 million.

Source: ARN

Mon, 11th Oct 2021

Australia mulls measures making social media giants responsible for defamatory postings

The Australian government is considering a range of measures that would make social media companies more responsible for defamatory material published on their platforms, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said on Sunday.

Source: iTnews Australia