Broadband News
Tue, 15th Dec 2020
Over 4,000 privacy complaints made about Aussie telcos in FY20
During the 2020 financial year, consumers made over 4,000 complaints about telecommunications providers related to a user's privacy.
Source: ZDNet Australia
New satellite ground station coming to Dubbo
Australian telco Pivotel and content and connectivity provider SES have agreed to construct a new satellite ground station at Pivotel's Dubbo teleport. The ground station will enable the delivery of enhanced telecommunication services to regional communities.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 14th Dec 2020
Telstra scores $130m WA schools internet upgrade deal
Telstra will deliver a significant bandwidth boost to Western Australia’s public schools under a $130 million extension to its existing telecommunications deal with the state government.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 11th Dec 2020
Optus kills excess data charges on postpaid plans
Optus has quietly axed excess data charges on its postpaid mobile, tablet, and mobile broadband plans, effectively bringing it in line with Telstra and Vodafone.
Source: WhistleOut
Thu, 10th Dec 2020
The fastest NBN providers according to the ACCC (December 2020)
Don't want slow NBN? Since 2018, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been speed testing Australian NBN connections. The resulting quarterly report, Measuring Broadband Australia, details the average speed of connections offered by major providers during peak hours.
Source: WhistleOut
Optus filed half of all network change notifications under security laws
Optus was singlehandly responsible for over half of all network change notifications filed with the government in the first two years of telecommunications national security laws that were passed in late 2017.
Source: iTnews Australia
Improved access to key online services during COVID, says ACCC
Increased broadband speeds have improved performances of popular streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube during mid-September and October when compared to a pre-COVID baseline of February 2020, according to the ACCC.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 09th Dec 2020
NBN Co to undertake $200m IT transformation
NBN Co is set to embark on a $200 million project to simplify and modernise its IT architecture, touted as the “largest IT transformation” it has ever undertaken.
Source: iTnews Australia
Huawei Australia still waiting for 'formal' NBN, 5G ban notifications
Huawei Australia says it is still awaiting “formal notification” of its bans from the NBN and 5G networks, reiterating long-standing calls for its equipment to be “independently tested” and its cyber security processes reviewed.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co starts rollout of Disaster Satellite Service
National broadband network operator NBN Co has unveiled the first NBN Disaster Satellite Service in Namadgi ACT, designed to boost the support offered to communities and emergency services personnel during and in the aftermath of emergency events, such as bushfires and floods.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 06th Dec 2020
'Privacy is making a comeback': Nine in 10 worried about personal data online
The research comes a decade after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg declared "privacy is no longer the social norm".
Source: SMH
Sat, 05th Dec 2020
Optus tops ACCC's speed report for fifth consecutive quarter
The ACCC has put out the eleventh Measuring Broadband Australia report, with Optus taking the top spot for the firth quarter in a row. Optus customers were found to receive 98.5% of their plan's maximum speeds during peak hours (between 7pm and 11pm) putting the telco ahead of TPG, Aussie Broadband, MyRepublic, Telstra, and more.
Source: WhistleOut
Fri, 04th Dec 2020
NBN overprovisioning makes lowest two speed tiers faster than advertised
Thanks to the National Broadband Network (NBN) overprovisioning its plans by between 10% and 15%, it is very likely that customers on NBN's lowest two fixed-line speed tiers -- 12Mbps and 25Mbps -- are getting speeds faster than what is on the label.
Source: ZDNet Australia
RSPs deliver 'highest' recorded average plan speeds during October
Retail service providers (RSP) delivered the highest recorded average maximum NBN plan speeds during October at over 94 per cent, according to Australia's consumer watchdog.
Source: ARN
Tue, 01st Dec 2020
Telstra outages trigger anxiety for still-suffering bushfire survivors
Mallacoota residents who survived last summer's bushfires say two outages in the past month have caused extreme distress for people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.
