Broadband News
Tue, 04th May 2021
Vocus to deploy 2000km 'Project Horizon' terrestrial cable
Vocus will deploy a 2000km high-capacity fibre link between Geraldton and Port Hedland in Western Australia by the end of next year.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN looking at FttC upgrade to fibre if users want 250Mbps
The company responsible for running the National Broadband Network on Tuesday said it is planning to offer on-demand full fibre upgrades to users on its fibre-to-the-curb (FttC) network that wish to receive over 250Mbps.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co already wants to upgrade some FTTC users to full fibre
NBN Co is set to upgrade parts of its fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) footprint to full fibre, despite the technology already being touted as gigabit-capable.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra fined $1.5m over Covid-related landline porting freeze
Telstra has been fined $1.5 million over its “unilateral” decision to suspend most landline number porting during the first Covid lockdowns last year when it ran short of offshore resourcing.
Source: iTnews Australia
Mon, 03rd May 2021
NBN nixes dark fibre talks as subcontractors protest pyramid contract model
The company responsible for running the National Broadband Network has ended its consultation on whether to procure any existing dark fibre for enterprise connections, saying it is not cost effective.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Fri, 30th Apr 2021
Optus to cull 3G service on 2100MHz network
Optus is planning to switch off its 3G network on the 2100MHz spectrum from April 2022 as part of a wider technology overhaul.
Source: ARN
Thu, 29th Apr 2021
Vodafone NZ pinned for flogging FibreX HFC as full fibre
Vodafone New Zealand has been found guilty of misleading consumers over the branding of its FibreX HFC-based broadband service.
Source: ZDNet Australia
'A complete and utter mess': Telstra outages leave rural residents isolated
Telstra landline outages in southern Queensland are causing havoc for rural residents who depend on the service due to limited mobile reception.
Source: ABC News
Wed, 28th Apr 2021
Save $100 on the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini with Optus until tomorrow
Optus is discounting the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini.
Source: WhistleOut
Optus blasts NBN price consultations as 'a waste of time'
Optus has led criticism of NBN Co’s latest ideas on pricing, saying such consultations were proving to be “a waste of time”, as other retailers were left similarly underwhelmed.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN floats soft cap to curb CVC cost spikes
The company responsible for the National Broadband Network has floated the prospect of a soft cap on overage CVC charges to limit the amount Australian telcos have to pay for increases in traffic.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co won't release its flat-rate price modelling
NBN Co has decided not to share internal modelling of a flat-rate price for wholesale services, despite requests from many major providers to do so.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACCC moves quickly to retake control of NBN pricing
NBN Co, retail service providers and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will attend a roundtable in June to kickstart the conversation on long-term NBN pricing.
Source: iTnews Australia
Ombudsman finds unlawful metadata access by ACT cops on 1,704 occasions
The Commonwealth Ombudsman has confirmed that of the 1,713 individual accesses to location-based services (LBS) by ACT Policing between 13 October 2015 and 3 January 2020, only nine were fully compliant with the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act).
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus lacking sub-1GHz spectrum drives decision to limit low-band spectrum holdings
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recommended to Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher that spectrum holdings for Australian telcos be limited to 40% of that available under 1GHz.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC wants users to be able to replace iOS and Android default apps
Australia's competition watchdog wants to see Apple and Google provide for greater choice of default apps for consumers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACCC slams Google and Apple app store domination
The ACCC has come out swinging against the Apple and Google app stores’ market domination, saying measures are needed to address the significant market power in the distribution of mobile apps.
Source: ARN
Tue, 27th Apr 2021
NBN Co to pay down govt debt with $2B US bond raise
NBN Co has undertaken its inaugural finance raising effort in the United States capital markets, pricing a US$2 billion bond issue.
Source: ARN
'Uniquely Canadian turn of events': Eager beaver leaves town without internet after gnawing through cable
A beaver is being blamed for leaving hundreds without internet and mobile services, after it gnawed through a crucial fibre cable and used the remnants to build its dam.
Source: ABC News
iPhone 12 5G access now available on when using TWO SIMs
Before iOS 14.5, it was not possible to use 5G data connectivity on an iPhone 12 when using both the eSIM and a second physical SIM, but as you can see from the attached image, iOS 14.5 has solved this problem.
Source: iTWire
What's the difference between Sky Muster and Sky Muster Plus?
If you've got satellite NBN, you can now pick between Sky Muster and Sky Muster Plus plans. Here's what you need to know about how they differ.
Source: WhistleOut
Mon, 26th Apr 2021
Pentagon surfaces giant netblock for recon and anti IP squatting
The mystery behind the appearance of over 175 million unique Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses in the global network routing table has been partly solved, after the United States Department of Defence came out with an explanation.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACMA releases telco complaints-handling performance data for Dec quarter, CommsAlliance happy, ACCAN concerned
ACMA has published its telco complaints-handling data for the quarter ended December 2020, with the Communications Alliance noting complaints have dropped 40% of a 2 year period.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 23rd Apr 2021
King Island connectivity upgrade to include 110km radio link across Bass Strait
When completed, a 110-kilometre radio link from King Island back to Victoria's Surf Coast will be the longest such link over water in the Telstra network, the company said on Friday.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Five local telcos fork out $647.6M for 5G-enabling spectrum
Telstra, Optus, TPG Telecom subsidiary Mobile JV, Pentanet and Dense Air Australia have won rights to radio spectrum in the 26 GHz band, an optimal ingredient for delivering 5G services in Australia.
Source: ARN
Telstra, Optus, TPG drop $650m on ultra-fast 5G spectrum at auction
Telstra, Optus, TPG Telecom, Dense Air and Pentanet have secured more than half a billion dollars of millimetre-wave spectrum in the first of two 5G spectrum actions to take place this year.
Source: iTnews Australia
TPG Telecom (Vodafone) to 'supercharge 5G' with mmWave spectrum
The new 5G mmWave spectrum will "power 5G fixed wireless and super-fast 5G mobile", and with Optus, Telstra, Dense Air Australia and Pentanet winning mmWave spectrum, the future for Australia is super fast.
Source: iTWire
Optus secures ‘golden GHz’ and unlocks ultra-fast 5G future with 26GHz spectrum acquisition
Optus states it is continuing to build a world-class 5G network which will be made even better with the acquisition of a range of new licences in the 26GHz spectrum band.
Source: iTWire
Telstra claims to reinforce 5G leadership, investing $277 million to secure 1000 MHz nationally in 26 GHz spectrum auction
Telstra has announced it has secured 1000 MHz in the 26 GHz spectrum auction, investing $277 million to further extend its leadership in 5G now - and into the future.
Source: iTWire
ACMA details outcome of 5G millimetre Wave spectrum auction
Five companies have won spectrum in the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s latest spectrum auction in the 26 GHz band. The 26 GHz band has been identified as optimal for the delivery of 5G wireless broadband services.
Source: iTWire