Broadband News

Mon, 01st Mar 2021

Telco association denies planned device obsolescence is a trade tactic

The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) has jumped to the defence of its members to point out that they do not engage in planned obsolescence as a strategy.

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN to stop new HFC connections pause mid-year

The company responsible for rolling out the National Broadband Network will start taking new hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) connection orders again in either May or early June.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Optus now supports its customers with 100 'dedicated' communities

Optus has divided its Australian customer base among 100 dedicated “communities” that now handle all customer support requests, each trained in the local lexicon of the areas they are assigned.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 26th Feb 2021

NBN Co to resume new HFC orders from May

NBN Co is expected to resume taking orders for new hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) services from late May at the earliest after securing a fresh supply of network termination devices.

Source: iTnews Australia

NBN HFC orders to restart by June

​NBN Co is to restart taking orders on new hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) services by at least June following negotiations with its chipset supplier.

Source: ARN

Facebook signs letter of intent with three Australian media firms

Facebook on Friday said it had signed letters of intent with three Australian media firms, a day after the country's Parliament passed a law forcing it to pay media companies for using content on its platform.

Source: iTnews Australia

Thu, 25th Feb 2021

TPG estimates $90M hit from COVID, NBN and regulatory headwinds

​TPG Telecom has estimated the financial impact from COVID-19 at $90 million to its reported earnings before tax, in addition to NBN and regulatory headwinds, in its full financial year results ending 31 December.

Source: ARN

TPG Telecom to start enticing NBN customers to move

TPG Telecom has estimated it could save around $50 million a year for every 100,000 customers it can entice off the NBN and onto its own network infrastructure.

Source: iTnews Australia

Australia's radiation safety agency debunks 5G concerns in new safety standard

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) has used the launch of Australia's new radio wave safety standard to continue to quash concerns that 5G technology, mobile towers, and base stations can cause harmful health effects.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Wed, 24th Feb 2021

Telstra InfraCo opens up dark fibre network

Telstra InfraCo's dark fibre optic network is now available for use across six Australian state capitals.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Mon, 22nd Feb 2021

Amaysim reports half-year results ahead of preparation to delist by the end of March

Amaysim has reported its 2021 half-year financial results, which comes following the sale of its energy and mobile businesses, as well as currently being subject to an unconditional off-market takeover offer from investment firm WAM Capital.

Source: ZDNet Australia

Superloop inks landmark wholesale NBN aggregation deal with Symbio

Superloop has struck a deal to exclusively supply wholesale NBN aggregation services to MNF Group’s IP voice services subsidiary Symbio Networks.

Source: ARN

NBN Co wants a public test of how well it matches up with 5G

NBN Co wants a public, independent metric for how well its services match up to the 5G ‘fixed wireless’ services that are "suggested" to be direct substitutes for an NBN fixed-line connection.

Source: iTnews Australia

Fri, 19th Feb 2021

Bandwidth purchased from NBN drops as pandemic capacity boost ends

The amount of bandwidth purchased from the company running the National Broadband Network dropped form 20.2Tbps down to 19.8Tbps over the quarter to December 31, according to numbers from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Source: ZDNet Australia

NBN resellers warned to boost CVC after COVID freebies

Australia’s consumer watchdog has warned NBN retail service providers to start buying up more CVC capacity following the end of NBN Co’s COVID-19 giveaways.

Source: ARN

5G mobile broadband: Everything you need to know

5G mobile broadband is likely to be one of the first ways Australians will be able to experience 5G. Here's what we know so far.

Source: WhistleOut=

ACCC: 8.1m broadband connections now on the NBN, more than 5.5m are 50Mbps or better

There are now more than 8.1 million household and business services connected to the NBN, according to a new ACCC report.

Source: iTWire

Thu, 18th Feb 2021

TPG claims top sales for NBN enterprise broadband services

TPG Telecom has declared itself the “highest seller” of NBN enterprise ethernet services, based on market position data supplied by NBN Co to retail service providers each month.

Source: iTnews Australia

Optus hit by cellular network outage

Optus is suffering an outage of its cellular network along Australia’s east coast, with widespread problems being reported.

Source: iTnews Australia

Vocus and Amcom founders steer Swoop Telecommunications in $61M listing deal

​Swoop Telecommunications and NodeOne have been bought by publicly listed Stemify in a deal worth $61.3 million.

Source: ARN

Aussie Broadband brings in NBN users chasing a better experience

Aussie Broadband’s growth in residential broadband is coming largely from NBN users “disenfranchised” with their existing provider and looking to make a switch.

Source: iTnews Australia

Facebook restricts Australians' access to news

Australians are being blocked from accessing news in their Facebook feeds, in a dramatic escalation of the social media giant's stand-off with the federal government.

Source: ABC News

NBN Co executives and employees got $77 million in bonuses in back half of 2020

There were more bonuses paid out to NBN Co employees in five months of 2020 than in the entirety of the 2018-19 financial year.

Source: ABC News

Wed, 17th Feb 2021

Telstra recommends amending existing telco Acts instead of creating duplication

Telstra has asked Australia's pending national critical infrastructure laws to avoid creating duplicate or conflicting requirements for the telecommunications sector, highlighting that existing regimes it is bound by already "work well".

Source: ZDNet Australia

Aussie Broadband switches mobile allegiance from Telstra to Optus

Aussie Broadband is set to revamp its mobile services and expand into offering cellular fixed wireless after switching its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) allegiance from Telstra to Optus.

Source: iTnews Australia

Aussie Broadband sees market share increase as losses deepen

Aussie Broadband has revealed revenue and earnings increases, and a net pre-tax profit tumble, for the half year ending 31 December 2020.

Source: ARN

Aussie Broadband announces 'bloody good' half year results to 31 Dec 2020

Aussie Broadband is the company that offers "bloody good broadband", so when we looked at its half year results, we thought they were bloody good, too!

Source: iTWire

Tue, 16th Feb 2021

Optus' new family NBN plans come with a WiFi extender

Optus' new NBN plans make it easier to blanket your home with WiFi.

Source: WhistleOut

You can now bundle Optus Flybuys plans with your phone

The plans themselves are almost identical to last year's offering​ but this time have a new name, and allow you to bundle available devices alongside them.

Source: WhistleOut

Google, Facebook win media code concessions over algorithmic changes

The federal government is poised to water down the requirement that digital platforms give media companies 14 days’ notice of major algorithm changes under its proposed media code.

Source: iTnews Australia