Source: ABC News
NBN Co opens instant quote generator for user-pays fibre upgrades
NBN Co has soft-launched the instant quote generator for its user-pays upgrade program Technology Choice.
Source: iTnews Australia
50 RSPs join NBN Co new wholesale broadband deal
The fourth iteration of NBN Co’s wholesale broadband agreement has come into action today following months of negotiations.
Source: ARN
Mon, 30th Nov 2020
Optus just wants to be loved
Optus unveiled an interesting target for a telco on Monday during a business strategy update: To become "Australia's most loved everyday brand".
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus will go ahead with plans to sell towers, says CEO
Telco Singtel Optus will go ahead with plans to sell 70% of its "passive" towers, which are estimated to be worth $2 billion, to help pay for its rollout of 5G infrastructure.
Source: iTWire
Govt makes another bid to put lipstick on a pig aka the NBN
Any time the NBN Co is taking a hammering over the abysmal speeds on the network which it is building at a cost of $57 billion — and still counting — there is a bid to make things look better.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 27th Nov 2020
Australian government develops its own metrics and ranks NBN highly
A year after NBN decided it didn't like the idea of speed tests as a broadband measurement, the viewpoint has spilled over to the Bureau of Communications, Arts and Regional Research (BCARR).
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 26th Nov 2020
Phone and internet customers reveal debt trouble with telco companies during pandemic
There are calls for stronger regulation of telco companies after a new report details the distress and hardship customers are going through to manage their phone and internet debt.
Source: ABC News
Telstra to face $50m fine for unconscionable conduct 'right off the scale'
Telstra admits to unconscionable conduct during its sales of mobile phone plans to Indigenous consumers, who the ACCC says were exploited into signing up to unaffordable contracts and then aggressively pursued by debt collectors.
Source: ABC News
Telstra in court over ‘unconscionable’ conduct with mobile sales to Indigenous consumers, faces $50m in penalties
Telstra has been taken to court by the competition watchdog, the ACCC, over its admitted breach of consumer law through “unconscionable conduct” in the sale of post-paid mobile products to Indigenous consumers.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 25th Nov 2020
Vodafone is offering up to 50% off select smartphones for Black Friday
Since time nor the day of the week have any meaning in 2020, Vodafone is starting its Black Friday deals on a Tuesday with solid discounts on some of the year's most popular handsets. Our favourite offers include 27% off the 64GB iPhone SE, 25% off the Google Pixel 5, 50% off the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, 12% off the Galaxy Z Fold 2, an 25% off the Galaxy S20 FE 5G.
Source: WhistleOut
Tue, 24th Nov 2020
Hawaiki boosts cable capacity, speed with Ciena tech
New Zealand cable operator Hawaiki Submarine Cable has announced that it would deploy Ciena's WaveLogic 5 Extreme technology that would provide an upgrade to meet the needs of customers who are facing a demand for more capacity and speed due to the ongoing pandemic.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 23rd Nov 2020
New Optus MVNO gomo is offering three months free service
Optus is launching its new MVNO gomo with a bang: if you sign-up to a gomo plan before February 28 next year, you'll get three months of free service after paying for your first three months.
Source: WhistleOut
Optus handles 84 percent of service inquiries in its digital channels
Optus says its digital self-service tools are now handling 84 percent of all customer service related inquiries, with a positive impact on its customer satisfaction scores.
Source: iTnews Australia
‘Record’ audience numbers, subscriptions on streaming services, claims Optus Sport
Optus Sport has claimed record subscription and audience numbers across the board on its streaming platform in 2020, with numbers boosted by the return of English Premier League, Women’s Super League and UEFA Champions League broadcasts.
Source: iTWire
Sun, 22nd Nov 2020
Consumer complaints about telcos increase over quarter
Consumer complaints to Australia’s telcos increased by 7.8 complaints per 10,000 Services- in Operation (SIOs) for three months of the July-September 2020 quarter, an increase over the previous quarter’s ratio of 7.4.
Source: iTWire